機器人夏令營

楊宇宸

八年級時，我在新澤西的一所學校選修了機器人課。放暑假前，一位老師問我是否愿意在他的夏令營里做志愿者當助教，教一些小學生給機器人編程，我馬上就答應了。

I took robotics lesson in 8th grade in a school in New Jersey. Right before school ends， my robotics teacher asked me if I would like to volunteer for his summer camp. He explained that I can help out the teachers when they teach lessons to primary schoolers. I agreed instantly.

課堂的流程很簡單。老師教給學生們一些基本技能，然后學生們自己編程，去完成不同的挑戰。我的工作就是給孩子們答疑解惑。

The class procedure was simple. The teacher shows the kids basic programming skills， then the kids will make their own programs to complete different challenges. My job was simply to help the kids when they have questions.

第一個挑戰是讓機器人繞一個長方形物體走一圈，然后回到起始位置。

The first challenge was to make the robot go all the way around a rectangular object； and end in the same spot as the starting position.

預料之中，所有人的第一次嘗試都失敗了。預料之外，竟沒有人表現出不耐煩。我提示了幾個孩子他們拐彎的角度有問題，他們向我眨眨眼表示感謝，可愛極了！

All the children， like I predicted， failed on their first tries. But to my surprise， none of them showed signs of impatience. I gave hints to several kids that they should fix the angle of their turns. They blinked at me adorably as “thank you”.

不管怎樣，這個挑戰對于這個年齡的孩子來說還是比較難的。一整天，他們都在不停地嘗試，一遍又一遍。我一次次地對他們的耐心、潛力和能力感到震驚。

Then again， the challenge was fairly hard to these kids. They spent the whole day trying again and again and again… I was shocked again and again by their patience， potential， and capability.

那天快結束時，一個女孩成功地完成了挑戰。孩子們紛紛祝賀她，請教她是怎么做到的。我問了其中一個孩子是否想取代那個女孩的位置，他回答道：“我希望自己是第一個完成挑戰的人，但既然不是，就要繼續努力。我絕不會投機取巧，因為我要自己解決問題。這個過程才是最有趣的啊！”

At the end of that day， a girl successfully completed the challenge. Other kids congratulated her， asking her how she programed her robot. I asked one of the kids if he want to “steal” the girls position. He answered，“I would love to be the first one to complete the challenge. But if Im not， Ill just keep trying. I wont steal her work， though. Because I want to solve it myself. Thats the funniest part！”