Lack of Prior Knowledge

[DonRotolo]

Originally Posted by Rosiebotboss

Three letters..... FLL.

Start'em in grade 4 (or earlier in JrFLL) By the time the student gets to high school, they already have the tools, the drive, the discipline to perform well on a FTC/FRC team.

Seconded. We sponsor and mentor several JFLL, FLL, and FTC teams in the area, and these are our "farm system".

The downside is that we start each season with something like 120 students. It is challenging to 'herd' that many cats students.

[Walter Deitzler]

These suggestions will be out there, every time, as I have learned, despite what is taught/what you are told.

Even our sponsor offers to outfit our robot will flamethrowers and chainsaws every time we see them, despite us telling them, every time, that that would not be legal.

People find it funny/fun, and it is hard to stop it without looking like a grinch.

[Celia]

On 240, we all have a preseason project that we work on from November to kickoff. Each subteam will have a different project chosen (mostly) by the team leads. For example, build made a device to pick up pool noodles last year. This teaches new members basic skills, tools, and a creative approach to a given task. It also prepares them for the more intense build season. Electrical, CAD, and programming do similar projects.

This way, everyone on the team has a basic knowledge of what they are doing and less time is spent during the build season teaching basic concepts. We still get the ridiculous suggestions (some coming from me...), but our team likes them.

Sure, you aren't going to put that buzzsaw on, but maybe it's attachment, per say, is plausible and relevant to a game mechanism you've been struggling with.