Quote:
Originally Posted by HonestAnonymous
- Do you have seniors who do a lot of the work on the team?
- Do your mentors do a large chunk of the robot work?
- How involved are the majority of students on your team? Do they do a lot of the work, or do mentors?
- Do your students learn more by themselves or more from other students and mentors?
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My team is relatively small (~20 students), quite young (7 students returning with 1 year frc experience), and unstable in funding and student experience.
From my experience, teams will have ups and downs depending mostly on the competence of students and the amount of them.
This is okay, but obviously not ideal, if you stay down for too long you will loose support from your school, sponsors, and community.
To answer your questions:
-The seniors and mentors doing the majority of the work depends on the year.
-Some students attend every meeting and others don't, they have commitments and the most involved students put in extra hours to make sure we finish on time.
-Student learning depends on the student. Some people learn really well by prototyping on their own and others need more guidance. Don't give your students the answer but give them a push in the right direction when they need it.
Here's my suggestion: Do what you need to do to finish the build season on time. Give the students choices to guide them in the right direction but let them choose what they will enjoy the most. Keep the students that you have now.
Don't give up on this season for recruiting new students. Demo your robot(s) around your school or community to generate interest. Don't be afraid to take some new students to the competition so they can see what FRC is all about.
Attend offseason events and bring new members. Continue meeting in the offseason and find fun and interesting projects to build skills and community.
Good Luck!