Yesterday we spent a happy few hours with Aaron at the New England Robotics Championships, held at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. He has been assisting with the training of high school technology students, and it was exciting for us to see the self-respect and enthusiasm shown by these youthful techies. Aaron took us behind the scenes so we could see the students refining their robots and practicing the various requisite maneuvers, like stacking six large containers  atop each other and then carefully carrying all six to a small, specific spot. The actual competition was in a large indoor stadium packed with contestants, families, and friends. It was almost standing-room only, and passionate cheers exploded again and again as teams successfully steered their robots through the intricate activities. There were even students acting as cheerleaders, urging their fans to ever more impassioned shouting. I might have thought I was at a championship basketball game, but no, this was a tournament for techie kids, the kind of kids who sometimes get lost in a sport-crazy high school. We were thrilled to be there with Aaron, both because he was doing something he obviously loves, and because we were witnessing a new and very welcome development in secondary education.