Wonders All Around

Learning Alongside My 5th Grade Wonders

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#SOL21 – Day 1 – Coaching Robotics

I’ve been a FIRST Lego League (FLL) robotics coach every Fall except for one for the past 10 years. It’s SO much work, but it’s so inspiring and rewarding that I come back every year. This year, with our schools switching schedules so many times and not having after-school activities, we weren’t able to form any school teams. It’s probably a good thing, really, since I never seemed to have any free time in the fall, which is when the FLL season takes place in Michigan. But still, I missed it.

Then, in January, the lead coach for high school robotics team asked if I might be interested in helping them. I wanted to say yes right away, but I knew that I needed to think through the time commitment before agreeing. As a robotics coach, it’s not unusual to spend more than 10 hours a week working with the team.

I decided to go for it, and I was surprised at how much I, an elementary teacher, enjoyed working with high school students. After my third meeting with the Innovation Challenge subgroup, one of the students surprised me by taking the time to say, “Thank you so much for taking the time to mentor us!”

“You’re welcome,” I replied. “You know,” I added, “You’re helping me, too. Before I started working with you, my entire evening was spent plopped down on the couch staring mindlessly at my phone until I decided to go to bed. Now, I’m actually accomplishing something with my evening. I even have the motivation to go for a quick walk between dinner and when I meet with you!”

And this is why I need to keep coaching robotics teams!

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