机器人夏令营

杨宇宸

八年级时，我在新泽西的一所学校选修了机器人课。放暑假前，一位老师问我是否愿意在他的夏令营里做志愿者当助教，教一些小学生给机器人编程，我马上就答应了。

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.

课堂的流程很简单。老师教给学生们一些基本技能，然后学生们自己编程，去完成不同的挑戰。我的工作就是给孩子们答疑解惑。

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.

第一个挑战是让机器人绕一个长方形物体走一圈，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.

预料之中，所有人的第一次尝试都失败了。预料之外，竟没有人表现出不耐烦。我提示了几个孩子他们拐弯的角度有问题，他们向我眨眨眼表示感谢，可爱极了！

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”.

不管怎样，这个挑战对于这个年龄的孩子来说还是比较难的。一整天，他们都在不停地尝试，一遍又一遍。我一次次地对他们的耐心、潜力和能力感到震惊。

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.

那天快结束时，一个女孩成功地完成了挑战。孩子们纷纷祝贺她，请教她是怎么做到的。我问了其中一个孩子是否想取代那个女孩的位置，他回答道：“我希望自己是第一个完成挑战的人，但既然不是，就要继续努力。我绝不会投机取巧，因为我要自己解决问题。这个过程才是最有趣的啊！”

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！”