[lovelj]

First, THANK YOU!! Being a FIRST mentor is tough enough as it is. It generally takes time away from your family, you generally will spend much of your own money on hardware, you work with kids that have little, if any, skills... But if you can teach one kid a year some basic skills and get them excited about engineering, you've done our country an enormous service. So, thank you!

In terms of your immediate problem, you need an alliance. I believe all FRC teams need at least 3 engineers (one EE, one ME, one CS). It makes it easier to divide and conquer. Also, they can serve as multiple voices saying the same thing to the teacher (peer pressure can sometimes be a good thing). Finally, they can be a group of friends you can vent with and enjoy a "yeast enriched beverage" after a tough night. Talk to friends and see if you can get some help.

Do you have any local FRC teams? Again, you need an alliance. If so, work with them. I am a mentor for 3824 and we always open our space up for 3 teams (an alliance.., funny how that word comes back) to work together. We share tools, hardware and expertise. We typically try to adopt a rookie team every year. That's the toughest year, which it sounds like you live yearly.

Sometimes you have to use tough love. What you are doing is important. Emphasize to the kids that housekeeping is a safety issue. If they don't take ownership, you they need to consider a different field. They'll never be a successful engineer. They HAVE to be responsible. Whenever a student uses a tool, they HAVE to put it up as soon as they are done. Fifteen minutes before you break up for the night, call stop work and make all the kids clean up their workspace. Put one kid in charge of tools. These are critical life skills for an engineer.

So, THANK YOU!! Stay strong, get some help and if you can't succeed with this team, consider helping another. A well oiled FRC team is a thing to behold!