Why it is sometimes hard to be a student on CD.

[Nathan Streeter]

I'm very impressed by the OP... quality post reflecting a tremendous amount of maturity!

I do think that he is onto something real... many mentors have been doing this a long time and have a strong prejudice against someone new who thinks they're a hot-shot (or acts like they think they're the next Einstein champion). I've seen many people with a slight bit of immaturity get some serious red dots and negative posts just because they aren't in the "ChiefDelphi Group Think" world... and I've sometimes seen the highly experienced mentors from reputable teams with a "reputation beyond repute" get a lot more benefit of the doubt than I often think their post should receive.

Originally Posted by JesseK

I don't think that mentors have a hard time taking good advice. I bet most of us have a hardened skepticism against "claims", "opinions", "thoughts" and "feelings" that are not backed up by data, facts, verified demonstrations or in some cases - common sense.

I disagree.

I think many of "us motivated, mature mentors that embrace FIRST values" still often react with our feelings, play favorites, and are defensive about some/many things... not to mention the many adults in FIRST that don't necessarily embrace FIRST values and have the maturity you'd hope! I think, yes, we like to think we're highly empirical... but from my experience, many people claiming to be highly empirical and fact-driven are actually highly emotional and defensive.