Quote:
Originally Posted by MisterJ
I'd bet that most teacher/mentors involved with FIRST do it for the love of the program, but dangling a couple hundred dollars as an incentive couldn't hurt. Have a few of your most involved girls make an impassioned plea - maybe at a faculty meeting. Tell them how influential the Firebirds have been in recent MSJA history and how an adult mentor in the school building is an important missing piece that could re-invigorate the program.
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I am an engineer who became a teacher and got sucked into the
FIRST vortex in 1998.
At Rutgers University playing Ladder Logic, I started crying. I was taken aback in pleasant surprise to stumble upon four of my biggest passions (Engineering, Art, Education & Sports) in one venue.
We do it for love.
I requested and we currently receive stipends from our town for: my work with FRC; and a colleagues for theirs with FTC. It is very modest for the time that we spend on this program.
We asked for it so that our Board of Education could signal their support for the program.
They are also paying for our local transportation and subsidizing our build space (an empty elementary school).
My point here is that if you want to engage a mentor/teacher from your school:
1)
Take them (be persistent and make it easy for them to accept an invitation) to a couple of off-season events.
Let them touch the vortex.
2) Approach the mucky-mucks (Diocese, Board of Education, District, etc...) and have the students do a presentation before the school year ends. Bring the Robot and a pretty big ball. Show what you Robot can do. (You had a good performance this year and won a Chairman's award, so you know how to present) Only students should speak unless a mentor is specifically addressed.
Rinse, Repeat.