[IKE]

I would recommend shying away from can't, won't, and never... and save those for morals and beliefs rather than mentoring techniques.

Different students (and mentors) require different techniques. While some really need a firm hand (that sarcasm may actually be the best tool), others need support and guidance and tons of encouragement.

While I agree that you can't inspire greatness with Mediocrity, we are not always looking for greatness (initially). Every great runner begins life taking baby-steps.

CAD/drawing and Speed Ratio calcs are basis/foundation from which you can build upon. Essentially they are math and geometry. Once they have a strong foundation, ask the student to continue to explore. For drivetrains, it is torque and traction and learning to estimate "static" loads anlong with geometry based stiffness techniques. Once they have a firm grasp of that, you can begin to discuss dynamic loading and structural analysis (Most teams never get this far). You can also discuss system and power constraints and short-term vs. long term current draws.

While sarcasm can be a good motivator and build bonds with some students, it can be off-putting to someone with lower self esteem or thinner skin. In a public forum, we should probably err towards the Kindest Common Denominator. This doesn't mean lying or coddling, but it does mean deburring the edges and rounding the corners on your support pieces.

*************
Even Woodie Flowers has given talks on "False Engineering", so Schreiber's thread is really quite important, he just forgot the KCD function.