WFA Charter
As lifelong supporters of the vision and mission of FIRST, we are guardians of the FIRST culture. We endeavor to champion the legacy of our friend, and mentor, Dr. Woodie Flowers and the culture he nurtured by:
- Emulating the spirit of Dr. Woodie Flowers by being role models for mentors and students in the FIRST community;
- Maintaining the continued integrity of the Woodie Flowers Award;
- Advising FIRST regarding matters critical to the protection of the FIRST culture.
Ethics and FIRST Robotics Competition
Gracious Professionalism has been part of FIRST since the beginning. In our current world climate there are a lot of detractors and distractions from doing things the right way. Many of us are concerned that if we don't make our beliefs in Gracious Professionalism and Ethics more important, the future FIRST community may suffer.
Dr. Flowers and the WFA group are working to provide ideas and lesson plans for you to try with your teams. This is important and difficult work, but really worth the effort.
Team Ethics Framework
A four-step process developed by Dr. Woodie Flowers for teams to build their own ethical guidelines.
Open the Conversation
Facilitate discussion connecting Gracious Professionalism to ethics, preparing teams for the inevitable ethical challenges they will face during the competition season.
Research Professional Codes
Have select members research professional codes of ethics from diverse organizations, then present findings to the team, highlighting similarities and differences across fields.
Draft Your Own Code
Divide the team into small subgroups to draft behavioral codes addressing: internal team interactions, pre-competition team conduct, competition-phase behavior, and community engagement.
Vote and Publish
Collect submissions, allow team members to privately rate code importance, then facilitate group discussion and voting on the most valued statements before publishing your team's finalized code.
Gracious Professionalism
"Competition for the sake not of destroying one another, but for the sake of bettering and improving both competitors as a result of the competition."
— Dr. Woodie Flowers