INDIANAPOLIS -- When Pleasant Run Elementary in Indianapolis decided to launch a competitive robotics team last fall, coach Lisa Hopper said she had one goal and one goal only: to avoid humiliation. <\/p>\n
\"I said, 'I hope we don't embarrass ourselves, and if that happens I'll be a happy coach,'\" Hopper said. <\/p>\n
CBS News <\/p>\n
The school is in a high-poverty neighborhood, so the kids don't have many resources. And her 4th grade team didn't know the first thing about robotics. <\/p>\n
Nevertheless, the Pleasant Run Pantherbots began studying and then designing a robot to complete the assigned task. In the beginning there were a few successes -- and a lot of failures. <\/p>\n
Although the kids say the biggest disappointment had nothing to do with their robot. At one of their first matches, an adult in the crowd heckled a Hispanic teammate, told him to \"go back to Mexico.\" <\/p>\n
The Pleasant Run Pantherbots team <\/p>\n
CBS News <\/p>\n
\"I don't know why they did that,\" the boy said. <\/p>\n
\"That was actually kind of hurtful for them to say that,\" said a student. <\/p>\n
The incident was demoralizing, but far from debilitating. In fact, it only made the kids work harder and stay after school later. <\/p>\n
\"I was so mad 'cause that happened, but I was actually kind of glad because we beat their butts,\" one of the kids said. <\/p>\n
That's a poetic way of saying they channeled that insult into a victory at the city tournament. They went on to win at state, too. And just last week competed in the world championships in Louisville, Kentucky. <\/p>\n
The Pantherbots at the national championship <\/p>\n
CBS News <\/p>\n
They didn't win it all, but they made it to the final round. Hardly the humiliation their coach had feared. <\/p>\n
\"They started with nothing and created something fantastic,\" Hopper said. <\/p>\n
The kids are all now talking about technical careers. Someday they may build incredible robots. But for now their greatest contribution remains purely human. <\/p>\n
\"All of our team, everybody in America, it's gotta be mixed. It's a melting pot,\" one said. <\/p>\n
To contact On the Road, or to send us a story idea, email us: OnTheRoad@cbsnews.com<\/a>. <\/p>\n 2017 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n View post:<\/p>\n Indiana kids defy the odds on their school robotics team - CBS News<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" INDIANAPOLIS -- When Pleasant Run Elementary in Indianapolis decided to launch a competitive robotics team last fall, coach Lisa Hopper said she had one goal and one goal only: to avoid humiliation. \"I said, 'I hope we don't embarrass ourselves, and if that happens I'll be a happy coach,'\" Hopper said Continue reading