Tomorrow is the day!

School starts tomorrow. The classroom is all setup and as ready to go as it can be.

Today, I received a call from the First Robotics Regional Director from Houston. We visited for over an hour on the phone. She was a wealth of information. All three of her sons participated in FRC when they were in High School, in fact they are all still involved with the program. Robotics mom instead of soccer mom. I will need to find some Computer Moms and Dads here in Westlake.
She put my mind more at ease about the competition in the Spring. The contest will be the 4th weekend of March at the Merrill Center in Katy, Texas. We can also attend more than one regional but they must be two weeks apart so we can get the Robot returned and then shipped to the next event.

The most important piece of information I received was about the building of the Robot. If we do not finish before the ship date, go ahead and ship the Robot. Teams will help make final touches to the Robot at the Regional competition. First Robotics is truly about making the entire program better. One example is what they called gracious professionalism.

Dr. Woodie Flowers, FIRST National Advisor and Pappalardo Professor of Mechanical Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, coined the term "Gracious Professionalism."

Gracious Professionalism is part of the ethos of FIRST. It's a way of doing things that encourages high-quality work, emphasizes the value of others, and respects individuals and the community.

With Gracious Professionalism, fierce competition and mutual gain are not separate notions. Gracious professionals learn and compete like crazy, but treat one another with respect and kindness in the process. They avoid treating anyone like losers. No chest thumping tough talk, but no sticky-sweet platitudes either. Knowledge, competition, and empathy are comfortably blended.

In the long run, Gracious Professionalism is part of pursuing a meaningful life. One can add to society and enjoy the satisfaction of knowing one has acted with integrity and sensitivity.

Teams compete at a high level but not at the expense of their fellow competitors or community. John Sperry from Anderson High School has already demonstrated this aspect in his willingness to volunteer his knowledge and offer his input as well as advice about his program.

We need to order some VEX kits and begin to work with them in the class. The VEX controller will be used in the FTC as well as the FRC.

First year teams can qualify for the National Competition in two ways: qualifying for nationals by winning the regional or winning Rookie of the Year as Anderson High School did this past year. You can also apply to go to the National Championships by applying. Applicants are chosen on a Tier system. We would be in Tier 1 since this is our first year to compete. Of course, you would still have to pay the entry fee.

She advised looking at Team Delphi website for resources. They have an unbelievable program.