Quote:
Originally Posted by Logurt1300
We've recently begun to have a problem with a student who cannot assume his role, he's part of our leadership group but has constantly been insubordinate to the captain, ignores our mentors, and is really rude to our new workers. The problem being with this is that he is still a big part of the build team, and we don't know if we can honestly replace him so hence he feels untouchable. Is there anything we can do about this?
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We had a very similar issue a few years ago and it truly challenged our team. Unfortunately I can't tell you that it worked out well for us, mistakes were made which caused some deep wounds to both students and mentors. It caused a schism in our team that year which took a lot of time to heal... only truly being moved past when that student had graduated. We need to remember that we are here to teach more than engineering. We should be teaching these students how to interact with the mentors and other students with respect. Gracious professionalism starts at home. Ignoring, condoning, or rewarding inappropriate behavior does not teach them the right lessons.
Quote:
Originally Posted by wesleyac
Whatever you choose, make sure all of your students know how the team was chosen. That can help with making sure people won't be mad/jealous if they don't get chosen.
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I could not agree more. Despite our student's very inappropriate behavior, a decision was made to allow him to travel with our team. However, the decision making process and the caveats described to him were not made public to the team members or mentors. This made it possible for the student to manipulate people to think that he was being unfairly treated when issues continued on the trips. I understand that schools often have policies regarding discussing the handling of disciplinary situations, but openness of your process is critical to handling this type of situation.
Quote:
Originally Posted by EricH
Everybody can be replaced, and will be replaced in 4 years or so, or less (depending on time to graduation). Looks to me like this particular student needs to find out how much less time he has before being replaced. If you ain't a team player, why do you want to travel with a TEAM?
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This is also my personal sentiment. The student needs to know that their behavior is unacceptable and will not be tolerated or condoned because they are deemed "useful" or "necessary". They (and possibly their parents... and friends) may not appreciate it at that moment, but it will help that student in the future. Everyone needs to learn personal responsibility and that they only deserve what they earn... and that the scale goes in both directions (i.e. you get credit for what you do to help, but also lose points when you do things which negatively affect the team). Although it may seem like they cannot be replaced in the short term, you still have time to train someone to fill in their role. Regardless of whether their replacement is as good as them, it will be better for your team in the long run.