Chairman's Award -- is the bar too high now?

[smurfgirl]

Yes, Miss Daisy set the bar high. However, this shouldn't deter people from submitting for the Chairman's Award, it should inspire them to see what a big difference one team can make. As with most teams, my team started our community outreach programs a few years ago because we saw a need in the community. There was no thought of Chairman's associated with our activities partially because we knew we had no chance compared to some of the amazing teams in our area. Three seasons after we began doing significant outreach work, we finally convinced the team to work on the Chairman's Award because of the value of the process. It's an amazing and inspiring experience to be a part of compiling the stories necessary to submit for the Chairman's essays. Different talents are used, it gets everyone involved in a new way, and it passes on important values and pieces of team history to a new generation of students each year. Once we embraced the Chairman's Award submission for the process, rather than for the sake of winning the award, we benefited so much more from it. This is the beauty of the Chairman's Award- you don't have to be the Championship Chairman's Award winner to benefit from the work you put into it. Everyone gains something from being a part of the process. I'm really proud of the students on my team for changing their attitude towards Chairman's and winning, because they've gained so much from putting together a submission for the past two years.

[pfreivald]

I think that the greatest thing that Bausch + Lomb sponsorship brought to 1551 is the requirement that we strive to win the chairman's award every year...

We're a tiny school in the middle of nowhere with a fraction of the students/mentors compared to the teams we're competing against, we have some interesting limitations (for example, we are only allowed to do two -- limited -- fundraisers a year by our school so that we don't take too much from the other extracurriculars), and I honestly think that we don't have a snowball's chance in aitch-ee-double-hockeysticks of ever winning. But trying to win makes us a better team every year.

Not pretending to try to win. Not inventing silly shenanigans that will make us look better but that's all. But actually doing things that make our team better, our program stronger, and the experience richer.

And that's fantastic.

So the bar is set insanely high. Probably unachievably high for some of us. But what a shame it would be to lower it.

[Doug G]

Originally Posted by pfreivald

I think that the greatest thing that Bausch + Lomb sponsorship brought to 1551 is the requirement that we strive to win the chairman's award every year...

Absolutely a great idea, if only more sponsors promoted that. I know NASA used to put that requirement into their grants. Wouldn't it be amazing if some large organization that GETS FIRST, could do some sort of grants for non-rookies that stipulate a future funding on CA submissions (not necessarily winners). Maybe the first year is a $1000 grant, and 2nd year is either a $0, $1000, or $5000 grant based on their CA submission. Maybe even a 3rd year option as well. Not that teams do a CA for money, but those that are doing amazing things each year are encouraged to continue their effors. As in the case of 3 HOF teams submitting at the same regional in one year. Just a thought....

As an educator, I highly value the reflective point of the CA. You will find that for many folks, the best learning happens through or after a reflective period. In most high schools they go through a WASC (Western Association of Schools and Colleges) accreditation process that is 90% reflective in nature. You spend 6 mo's reflecting on the state of your school, it's mission, where it has been, where it needs to go, accomplishments, and areas of needed improvement. The top honor is usually a 6 year accreditation. It simply means your school knows what it needs to do and are doing it the best they can.

This year our team modeled some of it's CA process after the WASC process. In fact our school's WASC coordinator headed up the CA entry. It was by far the best CA submission we have ever done, and we didn't win. We simply couldn't compete on the level of Team 115 (congrats to them - they are an amazing team). It shouldn't reflect negatively on us and I've tried to make that point very clearly with our team of how successful they are in this area, and what we can do better with the resources we have. It's the process that is important, and no team should forget that. If every team went through this process, we would more sustainability and program growth.

[Mr. Ivey]

Time for me to come out of my usually quiet corner. The Chairman's Award should not have a bar. We should never say a team has set the bar for this award! It is a bad notion in my opinion. If we say there is a "set bar" it will deter teams from trying at the goal of doing a Chairman's project.

It is not the award that teams should strive for, it is not the fame or F.I.R.S.T. legend they should work for, but the achievement of making an impact on the life of another, without the intent of personal gain. Every student, mentor, and coach should be working for the desire to change themselves. Only when you change your mentality, can you work to change the world around you. When you have the mentality that the Chairman's Award is set so high that you can't get it, is when you have lost site of what this goal really is about. It's about being selfless. When you gain that, then why should it seem an out of bounds goal.

So if a rookie team can go beyond the struggle of starting the team and can impact the community around them in a positive manor, why then could they not be considered for Chairman's.

Forget this "bar" mentality, go for the goal of being selfless in nature. This is what I see as the basics of the Chairman's Award, a team being selfless, and for the benefit of the community, wether global or local, around them. Miss Daisy did this to their full potential and effect, that is all F.I.R.S.T. asks of us. To be selfless and to do good to our full potential, whatever that may be.

Hope I made some form of sense there.

Ivey

[346CADmen]

[quote=pfreivald;957751]I think that the greatest thing that Bausch + Lomb sponsorship brought to 1551 is the requirement that we strive to win the chairman's award every year...

I agree Bausch & Lomb has done well for you by making that part of their sponsorship. That you see it so makes for a great partnership.

We're a tiny school in the middle of nowhere ... the students/mentors compared to the teams we're competing against, we have some interesting limitations (for example, we are only allowed to do two -- limited -- fundraisers a year by our school so that we don't take too much from the other extracurriculars)

If you want another fund raiser I'd suggest a weblink to mail order some of those delicious local made grape pies. MMMmmmm Hmmm

[Chris is me]

Do I think the bar is too high? I think impossible dreams and lofty goals are a key part of FIRST; the "top" being extremely far away only pushes people farther. The only people that would be "pushed away" from the Chairman's Award because it was given to 341 would be teams that were so full of themselves to think that they were "almost there" when they still have a ways to go. Everyone else, with a realistic and grounded view of themselves, knows that they were not at that level, and hopefully are now working to reach it.

I'm beginning to wonder though, if "Winning Championship Chairman's" is a realistic goal for any team made in the last 5-10 years anymore. The "line" of extremely successful Chairman's teams is so, so long, that even if everyone was stopped right now from doing any more Chairman's work, you'd take 10 Championships to award it to all of the many teams that deserve it. It's a little depressing that if you start a real push for Chairman's when you're a student, you can guarantee yourself that your team will not win it in your high school career.

Just my thoughts.

[YAK'ker]

Originally Posted by Steve W

I have believed that the most important thing about the Chairmans award is what you get out of the process. It is great to win of course but that is not the thing that should drive teams.

I am thinking the same thing. We do what we can to excite the community about FIRST and STEAM. We promote all levels of recycling and, over the course of the past 4 years, have kept over 6 tons of materials from the landfill (approx 1/4 of it e-wastes.) Those two things keep us busy and make us visible in the community. Yes, we have overcome many obstacles - those of you who have teams in rural, impoverished areas can really relate to that, I'm sure. But when you compare our stats to those in urban areas who start 10+ new teams a year, run countless events, and manage to attract $$$$ we come up short every time.

We aren't going to start a bunch of new FIRST teams at any level, simply because we have learned the hard way that there are few adult volunteers in our community that are willing to work with kids consistently. It's heartbreaking to start an FLL team, only to see it die after a couple of years. We struggle to keep the 3 mentors we have, and one will retire this year. Our kids work hard to help bring relevant STEAM activities to our school and community, but our manpower is limited.

Doing the Chairman's Award is a great way for our team to focus on their many achievements and successes. It also helps our team develop more speaking and leadership skills. Finally, even though we don't do a professional job on the video, the students end up with a great presentation we can share with civic groups and our sponsors later on. It's never a waste of time, even though we will likely never win the Chairman's.

[gblake]

Originally Posted by Carolyn_Grace

...
Now, we have a new philosophy.

We are no longer going to compete for the Chairman's Award.
Winning this award soley so we can become a Hall of Fame team is not our goal.
We aren't looking for the prestige and recognition of what we accomplish.
We've decided that isn't what participating in the Chairman's Award is all about.

Instead, we're looking to spread the message that FIRST has taught all of us: That science and technology is cool! That they create jobs! That people can do this stuff and making a living having fun!

...

That is the corner to turn! Service before self. Who will be next?

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by gblake

That is the corner to turn! Service before self. Who will be next?

Teams all over the world. They have been doing this.

Jane

[rick.oliver]

Originally Posted by Carolyn_Grace

Now, we have a new philosophy.

We are no longer going to compete for the Chairman's Award.
Winning this award soley so we can become a Hall of Fame team is not our goal.
We aren't looking for the prestige and recognition of what we accomplish.
We've decided that isn't what participating in the Chairman's Award is all about.

Instead, ...

Well said. Thanks for sharing

[Ian Curtis]

Originally Posted by gvarndell

Has 341 raised the chairman's bar so high as to represent a disincentive to even compete for it?
Or have they simply shown the rest of us how it's done?

side-note:
I'm very impressed that international efforts are part of Miss Daisy's resume.
I dream of the day when great world cities compete for the honor of hosting world champs.

I think the fact that it took this long for Miss Daisy to win the Chairman's Award speaks volume to how much the top tier Chairman's teams do every year. They've been deserving off this award for as long as I've been involved in FRC (2004), yet they didn't win it until this year! One year they didn't even win the RCA! Clearly there are many teams doing incredibly impressive things.

If awards are a concern, I don't think it would be out of reach to ramp up an RCA winning program over the course of a student's high school career. Would it be a lot of work? Absolutely. But think of the benefits those kids (and the ones they involve through their extracurricular work). In the near term, it seems like it'd be some pretty slam dunk college application material, and the long term results are probably too numerous to count.

[Chief Samwize]

I think people are starting to lose touch with what this award is actually about. The focus of a team should not be on how to win the Chairman's Award. Teams should be more concerned about what they can do to help their communities and developing outreach programs.

No team should ever say "How can we win this award? What do we need to do to win it?" Teams should think "What can we do to benefit our community? How can we help those around us and spread the FIRST program?"

Just my thoughts....

-Sam

P.S. Congrats to team 341 on their award. They represent a model team which other teams should try to emulate.

[M.Wong]

My two cents worth:

Chairmen's is an evolving award. Comparatively, the greater good we can do each year grows exponentially, and so does the message of FIRST. Society changes and so does the the competitive nature of FIRST. As a Michigander, I see the true difficulty some teams face when competing for Chairmen's.

As programs expand we see the undoubtedly significant impact of our actions. Every team, whether they do it for Chairmen's, or do it to change society, removes opportunities for others to do the same. Sure, there is a staggering number of possibilities for teams to pursue, but some might feel overwhelmed. In Michigan, it is difficult (though by no stretch of the imagination impossible) to win a Chairmen's award if you have not procured one previously.

But look around. The community is waiting. Innovation permits the creation and utilization of some remarkable things. Push forward! Create some crazy ideas and see them through. As we have Unsung FIRST Heroes, there are many Unsung FIRST Teams. Winning Chairmen's is something to be proud of, but the actions we take for those around us; those are something to be even more proud of.

[BlueLipstick]

A high bar is good. That means teams are being challenged to expand their outreach and really make and impact. The Chairman's Award isn't about winning, it's about celebrating a team's achievements and encouraging other teams to think about how they can impact the community as well. It's important for teams to realize that just because they haven't flown to Washington DC or done international things, because it's not about topping other teams or winning the award. Talk to any team that's familiar with Chairman's and they'll tell you it's always important to say "earn the award" instead of "win the award", and that's not just an answering tactic. In the end, yeah it's nice to win, but it's the process that's more important. With the Chairman's Award, you're not competing against other people. You're not trying to top other teams or downplay their achievements to make your own seem more significant. Submitting for Chairman's Award means your team is competing against itself, and trying to do its best to deserve the award.