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Unread 17-01-2005, 12:03
Unsung FIRST Hero
RoboMom RoboMom is offline
people expediter on Team Kluge
AKA: Jenny Beatty, no relation
no team (they are all my teams)
Team Role: Mentor
 
Join Date: Jan 2004
Rookie Year: 2002
Location: Maryland
Posts: 3,067
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Re: My team has close to no dedication

Alaina, you need some help. You cannot do this all yourself and it sounds like you are trying to. Just some suggestions.
Have the main contact update the TIMS. Your team is no longer in a postion to mentor others. Your team needs someone to mentor them. Look at the list of teams willing to mentor and see if any are close. Contact them. Be very specific about what you need. Do you need an engineering mentor? Say so. Much of this can be done long distance. Do you need someone on another team to come in and give an inspirational talk? Ask.
But the bigger issue is that you need a team. As Woodie says "The robot is the campfire they all gather around." My impression in reading your post is that most on your team are overwhelmed. With so many rookies, they don't have any reference with what this is all about. You've been to a competition. They haven't. Yelling and threats usually don't work. Respect is earned. You and the mentors on the team need to figure out how to get each interested team member involved as soon as possible. Most freshman are not in a position to just sit down and do something without some direction and guidance. It is very time consuming, but that is what this is all about. The process. Your team is having one of those rough years that most teams go through. Sit down with the adults and figure out the priorities. Which things the teams can put on the back burner this year. Maybe instead of the Championship and the local regional, you just go to the local. Develop a system to earn your way to travel. Get as many parents to help as possible. Parents are one of the best resources FIRST has and some will jump at the chance to become involved in a high school project, because there are so few opportunites.
Have one of the adults signed up on the TIMS join NEMO to get some hints and to post questions.
You have a lot of work ahead of you. You are obviously very committed. Good luck. There are many great suggestions here.
__________________
Co-Founder of NEMO (Non-Engineering Mentor Organization) www.firstnemo.org
Volunteer Director, STEMaction, Inc. www.stemaction.org
FIRST Senior Mentor: Nov. 2004 to June 2009: "Experience is that marvelous thing that enables you to recognize a mistake when you make it again"
This is How I Work: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/media/papers/2862

Last edited by RoboMom : 17-01-2005 at 12:06.
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