Phil -
Considering the emotional and politicized nature of the Anthropogenic
Global Warming (AGW) debate, I was actually gratified to see that the
theme and project this year were worded in such a way as to not be
specifically about AGW but instead about climate science in general.
One only needs to read newspapers to know that there are many people who
feel VERY strongly about AGW and would naturally look on AGW-oriented
projects with great favor (or disfavor).
It is often true that a student in a university class must write papers
that please the professor's ideological "bent" or risk getting a bad
grade.
I would ask that the judges be reminded to not grade projects higher or
lower based on whether they agree with the political implications of the
project. That should ensure a level playing field for all to succeed on
their merits.
Thanks for all that you do, Phil! Your hard work is certainly
appreciated (as is that of all our wonderful volunteer judges).
Stuart Roll
Team 1494 - Banano Splits (2006)
Team 6567 - Solar Pickles (2007)
Team 3502 & ???? (2008)
-----Original Message-----
From: First Lego League Discussion
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Phil Smith III
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 10:46 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] Project Dilemma
I read Barry's statement to say it doesn't *need* to be about Global
Warming, not that it *cannot* be. If that helps.
--
Phil Smith III
Virginia State Judge Advisor, 2007
Judge Advisor, Northern Virginia Regional tournaments, 2006
Division 1 Judge Advisor, Virginia State tournament, 2006
Coach, The Capital Girls, Oak Hill (retired)
Team 1900 (2002)
Team 2497 (2003)
Team 2355 (2004)
Team 1945 (2005)
-----Original Message-----
From: First Lego League Discussion
[mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Michael Blanpied
Sent: Monday, September 22, 2008 10:20 AM
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Re: [VADCFLL-L] Project Dilemma
At 6:47 PM -0700 9/21/08, Barry Wilbanks wrote:
>This type question was raised at the FLL Partner conference in SC
>where they introduced the challenge.
>
>It was specifically stated NOT be be oriented toward global warming
>or climate change.
Barry,
Who was the source of this "specific statement" warning teams away
from climate change? That would seem most bizarre to me, if it came
from an official source. Climate change is a huge issue, one that
kids should be aware of, and part of what makes this year's climate
theme so compelling. While I see no requirement that the project be
about climate change, it very well could be, and I expect that many
team projects will be. After all, the instructions say, "Research how
climate affects your own community. Identify a climate problem in
your area...," and changing climate is a key problem for many
communities, and one for which innovative solutions are needed.
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