Quote:
Originally Posted by Tetraman
I see a lot of posters tossing around the word 'inspiration' as if it blusters an argument. The assumption of "something that could add inspiration being inherently good for FIRST" is not a healthy one. Remember what inspires students more than any other part of the FIRST program: Mentors/teachers/coaches/parents/people. I really don't care if additional time to the build season inspires these kids - I want to know if this additional time actually solves the problem of mentor burnout so our mentors can continue to be the main source of leadership, innovation and inspiration for students.
And I think the answer is pretty basic: We don't know. As some of the mentors have already posted, if the build season does become extended they will feel hurt even more to keep up with the added time demands. On the other hand, other mentors say the additional time will increase their flexibility. So ultimately we won't know the true effect on ourselves and our teams if the build period is extended.
I think the worst part about this issue is that changing it will anger a lot of people but not changing it keeps a lot of people angry. The true answer is for FIRST to choose in what direction the program wants to take. If FIRST doesn't want to alter the system then that's fine with me. If FIRST does change I may not like it but I'll still do everything I can for my team and the problem because I believe in the program.
Otherwise I really have no answers to solve the problem of mentor burnout - except one: Is FIRST really the program for you?
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I like how you summarized the sentiment on this subject. I can't help but draw a parallel to when Michigan proposed the district model and piloted it. There were a lot of oppositions, both inside and outside of Michigan. I don't need to repeat what people had said. I am sure there are still people who think the district model is a bad idea and they oppose it, but a majority of people finally saw the benefits of it and especially after Jim Zondag explained the thinking behind every change.
Change is always hard for some people when they don't know if it will benefit them. By allowing teams the option to access their robot any time if they want to, I don't see how it can hurt any team that does not build a practice robot. The only thing I can think of is for teams that do not build a practice robot thinks it will benefit teams that build a practice robot more than it benefits them. Because it will give these teams more time to concentrate on improving their robot rather than building and wiring another robot and raising more money to pay for it.
For my team, we plan everything to death. Right now in our build schedule, I see days to assemble the practice robot and to wire it. Based on our resources for each year, we decide what kind of robot to design and build so we can finish on time. Then we schedule enough work sessions to finish what we planned to do. We do not meet 7 days a week. In our first two years, we only met 4 days/17 hours a week. In the last few years, we increased it to 5 days/20 hours a week. My goal is to create a sustainable program, hence mentor/student burnout is part of my consideration when I decide on the meeting schedule.
How will it affect us if we have unlimited access to the robot? The first thing I will do is to reduce the number of meetings back down to 4 days 17 hours a week because we can accomplish the same tasks in 6 and a 1/2 weeks. It takes us about 20 hours to build a second robot. That will allow me to take out 3 hours of meeting time each week. On top of that, I will be a lot less stressed out when the two robots behave differently due to quality of build by students and some mentors.
I can handle 4 days a week. 5 days is a stretch for me. Not building a second robot is not an option for me being in Michigan and trying to field a somewhat competitive robot and have a sustainable program. My goal is not to have the most competitive robot and stress everybody out by doing so. I know it is not all about the robot but I also know students joined the robotics team to compete in robotics.
If teams do not want to build a second robot with the current rules, that is their choice. How many hours they meet is their choice. By removing the artificial stop build date, it does not change what teams have to do. It is still their choice. Removing the barrier to access the robot will make my life easier and a better experience for my students.
If you are wondering why it will be a better experience for my students, I will elaborate. Very few of them comes 5 days a week during build season. When students cannot attend all work sessions, they get lost. Things move so fast during build season that it is hard to keep up with the design and decisions if you miss too many meetings. Some students would loose interest and feel disconnected. If I can reduce the number of meetings to 4, a bigger percentage of students will be able to attend most meetings. Our team will be more cohesive. Everybody will be on the same page. We do have weekly team meetings where each subgroup will report on their work but it is not the same.
So for those of you who oppose this possible change, were you opposed to the district model before also? Would you be willing to give it a chance?