Mission, Texas- What do you get when you bring together about 1,000 students and a nationally recognized educator and the subject of a major motion picture and documentary film. You get the Mission CISD Robotics Revolution. The event included robotics and engineering students from each Mission Consolidated Independent School District (CISD) campus, elementary school through high school. The Robotics Revolution event featured Fredi Lajvardi, a nationally recognized STEM educator and subject of the critically acclaimed documentary, Underwater Dreams, and the major motion picture, Spare Parts.
The Robotics Revolution was designed to inspire and challenge the students. Through the examples of his own students and story, Lajvardi illustrated to the students at the event how his own students had overcome obstacles similar to what they might face and how they too can achieve what seems unachievable. “Your limits are only set by yourself,” he explained to the audience.
Over the last several years, Mission CISD has been building a strong reputation in the area of robotics. This has included robotics teams qualifying for state and national competitions. The successes had very humble beginnings as a small, after-school program offered to migrant junior high school students in the district. Gradually this grew to include programs in all junior high schools and high schools, and now also includes elementary schools.
Mission CISD junior high school students have qualified for the National Science Bowl three years in a row (Alton Memorial Jr. High School twice and Mission Jr. High School once). Veterans Memorial High School has sent an underwater robotics team to the National SeaPerch competition, and other regional and state championships have been earned in recent years.
While the benefits in promoting an interest in Science, Technology, Engineering, Math (STEM) related fields may be the more obvious, district officials say the robotics programs go much further in developing the whole child. “You are tapping into creativity, problem-solving, teamwork, writing, oral presentations and demonstrations, and even artistic aspects of education,” said Dr. Ricardo Lopez, superintendent. “We may not be as well financed as teams elsewhere in the state or nation, but our students are discovering that they are more than capable enough to truly compete with top students from throughout the country through their work in robotics. I really think we are just beginning to scratch the surface of what our students are capable of in this area and it is exciting to see them challenge themselves through the robotics competitions.”
In addition to Lajvardi’s presentation, South Texas College’s Institute for Advanced Manufacturing brought along some of their robots.
After the main Robotics Revolution event with students was completed, Lajvardi shared with about 100 district teachers, and campus and district administrators in a smaller afternoon session.
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