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Originally Posted by cameron.lynn
Right now the biggest problems are communication and going to talk to people to ask for what we want. Our team has members from seven different high schools, so we can't just put something in the morning announcements. We rely heavily on email. Last year I ended up emailing people a lot I the time, so this year when our head mentor said he didn't want to do that, I volunteered since I had already been doing that. He gave me the information for the official email account and I began to correspond with team members about meetings. At the next meeting, our former head mentor asked if I had the list of new recruits and insisted I give it to our new head mentor so the contact list could be updated. I told him that the list was at home and it would be no trouble for me to update the contacts, and I was immediately informed that this was my a job for me, even though our new head mentor wasn't involved last year and wouldn't know who to remove from the list (seniors that graduated, people that moved, etc.).
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This issue can be easily resolved by simply explaining to your new head mentor the situation. Two things could happen:
1. The mentor agrees with you and you continue to have admin status (Though I would recommend training/teaching someone else as you stated below you are a senior)
2. The mentor feels the old head mentor is right, and you make a list of all the members who need to be removed, and all the ones who need to be added. This can also be a good bonding experience as you can help your new lead mentor by teaching them how to do this.
Though I recommend keeping track of your alumni, and keeping them updated, don't include everything but tell them about outreaches, competitions, etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by cameron.lynn
In addition, a few of us have been trying to begin an FTC or FLL team at one of the county middle schools, so we would have a good feeder program. A big point that was made to me was that I had to ask the school principal, which I agreed with completely. When I said I could stop by any day after school to talk to him, our slightly overbearing mentor said that was a job for mentors. I was quick to agree that having someone older than me (I'm 17, a senior) would probably be in my best interest, but when I asked if I could be there since I have all the plans written down and I'm well versed in the benefits of beginning a program, I was told I might be invited. I understand the benefit of having an adult there, but I also feel that since us students are pushing for it we need to be there, in addition to we need to learn and practice defending what we want to someone who doesn't know much about it.
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This one is a touchy subject since atleast in my school district the principals will only schedule meetings with adults. As this will be a feeder program that will theoretically be mentored by "students" I do think that there should be a student representative there to show the support of the students. Unfortunately you are just going to have to play ball on this one state your case to you new head mentor and see how it goes
Quote:
Originally Posted by cameron.lynn
These are kind of small problems, but I'm a little worried if they're already trying to limit what we can do it will only get worse as the season progresses. I also understand that my immediate involvement may be clouding my judgement as to what's really happening, but a few of my teammates have expressed similar concerns.
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It is never a small problem when there is strife between the adults and students on a team. You all are a singular team, and should be working together as such. My best advice is to keep going to the new lead mentor. The old one stepped down and needs to relinquish the power associated with that status.
My last piece of advice (for now atleast) is to go to the students and mentors and ask to draft official team rules and a team hierarchy, define positions and jobs and who does those jobs (Students or Mentors). This allows for a clear set of rules that everyone is aware of and can reference.