[smurfgirl]

As some people pointed out, just because it appears that someone might not be right for a team or the class, you won't really know until you've given them a chance. There are so many FIRST "success stories" from students on different teams, where being a member of a robotics team has turned their life around, whether by changing their outlook on life, their attitude, their appreciation for learning, their career path, their friendships, or many other things. Robotics can be a great constructive activity for people who might otherwise be considered "unruly" or "bad students", and I don't think it's right to deny them a chance. On my team, I have watched several students learn and grow into more mature, respectful people with a passion for engineering and talent individual areas. If our team had denied students the rights to participate before giving them the chance, they never would have had the opportunity to grow in this way. I know these "success stories" exist outside of my team, so I'd like to suggest that you give everyone the chance to join your robotics class.

If your team is absolutely positive that you want to deny people the opportunity to be in the robotics class, you are definitely going to have to go about it carefully.
- Like someone else mentioned, if your team is affiliated with your school, which it sounds like it is, upset/offended parents might go complain to the school administration, which can potentially cause a slew of negative consequences for your team.
- Make sure you have a clearly defined set of requirements for class entry, so that the decision does not seem arbitrary or subjective- you want to make it look very objective, based on definitive guidelines so that there is less room for argument and problems.
- Also, you definitely want to have your head teachers/coaches/mentors making the decisions, not your students. This will also make the decision seem more fair and less arguable, as it isn't about cliques and social standings for the adults, but it could be blamed on that if it is a student's peers making the decision not to allow him onto a team.
- Finally, make sure it is explained to the student exactly why he was denied permission to join the robotics class; what criteria didn't he meet, what could he work on for the future? Be nice about it, thank him for applying and encourage him to apply again in the future. (Don't be surprised if he doesn't, though, there might still be some hurt feelings/bruised egos left behind.)

Good luck with everything, I hope I helped!