[EricH]

Originally Posted by Woody1458

What I was saying there is that what FIRST is preparing us for is BEING the elders.

You still have to work under them, correct?

Yes, FIRST may be preparing us to be the elders. They also recognize that, at this point, we aren't. Right now, the mentors are the elders we work under. The teams without mentors are at a disadvantage already, because they don't have the elders. The teams with mentors have those elders.

However, what has been described sounds like (on the surface) a case of mentors not being mentors. Without further information (like if DanTod talked with the students on the team, or other relevant context), we don't know what the real situation is. Based on what is described in the original post, we have mentors who are not following the advice given by Rich Kressly:

A mentor, by definition, provides a nuturing environment and, over time, makes themselves progressively unnecessary.

If so, then the team may wish to look at their method of work.

Speaking of Rich Kressly, teams that are competition-driven for performance should really look at this thread he started on Awards, Bandsaws, and Perspective.

And Rex--I think you've got it wrong. The mix is OK, yes. But completely mentor-built robots is OK in some books and not in others, as may be seen in this thread. Completely student-built is OK, but they don't get the full benefit of FIRST.