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 (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. There are different programs within FIRST, such as FTC and FLL. There are lots of other different robotics competition 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 soley designed/built by students or mentors, but rather a collaboration). Another key difference is the size and power of the robots. Robots in FRC are much larger and have more potential energy than other robotics programs, and play on a much larger field.
Two terms you'll hear frequently in FRC are Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition:
What is Pearadox?
Pearadox 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 small business - we are a lot more than 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 at Turner High School in the robotics room.
Do I need to be a Turner student to join?
No! The team is comprised of students from Dawson, Turner and Pearland. You do however need to be a high school student
Do I need to be a part of Pearland ISD in order to join the team?
Pearland ISD has determined that only Pearland ISD students may join Pearadox.
What if I live in Pearland?
Unfortunately even if you live in Pearland, you must be a student in the district to join.
What are the requirements to be on the team?
The main requirement is that FIRST Robotics Competition is UIL (http://firstintexas.org/uil/) so team members need to maintain all requirements of any other UIL programs. No pass, No play.
When can I/my student join?
Once you're done with your 8th grade year, you may start considering yourself able to join the team. We typically do off season competitions during the summer. However, late summer/fall is when we'll 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 - by no means does being a Pearadox member mean you can not be a member of other clubs. We've had crucial team members be a part of band, tennis, work jobs, and maintain their very high class rank.
Longer -answer:
Most would probably consider us 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. To attend competitions, we expect students to average around 15 hrs/week minimum Jan-March.
My expectation for students are that if they want to go to competitions with us that they are at least attending a majority of weekend meetings in the spring, and weekday meetings where possible. I remind students, and we have posters in the room that remind students, that their priority needs to be Self -> Family -> School -> Robotics. We have some engaged team members that attend nearly every meeting while maintaining their grades and keeping jobs, but I know that is a very tough life to balance. We also 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, speech and debate, 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 (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. There are different programs within FIRST, such as FTC and FLL. There are lots of other different robotics competition 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 soley designed/built by students or mentors, but rather a collaboration). Another key difference is the size and power of the robots. Robots in FRC are much larger and have more potential energy than other robotics programs, and play on a much larger field.
Two terms you'll hear frequently in FRC are Gracious Professionalism and Coopertition:
- 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.
- Coopertition 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 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 small business - we are a lot more than 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 at Turner High School in the robotics room.
Do I need to be a Turner student to join?
No! The team is comprised of students from Dawson, Turner and Pearland. You do however need to be a high school student
Do I need to be a part of Pearland ISD in order to join the team?
Pearland ISD has determined that only Pearland ISD students may join Pearadox.
What if I live in Pearland?
Unfortunately even if you live in Pearland, you must be a student in the district to join.
What are the requirements to be on the team?
The main requirement is that FIRST Robotics Competition is UIL (http://firstintexas.org/uil/) so team members need to maintain all requirements of any other UIL programs. No pass, No play.
When can I/my student join?
Once you're done with your 8th grade year, you may start considering yourself able to join the team. We typically do off season competitions during the summer. However, late summer/fall is when we'll 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 - by no means does being a Pearadox member mean you can not be a member of other clubs. We've had crucial team members be a part of band, tennis, work jobs, and maintain their very high class rank.
Longer -answer:
Most would probably consider us 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. To attend competitions, we expect students to average around 15 hrs/week minimum Jan-March.
My expectation for students are that if they want to go to competitions with us that they are at least attending a majority of weekend meetings in the spring, and weekday meetings where possible. I remind students, and we have posters in the room that remind students, that their priority needs to be Self -> Family -> School -> Robotics. We have some engaged team members that attend nearly every meeting while maintaining their grades and keeping jobs, but I know that is a very tough life to balance. We also 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, speech and debate, 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.
