Petition to Diminish Mentor Involvement

[MentorForChange]

Please sign the following petition to disallow mentors from going on to the field of play at FRC competitions. This includes not just drive coaching, but strategy, on field repair, etc. More details are included on the petition site. Thank you.

Link to petition

[AdamHeard]

This has to be a troll job....

[PayneTrain]

[MentorForChange]

No, I'm just a concerned mentor. I would ask that you take the time to at least consider my viewpoint by viewing the petition and the description. Whether or not you choose to sign it is on you.

Description found on the petition site:

Originally Posted by Petition

The FIRST Robotics Competition, founded in 1992 by inventor Dean Kamen, is a robotics competition for students in grades 9-12. Students have 6 weeks to respond to a design challenge and fabricate a robot to compete against other teams from around the world, culminating in the FIRST Championship held annually in St. Louis.

Unfortunately, the competition, which is meant to introduce students to STEM and establish a fair playing field for all teams, currently allows heavy mentor involvement on the field of play. Mentor involvement, while important in the build process, is unacceptable on the field, regardless of intent. Strategy and coaching from mentors should be completed before the match and not during the competition. Allowing mentors onto the field of play diminishes the goals of FRC.

[g_sawchuk]

I really hope that this isn't serious. Part of FIRST is the concept of students working alongside experienced mentors to develop new skills. Although during build season some teams should allow students to do a bit more of the work, the mentors play an essential role and should never be told to do less or not be allowed to help as much in competitions. I think where we stand right now is perfect.

[PayneTrain]

Originally Posted by MentorForChange

No, I'm just a concerned mentor. I would ask that you take the time to at least consider my viewpoint by viewing the petition and the description. Whether or not you choose to sign it is on you.

I think regardless of intent, you're petitioning the incorrect president.

[Akash Rastogi]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

This has to be a troll job....

Either way, this is hilarious.

[BrendanB]

You can tell kickoff is getting nearer when the same horse beating topic comes around again.

[Andrew Schreiber]

Recognize that the FIRST Robotics Competition is not a science fair and mentors should be required to work beside students.

The FIRST Robotics Competition, founded in 1992 by inventor Dean Kamen, is a robotics competition for pre-college students. Teams have 6 weeks to respond to a design challenge and fabricate a robot to compete against other teams from around the world, culminating in the FIRST Championship held annually in St. Louis.

Unfortunately, the competition, which is meant to introduce students to STEM and establish a fair playing field for all teams, currently allows minimal mentor involvement on the field of play. Mentor involvement, while important in the build process, is is significantly more important on the field as dealing with high pressure situations is an important teaching moment. Not requiring mentors to be present on the field of play diminishes the goals of FRC by forcing students to face a stressful situation alone and unguided.

Bolded was changed.

[Anupam Goli]

This ought to be fun to watch.

Edit:

I'm liking Andrew Schreiber's changes

[AdamHeard]

It's just a bummer someone's joke is potentially going to draw possible attention from outsiders (hopefully not).

Teams go to the white house almost every year representing FIRST, something like this petition makes the organization publicly look bad.

[Deke]

Originally Posted by PayneTrain

I think regardless of intent, you're petitioning the incorrect president.

+1

We do not need any more regulations from the government, especially ones restricting the awesome program FIRST is.

Why not bring this suggestion to FIRST? It seems like this is trying to above and around what is in place already.

[Cory]

OP is hilariously misinformed.

[MentorForChange]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Bolded was changed.

...by forcing students into stressful situations, so that they can make mistakes and learn from them, just as in building robots and engineering in general.

[pntbll1313]

Originally Posted by Andrew Schreiber

Bolded was changed.

Liking the changes!

To the OP, please just use the search function on CD and save yourself what this thread is about to become... getting old