frequently asked questions
We get a lot of questions, and will try to collect some common questions below:
What is FIRST?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science in technology is an organization founded in 1989 (With its first competition in 1992). The mission of FIRST® is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
We compete in FIRST Robotics Competition, or FRC. Within FIRST there are different programs, such as FTC and FLL. There are many other robotics competitions as well, such as Vex, Seapearch, and TCEA. A key difference between FRC and other programs is the idea that mentors and students should work together (ie - it's not just designed/built by students or mentors, but rather as a collaboration). Another key difference is the size and power of the robots. Robots in FRC are much larger and have more energy than other robotics programs and play on a much larger field.
Two terms you'll hear frequently in FRC are Gracious Professionalism and Cooperation:
What is Pearadox?
Pearadox is an FRC team that was founded in the summer of 2014 with 3 industry mentors and about 7 students meeting out of a garage. In the fall of 2014, we got approval to become a team within Pearland ISD and began working out of Turner High School and recruited to a size of about 25 students: primarily freshman. Since that time, we have grown to more than 10 mentors, more than 40 students, a renovated facility with the machinery that enables us to compete at a high level with the dedication from our team members.
Pearadox functions as a de facto business, more than just a robotics team. We value team members that help with our branding, imagery, photography/videography, fundraising, budgeting, organizing our outreach and planning how we promote ourselves to possible sponsors, VIPs, and judges as much as students that join to build robots. We expect all team members to help with demonstrations, outreach, and mentoring the younger robotics programs in the district.
We meet year-round, primarily out of Turner, but are open to any Pearland ISD high school student. Team members not only acquire the technical skills for building a robot, many have learned skills in time management, project planning, public speaking, team building, leadership, and interviewing skills. They are able to grow from the interactions with their peers who perform a wide variety of roles, and from interactions with members of other teams who have a wide background from all over the world.
Where do you meet?
We meet year round at Robert Turner College and Career High School in the Robotics Lab.
Do I need to be a Turner student to join?
No! The team is comprised of students from all 3 Pearland High School. However, to attend you MUST be in or incoming to high school.
Do I need to be a part of Pearland ISD in order to join the team?
Unfortunately, registration is only open to Pearland ISD students.
What if I live in Pearland but am not in Pearland ISD?
As mentioned above, even if you are in Pearland, we only accept students from PISD
What are the requirements to be on the team?
The main requirement is that FIRST Robotics Competition is a UIL competition, (http://firstintexas.org/uil/) so team members need to maintain all UIL requirements. No pass, No play. However, to attend competitions you will need to have 5+ hours of mentoring.
When can I/my student join?
Once you're done with your 8th grade year (incoming High School Freshman), you may start considering yourself able to join the team. We typically do off season competitions during the summer to get some experience for new members. However, late summer/fall is when we really start focusing on training new members, so the early months of the summer may be a little overwhelming for some.
How many hours do I need to commit? (AKA Can I/my student do other clubs too?)
Short answer - None, however you will need to at least sometimes show up at meetings, and if you want to go to competitions, 5+ hours of mentoring hours and at least 50% attendance required.
Longer -answer:
Robotics is somewhat of a "spring sport", our competition is announced the first Saturday of January and we design/build/test/practice/compete from Jan-April. During the summer and fall, we typically meet between 1-3 times a week; typically a 9-1, or a 1-6 on Saturdays (sometimes a 9-6 if desired by the team) and if needed a weeknight or two from 5-9. During Jan-March we are often meeting M/W/F from 5-9 and at least Saturdays 9 -6. We occasionally will need to meet on Sundays from 1-6. Hours during late March and through April depend heavily on how far we advance (district/state championship and world championships are in the April time frame). We have all the resources that we are capable of qualifying for the world championships frequently if student effort is there.
Our expectations for students are that if they want to go to competitions with us that they should least attend a majority of weekend meetings in the spring, and weekday meetings where possible. We have some engaged team members that attend nearly every meeting while maintaining their grades and keeping jobs, but that may be hard to balance for some. We still have some engaged team members that can be solid contributors showing up to only 3 meetings a week during build season.
We recognize that many of the students that Pearadox would appeal to will be interested in other time-consuming activities as well, such as band, theater, debate, HOSA, etc. It is up to the student to manage their priorities. As long as our team size stays about where it is, they are absolutely able to come and learn as much as they can in the meetings they can attend. We've had students in band (that we pretty much don't see in the fall) fill crucial roles at competition because they still put in effort outside of team meetings in the fall and were dedicated team members in the spring. Much like anything else, the more time and effort put in will produce better results, so over time some students may find they fall behind their peers in team roles or knowledge. However, I think students, mentors, and parents would all agree that it is still a net benefit even if they share time between activities.
What is FIRST?
For Inspiration and Recognition of Science in technology is an organization founded in 1989 (With its first competition in 1992). The mission of FIRST® is to inspire young people to be science and technology leaders and innovators, by engaging them in exciting mentor-based programs that build science, engineering, and technology skills, that inspire innovation, and that foster well-rounded life capabilities including self-confidence, communication, and leadership.
We compete in FIRST Robotics Competition, or FRC. Within FIRST there are different programs, such as FTC and FLL. There are many other robotics competitions as well, such as Vex, Seapearch, and TCEA. A key difference between FRC and other programs is the idea that mentors and students should work together (ie - it's not just designed/built by students or mentors, but rather as a collaboration). Another key difference is the size and power of the robots. Robots in FRC are much larger and have more energy than other robotics programs and play on a much larger field.
Two terms you'll hear frequently in FRC are Gracious Professionalism and Cooperation:
- 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 respect for individuals and the community.
- Cooperation is founded on the concept and a philosophy that teams can and should help and cooperate with each other even as they compete.
What is Pearadox?
Pearadox is an FRC team that was founded in the summer of 2014 with 3 industry mentors and about 7 students meeting out of a garage. In the fall of 2014, we got approval to become a team within Pearland ISD and began working out of Turner High School and recruited to a size of about 25 students: primarily freshman. Since that time, we have grown to more than 10 mentors, more than 40 students, a renovated facility with the machinery that enables us to compete at a high level with the dedication from our team members.
Pearadox functions as a de facto business, more than just a robotics team. We value team members that help with our branding, imagery, photography/videography, fundraising, budgeting, organizing our outreach and planning how we promote ourselves to possible sponsors, VIPs, and judges as much as students that join to build robots. We expect all team members to help with demonstrations, outreach, and mentoring the younger robotics programs in the district.
We meet year-round, primarily out of Turner, but are open to any Pearland ISD high school student. Team members not only acquire the technical skills for building a robot, many have learned skills in time management, project planning, public speaking, team building, leadership, and interviewing skills. They are able to grow from the interactions with their peers who perform a wide variety of roles, and from interactions with members of other teams who have a wide background from all over the world.
Where do you meet?
We meet year round at Robert Turner College and Career High School in the Robotics Lab.
Do I need to be a Turner student to join?
No! The team is comprised of students from all 3 Pearland High School. However, to attend you MUST be in or incoming to high school.
Do I need to be a part of Pearland ISD in order to join the team?
Unfortunately, registration is only open to Pearland ISD students.
What if I live in Pearland but am not in Pearland ISD?
As mentioned above, even if you are in Pearland, we only accept students from PISD
What are the requirements to be on the team?
The main requirement is that FIRST Robotics Competition is a UIL competition, (http://firstintexas.org/uil/) so team members need to maintain all UIL requirements. No pass, No play. However, to attend competitions you will need to have 5+ hours of mentoring.
When can I/my student join?
Once you're done with your 8th grade year (incoming High School Freshman), you may start considering yourself able to join the team. We typically do off season competitions during the summer to get some experience for new members. However, late summer/fall is when we really start focusing on training new members, so the early months of the summer may be a little overwhelming for some.
How many hours do I need to commit? (AKA Can I/my student do other clubs too?)
Short answer - None, however you will need to at least sometimes show up at meetings, and if you want to go to competitions, 5+ hours of mentoring hours and at least 50% attendance required.
Longer -answer:
Robotics is somewhat of a "spring sport", our competition is announced the first Saturday of January and we design/build/test/practice/compete from Jan-April. During the summer and fall, we typically meet between 1-3 times a week; typically a 9-1, or a 1-6 on Saturdays (sometimes a 9-6 if desired by the team) and if needed a weeknight or two from 5-9. During Jan-March we are often meeting M/W/F from 5-9 and at least Saturdays 9 -6. We occasionally will need to meet on Sundays from 1-6. Hours during late March and through April depend heavily on how far we advance (district/state championship and world championships are in the April time frame). We have all the resources that we are capable of qualifying for the world championships frequently if student effort is there.
Our expectations for students are that if they want to go to competitions with us that they should least attend a majority of weekend meetings in the spring, and weekday meetings where possible. We have some engaged team members that attend nearly every meeting while maintaining their grades and keeping jobs, but that may be hard to balance for some. We still have some engaged team members that can be solid contributors showing up to only 3 meetings a week during build season.
We recognize that many of the students that Pearadox would appeal to will be interested in other time-consuming activities as well, such as band, theater, debate, HOSA, etc. It is up to the student to manage their priorities. As long as our team size stays about where it is, they are absolutely able to come and learn as much as they can in the meetings they can attend. We've had students in band (that we pretty much don't see in the fall) fill crucial roles at competition because they still put in effort outside of team meetings in the fall and were dedicated team members in the spring. Much like anything else, the more time and effort put in will produce better results, so over time some students may find they fall behind their peers in team roles or knowledge. However, I think students, mentors, and parents would all agree that it is still a net benefit even if they share time between activities.