Managing Grades and Responsibilities While On A FIRST Team

[JaneYoung]

There have been posts in CD usually during build about the lack of time, staying up all night, drinking energy drinks to aid in the crunch. When I read these posts, I often wonder about the students and mentors who aren't posting who are managing their time, their grades, their commitments relatively well or at least trying. It is admirable.

Does anyone have any tips/suggestions on how you prioritize and manage your responsibilities in school and other commitments?
Jane

[dlavery]

I think that for a lot of us, the realistic answer is "I don't manage it. Everything on my schedule pretty much goes all to hell during build season. Which is why I am glad it is only six weeks long!"

-dave

[Steve Wherry]

It is very difficult for the students. We (mentors) try and network students so they can work on assignments together, study for a test, or get tutoring while at robotics. As often as possible, we stress the importance of keeping up, and they do a great job for the most part.

Basically, it becomes, study when you can...sort of like studying or doing homework during the commercials while watching your favorite TV shows.

[I.U.man_22]

For us robotics doesnt start until five thirty. This gives time for engineers to arrive and for students to do their homework. We get done with school at 220 and have the rest of the time till 530 to do our homework.

[Nica F.]

Honestly, this is probably one of the things I look back at and go, I can't believe I was able to do all of this.

I love being involved in school, so I am apart of many various clubs at school and am an active volunteer at local libraries. I am on the robotics board (our robotics gov.), game club, junior senator, prom committee, student council, and president of the school's fashion club.
When it comes to managing grades and responsiblities, I prioritize everything to which is most important to me. For me it goes school, then robotics, then everything else.

When you're in a year as important as your Junior year in highschool, where you have SATs and every grade counts 3x more than the rest, you have to realize that you MUST save time to do your work. (Then again, no matter what grade you're in, you still have to save some hw time.)

On our team, a message that we try to put across is that you should serve as role models in our school. We do everything as a team to make sure that everyone still keeps their grades up. We give tutoring sessions to our members when needed.

[Nuttyman54]

A lot of it has depended on my involvement in the team. During my first year on a team (as a HS Junior on 971) I was learning how the team worked, and my main task was CAD design. Since I had the software, I did what I could during the time at school, and then finished my work at home after my schoolwork was done.

During my Senior year I was Team President, so much more of my time was devoted to the team. During build season, this resulted in a number of late nights finishing homework. Fortunately, my high school's February break always falls on the week of ship, so we have plenty of time to pull all nighters during the last 5 days if necessary.

This past year, I again took a lesser role, this time on team 190 as a college freshman. I planned my schedule such that the easiest classes were during build season, and made sure to pass off my duties to other team members during the weeks that I had tests.

I have never been one to overload myself with the hardest AP courses offered, and instead balanced my schooling with other activities, such as robotics. There has always been enough time for me to do everything, as long as I manage that time well.

[Schnabel]

Originally Posted by dlavery

I think that for a lot of us, the realistic answer is "I don't manage it. Everything on my schedule pretty much goes all to hell during build season. Which is why I am glad it is only six weeks long!"

-dave

Darnit Dave, you took the words right out of my mouth!

But on a serious note, I usually try to do all of my work in school. When I have something to take home, I will skip TechnoKats for the night. You just have to remember that you don't have to be there every night.

[mtaman02]

Originally Posted by dlavery

I think that for a lot of us, the realistic answer is "I don't manage it. Everything on my schedule pretty much goes all to hell during build season. Which is why I am glad it is only six weeks long!"

-dave

Yeah what Dave said =). There really is no right way to manage time while on a Robotics Team especially during build season where you are more pre-occupied getting the robot done so that the drive teams have as much time with it as possible. I usually let my H.W. & Projects get done at the end of the day if there is still enough energy to do them otherwise it just waits till lunch time the following day. Thankfully enough my teachers were understanding enough to accept the material late as opposed to failing me for not "attempting" to do it in the first place. It's hard to keep to a schedule when building a robot takes most of the time in the first 2 months of the year & anything that gets accomplished after the robot is extra credit =).

[pythagoras]

It's true that you need to prioritize everything, but if you just work on it you can find time to fit both robotics and school into you schedual.
I've found that there is a lot of times that you come in to work on robot, and you end up just waiting around. I've solved that issue by bringing in my homework so that i can work on it when i'm not doing anything. One time going in to the Milford GM Proving Grounds i had almost a hour of free time, in this i wrote half of a research paper. even if you are cramming at the end of a season you can still find time here and there to work on school work.

[Gregor]

I want to revive this thread with one of those frowned upon "bumps"

[pmangels17]

Shop starts at 6 or 630 for us, and school ends at 2. We have families bring dinner to the shop on weekends and we order pizza and head to the diner a lot so weekends can turn into 630 friday night to 1130 sunday night. Many of us go home for the nights in between to sleep or do schoolwork, but people are almost always at the shop. Otherwise, during the week we get home at 2 or 230, my parents don't let me leave until my homework is done, and then I go to the shop until about 1130. Also, the CAD people have it on laptops or home machines, so that end of things doesn't need to happen at the shop.

[arose839]

For us Robotics doesn't start til 6:00 and we get out at 1:50 so this gives us 4 hours to get all our homework done. That's usually been enough time to get all my homework done.

[Gregor]

I'd like to bring this thread back up again as a new kickoff approaches. This thread really helped me remember where to focus my efforts in my later years of high school, as I definitely did not balance FRC and schoolwork well enough. You should read through the entire thread.

2015 was my last game as a student, and I'm currently in first year university.

This post is mostly targeted to university bound students, but there's some useful information for anyone.

You will see your grades decrease during build season. Don't let them crash too hard, and work extra hard before and after season to compensate. I'm the kind of person who has to be at every meeting or I'll feel like I'm missing out and not contributing. If you're that kind of person too, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave yourself sometime before, during, or after meetings to study. I had an hour commute each way by public transit to 1310, so I took advantage of that time. Don't be afraid to excuse yourself for an hour or two during meetings to go sit in an empty classroom.

Talk with your teachers, ask if they can give you some leniency on deadlines. I've found that once I explained my time commitment to robotics, my teachers were very understanding and let my hand in assignments late without penalty. Don't take advantage of this, but use it if you really have to. Do make sure you talk to them in advance, before anything is due. Don't show up to class the day a big project is due and say that you couldn't finish because you were at robotics. You will see your grades decrease during build season. Don't let them crash too hard, and work extra hard before and after season to compensate.

You do not have to go to meetings every day. I did and I probably shouldn't have. My team didn't meet on Sundays, I have no idea how people can attend meetings 7 days a week. If I had attended meetings on Sunday's too I can confidently say I wouldn't have gotten into the university I did.

FRC is not worth giving up your grades. If you're planning on attending university this message is especially important. FRC definitely provides you valuable skills over others, after one semester in engineering I've already noticed this, but you also have to get there. Don't trick yourself into "FRC is the best learning you'll ever do" mindset because it's not true. FRC is incredible and one of the most important aspects of my life, but your formal education is more important. Don't hurt yourself in the future.

You will see your grades decrease during build season. Don't let them crash too hard, and work extra hard before and after season to compensate.

This thread has good examples of things to try and avoid.

[jpetito]

Teachers, like students, have their own homework. If your'e one of those who go to the classroom by day and then the robot shop by night, you gotta find ways to manipulate the time in your favor; I mean, there's only so much of it, and when your time's up…

When you must twiddle your thumbs, waiting for Joey or Janey robot builder to affix some widget on the robot before you can weld on that list bit of shooter strut, you've gotta be on the phone ginning up the next crew of volunteers, or calling for quotes on getting a bus, or hotel reservations, or the parent who forgot to bring food for 25. Five minutes here, seven or eight minutes there can be put to use updating the grading program (when the kids look over your shoulder and see the gradebook open on your digital device, they slink away and leave you alone) or calling Freddie's mom to tell her he's been a stinker today if fifth period. Again.

School, like the military, is full of hurry-up-and-wait, full of down minutes at odd intervals. Take that Wait and put it to use, hacking on the lists you've made to do the tasks that keep the team functional, will keep all of them in the game. Somehow, in the end, it's all worth it. You wear the grey hair with a sense of accomplishment.

[colin340]

i like what Dave said here,

Originally Posted by dlavery

I think that for a lot of us, the realistic answer is "I don't manage it. Everything on my schedule pretty much goes all to hell during build season. Which is why I am glad it is only six weeks long!"

-dave

yeah school is a thing, in fact as a teacher it's a big thing in my life. But i feel that the actions and passion of a student, plays a way bigger role then grades do in terms of long term success.

yeah, do your work in HS so you can get in to a college, but work 10x harder to find what you love. THEN DO THE SNOT OUT OF IT!!