Another FTC Success Story

This story is another among many wonderful FTC stories - and we're looking for even more!

Submit yours to stories@usfirst.org. They'll be kept as confidential as you like with names and team numbers used or not based on your preference. Feel free to share as much detail as you'd like - your privacy will be protected if you'd like to remain anonymous.

This was submitted by Brenda Semmelrock in Connecticut:

Before I became involved with FIRST FTC, a new student joined our sophomore class from a large, nearby high school where she was an FRC member and loved it. When she enrolled in our school, we were not involved with FIRST.

Cassie Scully did everything she needed to do to convince our Head Master and faculty members that we needed to be involved with FIRST. That first year, Cassie, along with a couple of other students and a couple of faculty members, drove every afternoon after school to participate with the FRC team mentioned above. It made for a long day for everyone. Cassie was determined to bring FIRST to our school and she did.

An FTC team was formed. Cassie asked me to become assistant coach as I had expressed an interest in the FRC robot that she displayed here at our school. Cassie taught all of us about FIRST as the captain of the team.

FIRST inspired her to the point that nothing would stop her from forming a team at a school that knew nothing about FIRST. She inspired others to become involved, including me. This will be our third year as the CT FTC Affiliate Partner, thanks again to Cassie.

Cassie has since graduated and is a student at the Florida Institute for Technology, with an engineering major. She did return to help us out with our CT tournament. FIRST inspired Cassie to inspire others and she has left her mark at our school.
Our FTC team has since grown in numbers and we are hoping to inspire others as AP to become involved with FIRST.

Try this

Several of my recent posts have revolved around communications regarding FIRST and FTC. The topic has been on my mind, specifically - how we get the word out about the important stuff we're all doing and get more people involved?

Over the holidays many of us are reacquainted with groups we don't regularly interact with, family members, friends of spouses, whatever. Invariably the conversation turns to "what's new" type stuff.

Try out an "elevator pitch" about what you've been doing with FIRST without it taking 5 minutes to explain. It's harder than it sounds. The only goal in such a pitch (I hate the term too) is to get the listener to ask more about it - really just to hook him to want more info.

Let me know how you do - maybe we'll pass the tips along to others.

Have a great Christmas, Hanukkah, or whatever you celebrate!
Ken

Who are you competing against?

The company - who wants innovation and change, and schedules out long meetings each week with large groups to talk about it.

The non-profit - who wants to change the world, and articulates it in vague ways.

The government - that promises reform when elected, but can't get it through the legislature once in office.

The team - that sketches out big ideas for the design/programming/sensors... and doesn't have enough time to test it.

In all these cases, and in most of life, the real competition is ourselves - not those who we traditionally categorize as competitors.

Why post this here?

Because you, and the groups you lead, have the chance to recognize this and avoid it. FIRST can be a microcosm of change and it starts with you. Luckily that feedback loop is pretty rapid within FIRST competitions. Other organizations learn this (or don't) only after years and years.

What do you do?

Let's say you're a FIRST coach - what do you tell people who ask?

'I coach a FIRST team' or
'I show kids science and technology are fun'

'My team works on robots' or
'My team develops fairly complex machines'

'The students learn about STEM' or
'The students learn they can actually DO the things technologists do'

'These kids learn about technology' or
'These kids learn that they can use technology to change the future'

Each statement is absolutely true - it's just how you frame it. If you're a coach you're making a huge difference. You see some of the results now - but more will come in the future.

Positive or Negative?

I got into an interesting conversation recently. It evolved into a discussion about how FIRST is presented to the world. In general it's all positive. What I mean by that is we talk about all the great things FIRST does and the opportunities that open up to FIRST kids as they move into college and beyond.

The interesting point of the discussion however was how most of the population makes decisions - and it's instructive. First, people are not "hard wired" to accept change, in fact we are programmed over years and years to resist it. FIRST represents change. Second, most people are not "early adopters" partially for the reason above but as much because they don't want to stand out or look foolish if they choose something different.

I am convinced that most of the FIRST community is unlike the average. You have adopted FIRST and you each understand it.

So... if we turned the conversation around along the lines of "you haven't got your kids into FIRST? you realize that jobs are out there, scholarships are available, and at the present rate of change your kids risk being left behind..." what would happen?

Following the line of reason above, that negative approach would appeal to the later adopters, the ones that don't want to be left behind (and thus stand out). The fear of being without FIRST would then outweigh the fear of not changing.

Don't take this as any type of mandate in how you talk about FIRST, but do use it as food for thought as you think about how we grow - and who get's left behind...

Who starts FTC teams?

I just added a quick poll question to the FTC blog (on the right) - "Who starts FTC teams?"

Teams are formed in a variety of ways, including each category listed - and more. What FIRST is trying to get at is how big those nodes are... relatively speaking.

Let us know what you think - and sorry, you can only pick one! and voting closes midnight New Year's Eve.

Tell us your story

Those of us involved with FIRST are lucky enough to be part of a movement - one which is changing the world. We often talk about the "really big" issues associated with an educated population, the ability to solve tough environmental problems, and how cultures evolve based on their ability to use technology effectively.

All that is absolutely true - and it's powerful. It's also true that these really big changes come from thousands of people involved in FIRST as team members, volunteers, and a small staff. Every one of these people have individual stories about how FIRST changed them, their communities, their schools, and their prospects for a better future.

We are lucky to hear many of these stories in "real time" as we interact with you.

What we'd like to do is collect these stories - and pass them along to others. This is how tribes grow, and this is how FIRST has grown. The fact we can communicate easier than ever before makes this story telling easier.

Please send your story to us at stories@usfirst.org. The only guideline to submit is total honesty in conveying your story. If you don't want real names used please tell us - but also please send these stories from a valid email address in case we need to get in touch with you. We will respect your privacy completely.

I'd like to sprinkle these stories into this blog to give you all an feel for what is going on in the FIRST world. Please share your stories with us and help us continue to change the culture.

Below is a story recently submitted by a team:

My husband and I home-school our four children, and neither one of us is an engineer. We first heard about the robotics activities through another parent while attending an unrelated science-technology-engineering-mathematics (STEM) activity held at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC). Excited, I tried to initiate a robotics program for teens within the engineering department of UDC, but it was not be. The good news was that during those struggling weeks, I met Denise (Job) Lewis, Washington DC's robotics missionary. She let us tag along with her teams for the rest of the season. Hooked, we joined Mrs. Lewis' fledgling FTC team for our rookie season.

Our children will never be the same! They built engineering skills, vocabulary and networks, not just a machine. They are confident--they speak to, answer questions for, and demonstrate their robot for strangers comfortably. The children think laterally and understand the essential nature of planning. They own the design cycle and are already incorporating the lessons from last year in this season's strategies. The kids are more ambitious and less fearful as a result of the immediate feedback that only hands-on experiences can lend. They believe that they can contend on a playing field that was out of reach for most of my generation. I could go on and on, not just about my own children, but about the flowering of the entire FTC team. We are all looking forward to an even mightier FTC season this year with an eye toward the FRC level eventually. We are exceedingly blessed to be involved and to share what we learn about the robotics community with other families.

A month of travel

I know this internet thing works in multiple places but I have to admit I've (again) been remiss in posting as is obvious if you have me on an RSS feed.

The good news is that lot's of great things have been happening since the last post and I'll be sharing some of that with you in the upcoming days. The competition season has kicked off, team growth has exceeded expectations (and continues to grow), and "Bowled Over" is proving to be a challenging and fun game to play and watch.

Over the last month I've traveled to Mississippi, Las Vegas, Abu Dhabi, and New York City. While most of us appreciate the cultural differences around the world, to come face-to-face with such a range in under 30 days was interesting.

I'll leave you with a proverb that stuck in my head from the trip - which unfortunately I can't attribute. "The small man builds many cages for men. The large man scatters many keys." FIRST is a key - and if you're reading this your part of the process of scattering them.