At what point does it become unacceptable for a mentor to design/build the robot

[Libby K]

There are approximately a zillion threads on this, and it always turns into an accusatory and awful discussion. If people want to discuss this, please do so calmly and without internet-rage.

If you're asking for my $0.02, whatever a team needs to do to accomplish goals - as defined by that team and their dynamic (I'm talking mentors and students here)- is what works for them, and what they should do. So long as everyone on the team agrees on their process - that's their process, and that's that. Outsiders don't get to 'judge', because it's not their team.

For example - I was the founder/captain of 1923 in high school, and we worked side by side with mentors, because we knew that they know better than us. The kids did the design, the mentors were there to tell us "Physics says that won't work. Try this instead?" Now that I'm attending (and about to graduate from!) Clarkson University, I work on teams where there's a lot higher mentor-driven design and work- 229 and 4124 - because we work at the University, mentoring is a course for the CU students... and it's just plain not legal for the kids to machine here. None of the teams I've worked with are doing it 'wrong' - because it's what works for each team, and the kids and mentors are all happy with, and agree upon, the process.

Where teams encounter problems is when one "side" tries to "take over" the process and the team as a whole isn't happy. That's what I think you're trying to get at here, and I think that deserves some discussion.

Chief Delphi always gets weird in threads like these. Keep it civil if you're gonna post here.