Mentors Role

[C.Lesco]

Hey guys, I've been invited to mentor my old team at kickoff this year and I don't know what to do. I want to help my team out as much as possible however I don't know where the line stands.Where does a mentors job start and the students job end?

I had a leading role last year but now there are new captains and I want to make sure not to step on their feet. This is their robot now, not mine. I'll be helping with strategy and design at kickoff, should I just sit and make sure no one fights or should I actively participate with the team?

I realize this is probably worded really poorly but it's 2am so please look past it

[EricH]

I think you're approaching this from the right point of view. You recognize that you aren't a student and that you don't want to get in the way of the current student leadership.

I'm going to offer some cautions here: Your team's mentors may still see you as a student; as a mentor, you aren't going to be as able to kid around with your friends who are still on the team. If the team hadn't asked, I would have suggested staying away this year for that reason--but, because they asked, they think you have something to contribute. And that means that they're looking to you for some guidance.

Your job will be to both keep order and to actively participate. How much the balance is is going to depend a lot on how your team is set up for mentor involvement--hands off, hands on, in the middle...


I would, if I was in your shoes, act as a moderator for a student-driven discussion of game strategy (including ranking strategy), and then play devil's advocate using the rulebook to make 'em think a little bit more about practicality of the strategy. Or, I might try to identify a strategy and then see if they could come up with something better BEFORE presenting it. And, if someone asks for feedback, then some constructive criticism may well be in order ("I see your point with this strategy, but the last time that sort of thing came up it was ruled out quickly, so is there a way to do the same thing without doing the exact same thing?").

In short, keep the discussion on course and productive, and if necessary get more heavily into actually doing the work.

[ImMoMo]

Hey,

I'm in the same boat as you are. I just recently finished my first semester at college, and I too had a leading role during my student involvement. Since I decided to stay local for college, the cries of FIRST were too strong, so I decided to mentor.

So a few things:

1. It is very tempting to do the work students do, when I find myself doing more then offering advice or demonstrating something... I immediately ask the students if I'm being over bearing.

2. From past experience, our team has a history of alumni returning to help out... this happened my senior year... and the graduates were way too overbearing in my opinion. So I use this as an emphasis not to become over involved.

3. I sometimes don't think of myself as a "full mentor" nor should I, I don't have all the technical skill real engineers have so, I try my best to offer critical advice... but when an established mentor suggests an alternative I believe their experience and talent carry more weight.

Currently, there is no one on my team that knows CAD, so I took it upon myself to teach CAD to students in forms of large group lessons. So far I believe it is a good balance of being involved and holding a non student position... a junior mentor if you will..

Also as the above poster mentioned, there should be a divide between yourself and students... as you are now expected to act as a role model.

I wish you luck next season, I hope you can stay sane w/ school and mentoring... and trying not become overbearing... but I think you'll do great...

- Mo

[rsisk]

Students do and learn.
Mentors guide and teach.

[Michael Corsetto]

Students do and learn.
Mentors guide and teach.

On 1678, I love that we have Students and Mentors that Do, Learn, Guide and Teach. Mostly because the kids are teaching me things every day :D

I suggest reading FIRSTs mentor handbook, section 8.3 has some interesting ideas: http://www.firstinspires.org/sites/default/files/uploads/resource_library/frc/game-and-season-info/2015-frc-mentoring-guide.pdf

Best of luck, and allow yourself space and grace to grow and learn how to be the best mentor you can be.

-Mike

[GeeTwo]

You've obviously taken the first step - recognizing that this IS a different situation that may call for a new solution, but you're doing research to see what has already taken place. Sounds like an engineer..

While every team has different dynamics, the great majority seem to promote peer mentorship, that is, veterans working with rookies in pairs or other work groups where the teaching aspect of the relationship is as important (or more important) than the leadership aspect. This is a great thing to do, but sometimes it can make it more difficult to make the transition from high school senior to college mentor.

If your team has taken other "junior mentors" recently, follow their example. I'm going to assume for the rest of this that you're the first, at least in a while.
Consider what your teams "mentor rules" are. In particular, consider how heavily and in what roles they participate in different processes. If a certain role is "taboo" for mentors, follow that taboo. For other roles, consider where along the continuum between student and mentor you think you should be, and make a list. Most importantly: Discuss this separately* with your team's coach/lead mentors and your team's student leaders BEFORE build season starts (You've got a week and a half). Adjust as necessary so that you and the other team leaders have an idea what to expect from each other.

* Not necessarily individually, but have a session with mentors and no students, and one with you and students, but no other mentors to reduce the chance of people "holding back" their concerns.

[Ty Tremblay]

In 10 years of mentoring, I've learned one very important thing.

Every mentor's approach and relationship with their team is different.

Spend time with your team, communicate, learn, and adjust. Always have the goal of expanding and inspiring your students' future and you'll arrive at your own solution that works.

[Chief Hedgehog]

Mentoring is an incredible experience; mentoring your old team can be something different. It can be a rewarding experience, but it will be very trying. It has worked swimmingly for 4607 and we do encourage our alum to come back and mentor.

But for advice on being a mentor, model how you want your team to approach the season. You will get wrapped up in it as much as the students, so be certain to constantly remind yourself to take a step back and just observe while you re-evaluate the progress in motion.

Remove roadblocks when necessary.
As much as you will want to point out to solve point out their problems and upcoming struggles, sometimes it is better to anticipate these and have a plan for getting them through it. And sometimes mentors just have to remove roadblocks that the students cannot do themselves.

This program is guided learning in its truest sense. Treat it as such.

Good luck sir!

[runneals]

As our team is based at Iowa State University, quite a few of our members continue onto college there. We have an extremely strict policy of requiring alumni to take a year off before returning to help mentor our team. I took like 2 years off, and even then I still mentored a couple seniors that were freshmen when I was on the team. We also push students to ensure they keep up with their studies their freshman year so they don't drop out.
In my studies for Emergency & Disaster Management, one of my teachers gave me some good advice about what the controllers/evaluators do (that are very similar to mentors) in that they treat the participants/students like they are on a ride at Disney World and being that middle guiding track. Ensuring they stay within the boundaries (getting them back to the middle if need be) and never veer off that single middle track too far.
I mentored Neutrino last year and looking back, I could have sat on my hands a bit more (and plan to attempt to do the same -- which should be relatively easy as I'm event director for an FTC Tourney the next day :P)
As other people have said, "Mentors guide & teach while students do, learn, and the senior students teach." If you think you might be overstepping your boundaries, take a step back and observe for awhile. Let the students come to you for help. As a mentor, you really shouldn't be touching any of the parts of the robot. Let the students do it!

[Jon Stratis]

My team's Mentor Expectations:
Show up at all meetings (up to 2 nights off/week during Build Season).
Be prompt and ready for action.
Share your expertise.
Let the students do the majority of the work.
Be fair in all judgment calls.
Equitably treat all team members.
Help the students to achieve the goals of the team.
Inspire and encourage the team when necessary.
Be a guide on the side.


Of course, your team may handle things differently. I recommend looking towards your mentors, and try to act the same way they do. Do they get super involved with the strategy discussion? Do they sit back and only break up fights? Do they jump in to help guide the discussion/process, then get out of the way of the students? Take what you see as their level of involvement, then back it off a notch for yourself. As a recently graduated leader, you just need to keep telling yourself "it's their team now"!

On tactic I've found that works really well... whatever you're working on with the team, get them to provide up a few ideas, and then when they seem to stop add a few more to the list. Go through the list and make sure everyone fully understands everything on it, then let them make the decision!