Neal Bascomb: "The New Cool"
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2011-03-03/neal-bascomb-new-cool
Author Neal Bascomb
Courtesy Random House
Model building has fascinated teens for generations. But in the 21st century, tinkering with machines has reached a whole new level. This year thousands of American students – boys and girls -- will participate in the world’s premiere robotics competition. High school seniors and their mentors from across the country take part in the unusual sport – one that celebrates brains rather than brawn. Ambitious teams design and build robots from scratch. Those who advance to the finals compete before 40,000 screaming fans. What their drive for success could mean for sparking innovation in American education -- and defining a new cool.
Guests
Neal Bascomb
bestselling author of "The Perfect Mile" and contributor to "The New York Times".
Amir Abo-Shaeer
Director and Teacher of the Dos Pueblos Engineering Academy in Goleta, California. He was awarded a MacArthur Fellowship in 2010 for inspiring and preparing public high school students for careers in science and mathematics.
Dean Kamen
President of DEKA Research & Development Corporation. He founded FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology)in 1989, a program to promote student interest in science, technology, and engineering.
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Author Extra: Neal Bascomb Answers Questions
Q: My son was involved in robotics and competed at FIRST for 3 years - I was extremely impressed with the wide range of talents and personalities involved. Like the team you followed our team was small, and not funded! The lack of funding was very apparent the first year. Could you please address some of the financial aspects of FIRST?
A: FIRST is a tremendous program, but yes, I totally understand the issues with finances. Running an FRC team is often an expensive proposition, even though the organization tries to help support teams in various ways financially.
Couple things:
a. There is also the FTC program, a less expensive/intensive program that FIRST runs, which is growing steadily.
b. I'd venture to say that the fundraising for FRC can/should be viewed as part of the learning process. Students engage in promotion, proposals, pitches, an experience that they will no doubt encounter in the working world.
Hope that illuminates...
Q: Are the robots true robots, that is they operate independently, or are they radio controlled with the students operating the radio controller? (Sam in Kansas)
A: Yes, the robot are true robots, though not of the anthropomorphic ideal that you would imagine. They are able to run autonomously, necessary for one aspect of the game, as well as be guided by pilots. Feedback from sensors is essential for both. My suggestion, come out and see a competition in your local area (go to usfirst.org) and I think you'll be dutifully impressed!
Q: Listening with great interest this AM. Can Mr. Bascomb offer some practical ideas of how to nurture this love at a young age? My soon-to-be kindergardener LOVES all things mechanical. (Christopher in Indianapolis)
A: That's a great question and points to the fastest growing part of the "FIRST Experience." There are over 20,000 Junior Lego and Lego league teams where young students , kindergarten and beyond, can start experience the joys of robot building. They are tremendous fun, and I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Q: I am THRILLED with this program. I'm the Director of a hands-on science museum on Birmingham Alabama - McWane Science Center. We direct a state-wide year-long science competition called Celebrate Science. It really turns on kids and teachers. We've impacted thousands of kids, and it has been wonderful.
There are two big obstacles to widespread success:
- Our program requires an enormous amount of teacher dedication;
- Our program is NOT in the curriculum....it is extra work.
How can we create widespread acceptance of hands-on science learning given that it often requires superstar teachers? How can we drive this kind of pedagogy into the curriculum?
Thanks....Keep up the great work.* (Tim)
A: Appreciate the note and thank you for all your work to inspire students to STEM. To encourage the acceptance of hands-on science learning, I would point educators toward what Amir is doing in Goleta, CA (as featured in the book). His program fits in with the curriculum and he is now in the process of helping spread this curriculum to other schools in California (and hopefully soon, nationally). I'd encourage you to have FIRST mentors come in and talk to junior highs and high schools in your area (and make sure they bring members of their team). Best promotion comes through the students.
Comments
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What are the robots fighting over, competing for? Our jobs.
Building a robot, then, is very much like taking a trip to India to train your lower waged replacement.
I always thought the solar car competition was cool. But now they've been doing the same things for 25 years. And the solar airplane, and the pedal airplane, and the bicycle speed record, more boring than biathalon.
Technology for humans seems stuck in time like the soon to be retired space shuttle. Watson finally lost on Jeopardy. What would he do with $100,000 in winnings? Why buy electricity of course, or maybe some faster processors so he could track our credit and buying histories, and our politics- to forestall "unrest."
The new technology seems to be serving the Golem we call corporations, and their brains we call computers, and their weapons we call surveillance and drones, and their wealth we call debt.
Great commentary Pancake.
I will listen to see if they address it in depth. The truth is that brawn has been fetish-ized, but "brains" like ruling, educated elites and royalty have always had more power and been more desirable.
In the Arab world right now there is an abundance of educated out of work young adults, who after educating themselves look down on manual work, even with no alternative. Is the brains versus brawn dichotomy an example of the increasing disparity between haves and have-nots?
Keith, your attention feels like a dozen yellow roses since I was banned from On Point commentary yesterday. My campaign is to humanize globalization and to abolish wage slavery. Have you any strategies?
I spoke about sadism on the Mexican friction page. The other thing students are encouraged to do is to make video games: the violent and sexually debasing ones bring in the dough. And all of it is so alien and poor: Witness the sterile movie Inception. As students and techs make faster processors this will only enable the corporate mind to exploit and oppress us more effectively. Corporate capitalism and ridiculous property rights must be tamed to save humanity from these tendencies. Put students to work on that one.
Lets just hope that a new moral scientist majority can rise in the wake of the science breakthroughs, ones where the scientists, similar to unions, can stand together to say no to the more immoral applications. Immoral applications like controlling peoples lives through unjust surveillance, manipulations of class through tech, or any of the more dehumanizing possibilities. The science does not stop, so calling back the thought soldiers from the front lines of creation will never work. The best way to control anything is to co-opt it, this has been done to the American public for many years and we see its effectiveness in how complicit we are.
I became a mentor of FIRST Robotics Challenge because I know first hand how influential such programs can be.
I owe my career to our country's response to Sputnik. This is my chance to give young people the kind of help that I received.
The launch of the Russian satellite, Sputnik, caused an upheaval in the US education system. One result was a series of evening technical seminars offered to promising high school students. I was offered the chance to attend these, which involved study and preparation in unfamiliar fields of science.
As with many students, the difficulty of these seminars caused me to rise to the challenge. I changed from a flaky goof-off to a “promising student”, eventually resulting in my being offered the chance to attend college at MIT.
This program is showing EXACTLY why 'thinking out of the box' is incredilbly important in our schools and in our country.
Sadly, the innovation of this teacher, the enthusiasm of the students, and the support of the administration and parents are so VERY DIFFICULT to pull together. It is essential that EVERY spark be fed to build the flames of education.
Then we have audience folks who are worrying about 'robots.' Do you own and use any electronic device? I guarantee that they were built, at least in part, by pick and place robots. This teacher is engaging students who have never repaired a bicycle, changed a vacuum cleaner belt, jacked up an automobile, or changed a furnace filter--and this program is providing a quick baptism in to how the physical world works.
Alternatively, a monstrous block of the population (young and old) will 'nourish' themselves on pablum pertaining to J Bieber and A N Smith.
We are truly in a downward spiral of entertainment/sports preoccupation and this 'foreign-sounding' name fellow is a leader in turning the tide.
Hooray ! ! (Thanks, Diane for doing this show)
In terms of switching careers and not getting credit for time in the previous career -- Teachers in Michigan rarely get more than seven years (the average is less) of credit if they switch districts -- and they were teaching!
This is my first year involved in a FIRST team as a mentor. One of the big challenges facing many teams is that they are considered "clubs" rather than "teams". This doesn't allow the teachers who sponsor the team to receive "coaching pay". Our teacher mentors/coaches spend so many hours of their own time on this, it's too bad they aren't recognized appropriately.
http://FirebirdRobotics.com
(FIRST Team 3019, Chaparral HS, Scottsdale AZ)
It's called Industrial Design
What a great comment by Mr. Abo-Shaeer. The combination of Engineering and Art is called Industrial Design. A concept still foreign to far too many in the engineering and business world on our side of the planet. European and Asian companies have long since integrated design as a fundamental part of the product design process. It gives me hope to hear someone like Mr. Abo-Shaeer promote a vision of solutions found on both the left and right side of the brain.
Thankfully, Dean Kamen is very familiar with Industrial Design.
http://idsa.org/
My son Ian in on his first FIRST team this year. "Stryke Force" sponsored by Stryker Medical in Kalamazoo, MI. He is going to the first competition this weekend in Traverse City, MI.
Best of luck to all in FIRST.
David Middleton, IDSA
Adjunct Asst. Professor of Product Design
Department of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering
Western Michigan University - Parkview Campus
Kalamazoo, Michigan
How does FIRST compare to other robotics competition organizations?
My family LOVES the 1st Robotic program. We go every year to GVSU to see the competition, there. My sons are 9 and 3 and have so much fun seeing the contraptions that these kids come up with.
We are a family that does not usually get into competitive sports. We don't normally get excited about games. But when we are sitting in the stands watching the kids compete so earnestly we can't help but stand up and cheer them on. I hope that both of my boys will be able to participate when they are older.
Thank you for a great program!
I am a huge fan of Dean Kamen. My husband and I have been running the Silver Spring chapter of the Jr. FIRST LEGO League for three years now. We've been signing up the same kids every session and it's a lot of fun.
Last fall I decided that I wanted to reach more people - so we started an after school and evening enrichment program - Adventures with Robots - we are offering classes all over MoCo and are also offering three at-cost classes at Montgomery Housing Partnership - We are big believers in making these classes and technologies more available in general, but especially to lower income kids.
shout out to Dean Sheridan at Glenelg HS, Glenelg, MD who has 125 students in engineering studies as well as robotics!
Was thrilled to hear this topic. I am the proud mama of two students who traveled with FIRST robotics team # 68 Truck Town Thunder. They both have become wonderful students all around. Their writing and communication skills are also strengthened as students need to be able to communicate effectively with mentors and school boards. Both boys are studying engineering at Michigan Tech. The FIRST experience has directly translated to success in their other activities. I can't say enough for their mentors or the program in general.
@ Pancake: I agree the state of jobs in US manufacturing is a disaster. But it's not gonna stop until we get the govt to make major changes in "free" trade and tax policies - go whale on your local TeaParty for that.
Meanwhile, we need to help kids out of the box the adults are trying to lock them in. This kind of program (First) can mesh really well with the work-study programs they were talking about on On Point One young woman caller spoke about how eye-opening it was for her to do something REAL - make something, and be part of a team. This could help break down our present class segregation ( and I do mean "class" in both definitions), when the kids see that the student who gets "D" in academic subjects is a whiz in spatial relations and designing widgets. My daughter & husband were involved in a prog called Destination Imagination in 4-5th grade, and it's awesome what kids can do when they are turned loose on a challenge, with adults who just facilitate their ideas and work, instead of taking it over. Right now in Utah we have a bunch of far-right GOP legislators who call public schools "monopolies" and "government schools", and have succeeded in starving funding to Utah public 1-12 schools so that we have 35-40 kids per class in Jr. High & high school. So now they can complain that the system isn't working, and taxpayers should provide vouchers for private schools ( who are in bed with some of the legislators). I think their idea is that Mexicans won't want to immigrate here, legally or illegally, if we have the same lack of unions, lack of worker safety rules, and lack of public ed that Mexico now has. Grrrr....
Be careful that you are fighting with your true enemies.
Going to a FIRST competition is wonderful for all participants. As each team's robot overcomes an obstacle in the year's challenge every team cheers. Even when their team is an opponent they will cheer the other team's achievement. My son's team sponsored a team from Australia last year and it was fun to cheer on this rookie team.
I've been a judge at two FTC competitions and recently I was the coach for my son's FLL team. What is truly amazing is how innovative students can be when given the chance. FIRST is a wonderful program and we as a society will reap the benefits in coming years.
For those new coaches or adults thinking of coaching a FLL team a word of advice: get other adult assistance for every meeting. The biggest issue I faced was "classroom management". I am a mechanical engineer with no experience dealing with groups of young kids. If managing engineers is like herding cats, well managing kids is like herding gremlins. The other thing is FLL does not equal Lego play time. FLL is part science fair project and part robot competition. Whatever you do, don't wait until the mission has been announced to start building robots. The more experience they have with the building kit and using the sensors and motors and designing, the better off they'll be when the mission is announced.
Diane, thanks for another great show.
Steve
When a company indicated that it could not have achieved the result that these kids achieved in only 6 weeks, I wondered if the kids were burdened by such constraints as the legal costs and personnel office costs regarding minimum wage laws, other labour laws for minors, OSHA and Workers' Compensation regulations, and environmental impacts, as well as the considerations of the aesthetics for commercial viability. I would bet that the kids focused primarily on getting the product to work.
I would also wonder how these considerations vary from country to country and from state to state, and what the economic, political, and environmental consequences of such differences are.
With regard to the transition from Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics fields to education, especially secondary education, I find that teachers are expected to know much more about differences in learning styles (auditory, visual, kinaesthetic, etc), differences in racial, ethnic, and socio-economic backgrounds, gender differences, self-esteem issues, behaviour modification and classroom control than knowing the subject that is to be taught. As a mathematician and theoretical physicist, if I knew enough about these things to be qualified at all, knowing math and physics as I do would make me 'highly qualified', but without a degree in education, and a teaching certificate, I cannot even begin to apply.
@David Middleton
I am a Senior high school student who has been involved in FIRST since middle school. Because of FIRST, I am planning on majoring in Industrial Design. Just by being in a machine shop environment and seeing all the beautiful robots teams make, helped me realize that I wanted to design things. It is a great feeling to see the end product and know exactly how it works.
Good luck to Stryke Force! I'll be on the lookout for them on the webcast!
Erin Wenig
Flying Platypi
team2655.org
Sponsored three elementary teams in the FIRST Lego League at my son's school. Our Gifted And Talented (GATE) Program got cut. Hoping to expand the program throughout the district and smaller rural districts where we live.
We had 10 weeks of trying to figure out a solution. We accomplished some of our goals, learned about teaching robotics, and look forward to next season.
The FIRST program is a great way to engage kids and help build those engineers we so desperately need.
I loved Amir including art into the equation...that helps keep the program rounded.
I really wish I could live long enough to see robots take over altogether. Humans have made such a mess of it, that really we should pass on the baton to the next crew. Will they then seek to destroy us, like Terminators? If they do, it's probably because we deserve it. Anyhow, what's wrong with robots running the world, and having us as their pets? They'll feed us and pat our heads. We will be no threat to them :) The chances are, that we'll destroy ourselves before they have the chance to take over, and that worries me. What if Jesus turns out to be a robot too?
I am a senior in high school in central california and have been a part of FIRST Robotics since my freshmen year.
I FREAKING LOVE IT.
The whole atmosphere of it being okay to be a nerd and knowing how to wire a bot, it's just the most exciting thing ever.
Plus it helps if you're trying to become an electrical engineer!
Team 2035 ROBO ROCKIN BOTS FOR LIFE!
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I have had 3 children in this program. Our family has financially and physically supported this team for 7 years. Because of this program, my oldest son is doing a mechanical engineering internship which he got because of metal machining skills he received when he was part of the program.
My daughter is going through to be a biotechnical engineer to create robotic prosthetics - a desire inspired by this program and Dean Kamen's invention of the prosthetic arm that can be used to hold something as delicate as a grape. When she was 16, she enrolled in the local junior college to learn welding.
My youngest is being inspired to pursue electrical engineering by wiring the robot. While he still has 2 more possible years in the program, he is able to try his hand at programming, CAD (now fluent in Inventor (CAD) and LabView (programming) as a sophomore in high school), electronics, machining, and is learning real-world skills.
We have seen kids come into this program knowing absolutely nothing about tools and leave knowing how to not only use power tools but can intelligently use physics, understand gear ratios and have had to live with the creation they have designed. I just received an email from a student who had to come to grips with realizing his mini-bot was not the best design and will need to be improved.
I see this program as creating well-rounded, productive , employable people who will hopefully help to get America its leading edge again.