Quote:
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Originally Posted by GeorgeTheEng
Sometimes what the mentor has to or doesn't have to do is a product of the environment and what kind of team they are on. (though the goal should always be to improve the students skills, thought processes, and experiences)
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This to me sums up my thoughts on this issue. A reoccurring debate on our team has always been, if there are no high school students interested in doing a task (wiring, programming, chairmans, animation, or anything on the team) then what? I think this is why some teams need mentors to step in and either create interest in a field such as programming where none of the students would get exposure to it otherwise, or just get things done. I guess I just don't see the harm in a mentor programming the robot if every single high school student on the team wants to do the mechanical things. I think (as many others have said here) the mentors are a key part of the FIRST program. The fact that high school students get to work side by side with real engineers is one of the things that makes this program special and different from all the other engineering competitions out there.