Mindsweepers Cleaned Up at State!
[Note: For Week 3's update we have invited the parents of one of our FLL members to share about the 2018-2019 successes of our FLL team, Mindsweepers.]
Perhaps the neatest thing about the Harding Academy Robotics Program is that there is so much more to it than just robotics. When Brylee first mentioned the idea of joining the FIRST Lego League (FLL) team, Mindsweepers, we were hesitant. Having not been involved in robotics before, we had only a glimpse of everything that it entailed. As the season progressed, we were repeatedly excited to see our daughter engaged and invested in teamwork, encouraging others, problem solving, and planning. She worked hard and found out not only how to apply her skill sets to find the solution to a given problem, but also to seek out and apply the skill sets of others so that they could solve the problems as a team.
Early on it was clear that this year Mindsweepers had come together as a team. When we would pick up Brylee after her robotics practices, we were typically greeted with a smile and stories of the fun that had taken place over the previous two hours. When they were faced with problems, we happily watched as the team worked together to come up with solutions. We never heard a word about arguing or rudeness. We simply heard of what different team members were bringing to the table to help solve the problems at hand...and make each other laugh!
When the problem sets were given to the FLL team, the atmosphere that program director Coach Jones created was one of excitement and innovation. We saw and heard students excited about the projects that they would be presenting and the manner in which they would be presenting. Throughout the season the mindset was always one of anticipating success because of the hard work being done.
Once the team decided on a plan for this year's challenges, it was fun to see them work in the different skill sets and strengths of the team members. It was truly an effort that took advantage of the personalities and skill of the different team members. So often group projects fall on the shoulders of one or two people who are deemed more capable of carrying the load. This was not the case with FLL. The work load and encouragement was evenly distributed by the coaching of Brian Jones and high school mentors, Theo Westbrook and Libby Selvidge. Students were encouraged not only to take their work seriously but to work hard to make it the best that it can be.
While our daughter's time with FLL did introduce her to programming and did allow her to gain and apply some math skills, it also caused her to confront her nervousness about public speaking. It helped her learn how to lead her peers as well as how to follow them. There is no substitute for the leadership skills she has to learn, and Coach Jones gives the students just enough space to explore leadership in a safe way. His guidance is helpful and not overbearing. He gives them real-world feedback on their performance and then challenges them to make it better. When mistakes are made Coach Jones will point them out, but the emphasis is not on the mistake; instead it’s on the correction and then the changing of standard operating procedures so that the same mistakes do not happen again. This gives the students the confidence to truly excel.
From a parenting perspective we cannot say enough good things about FLL. We went from being nervous at the start of the season to being excited for the next season to start. Coach Jones has done such a fantastic job of building a culture of excellence. His kind, yet straightforward manner with the students has helped them see that sometimes your “best” is not enough. It may need to get better to be competitive with the projects that the other teams are bringing. This is such a fantastic life lesson. These students are learning that more is required of them than simply the desire to win. They are learning that victory is only truly found in the consistent, personal pursuit of excellence.
The season culminated with the team’s trip to Fayetteville, Arkansas for the State Championship. What was most striking was the confidence and expectation the team had for themselves. This team of 7 students, 5 being new members this year, won 1st place in Robot Performance with a high score of 205 points! They also won the Judges award for Innovation. As parents, we were excited for their success, but we are most pleased by the growth in confidence, problem solving, and ability to hear constructive criticism and apply it to becoming better people! They have learned a lot and will carry these lessons not only into the next FFL season, but into other classrooms, team projects, and life experiences.
Thank you sponsors!
