One of the great perks of mentoring an FTC team is meeting incredible young people. A young woman who is balancing two AP courses, SATs, work and a social life taking a night a week to configure and program a robot to compete in this year’s FIRST Technology Challenge (FTC) Cascade Effect competition; a young middle schooler who taught himself two different programming languages patiently wading through instructions on how to use LabView to program the robot to maneuver through the intricate playing field. The level of maturity is several 8th graders who have come with FIRST Lego League experience, ready to jump into a more sophisticated challenge. Five schools, ten kids, and an incredible coach who has helped program robots for NASA and U.S. Defense contractors. How amazing to work around people excited to master hard skills and work hard to level up novice abilities while building a team.
There is still time to start a team, whether you want to start an FLL team, an FTC team, or a FRC (FIRST Robotics Competition) team. Why start a team you ask?
You get…
Fun
A new way to watch kids learn and grow!
Friends – who have been there done that!
Help – lots and lots of experienced experts that will guide you along the way!
What does it cost?
Sleep – even at bedtime you may be thinking about what else you can do to improve the robot!
Time – for 6 weeks you will be involved in helping students develop their skills in Science, Technology,
Engineering and Math. (Shhhh Don’t tell the kids that—they think they are having fun!)
Money– yes, but we can help you with that too. There are grants for new teams! To qualify for it you
have to sign your team up!
Who benefits?
Your students – get a chance at real world experiences, and collaborative learning.
Your organization – gets a new team to root for and the joy of helping these students.
You – will never be the same again in a great way.
Fun, work, learning, in organized events like a Super Bowl for robots and students!
I live in the intersection of mathematics (originally trained as a math teacher), a business owner, a parent, and a theologian exploring what brings meaning to life. My passion is for every child in our world to thrive. I believe the most important resource each child has is you, their parent. May we together Grow a Generation that of innovative, critical thinking collaborators, emotionally intelligent and resilient, with great leadership and vision.
Permanent link to this article: https://growageneration.com/2014/10/09/the-incredible-benefits-of-mentoring-first-robotics/
[…] My experience in robotics during my senior year was similar to my junior year. I was surrounded by a group of dedicated, brilliant students who were all attempting to achieve the same goal – be the best we can be. We did not win, but the experiences and knowledge that was earned instead more than made up for any losses throughout our attended competitions. Robotics allowed me to develop deep rooted friendships with many who were as passionate as me. Robotics also strengthened my interests in engineering by exposing that engineering is more than just work – there is incredible reward by creating something, even if it isn’t the most successful something (This blog post goes more in depth with how I benefited from robotics: http://www.ellencavanaugh.com/2014/10/09/the-incredible-benefits-of-mentoring-first-robotics/). […]
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[…] My experience in robotics during my senior year was similar to my junior year. I was surrounded by a group of dedicated, brilliant students who were all attempting to achieve the same goal – be the best we can be. We did not win, but the experiences and knowledge that was earned instead more than made up for any losses throughout our attended competitions. Robotics allowed me to develop deep rooted friendships with many who were as passionate as me. Robotics also strengthened my interests in engineering by exposing that engineering is more than just work – there is incredible reward by creating something, even if it isn’t the most successful something (This blog post goes more in depth with how I benefited from robotics: http://www.ellencavanaugh.com/2014/10/09/the-incredible-benefits-of-mentoring-first-robotics/). […]