Team Organization and Recruiting

[Madison]

Originally Posted by The First Lady

Do you have a system in place to weed out the students who are not productive?

While I realize that sometimes issues are more complex than they seem and that this is often such a case, I just wanted to caution you to remember that you're around for the students; they're not around for you.

Productivity doesn't intimate inspiration. Inspiration may not lead to productivity.

Consider what purpose your team serves to those students that you find to be unproductive before you deny them the opportunities to be involved in a program that is unrivaled in high schools.

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

Consider what purpose your team serves to those students that you find to be unproductive before you deny them the opportunities to be involved in a program that is unrivaled in high schools.

hmm... yes, I agree that the program serves all kinds of purposes above and beyond the inspiring students to pursue careers in the sciences.

Maybe a better question would be, how do you inspire a student to be a productive member of the team? And show up for meetings, contribute to the committees they have chosen to work on, not sleep through competitions, break team travel rules, not use the meetings for socializing with the members of the opposite gender?

While I agree that "belonging" to a team may be very important to a student, there are consequences in the real world for not performing on your job.

[Lisa Rodriguez]

Originally Posted by KathieK

Maybe a better question would be, how do you inspire a student to be a productive member of the team? And show up for meetings, contribute to the committees they have chosen to work on, not sleep through competitions, break team travel rules, not use the meetings for socializing with the members of the opposite gender?

While I agree that "belonging" to a team may be very important to a student, there are consequences in the real world for not performing on your job.

Yea Mrs K!
One more thing, how do you recruit kids that you know are going to work hard? Or if you don't know, how do you prevent them from being dead weight? I know there will always be some kids that will be there, but is there a way to prevent an overabundance of non-contributing kids BEFORE build season?

[samson234]

Unfortunately my team suffers from a similar problem, First Lady. We go though an interview process every year and share with the teachers what we have learned that year. Also, we tell them our where we want to be at the close of the next year. This works very well but, not always do you see a kid who will do absolutely nothing before they make it to the team. Just remember that keeping a kid on the team who takes little interest in the team is denying another kid the FIRST experience.

[KathieK]

Originally Posted by samson234

Just remember that keeping a kid on the team who takes little interest in the team is denying another kid the FIRST experience.

Exactly! When you tell someone that your team has reached its capacity, and then have students who are not really pulling their weight (and we have a variety of opportunities that could interest just about anyone) is it fair to the student you turned away?

[Katie Reynolds]

Originally Posted by KathieK

Maybe a better question would be, how do you inspire a student to be a productive member of the team? And show up for meetings, contribute to the committees they have chosen to work on, not sleep through competitions, break team travel rules, not use the meetings for socializing with the members of the opposite gender?

While I agree that "belonging" to a team may be very important to a student, there are consequences in the real world for not performing on your job.

Some people join a FIRST team just because their friends did it. FIRST could work out great for the student's friends, but the program isn't for everybody. And while "peer pressure" may encourage some students to work harder, it could also keep students who really don't want to be involved, in.

Have you tried talking to the student(s)? Sometimes, students (especially rookies) goof off just to get noticed. I would imagine that rookie walking into a room if veteran FIRSTers and trying to present an idea is kind of like you or I walking into a room full of NASA scientists and giving them ideas for how to build their next space module (Quiet, Dave. ) The point is, rookie or not, FIRST can be very intimidating. And if there isn't anyone there to say, "Hey kid, what do you think?" or "I noticed you signed up for this committee, have you made any progress? Do you need any help?" it's more likely that some students will start slacking.

If people are still slacking off, only coming to meetings searching for a new boyfriend/girlfriend, or breaking travel rules make sure they know that there won't be much travel in the future for them unless their behavior changes. Usually, that'll make the kids who care try harder and the kids who are in it for a free ride, drop it.

[KathieK]

These have all been great suggestions. We had a "debriefing" meeting of the team last night and each team member had an opportunity to say something about this season. There were some recurring themes mentioned, which is very helpful for improving for next year.

This was RAGE's first year in a new committee structure, and we had a large team this year. We know better now what worked and what didn't and how we can move forward in a positive way.

[Collin Fultz]

Originally Posted by M. Krass

While I realize that sometimes issues are more complex than they seem and that this is often such a case, I just wanted to caution you to remember that you're around for the students; they're not around for you.

Productivity doesn't intimate inspiration. Inspiration may not lead to productivity.

Consider what purpose your team serves to those students that you find to be unproductive before you deny them the opportunities to be involved in a program that is unrivaled in high schools.

I agree with M. on this one. In my opinion it's all about the "I". However, it isn't up to the mentors to have to work to inspire the students, in my opinion. THe student has to put forth the effort. It is up to the mentors to decide who is letting the team inspire the student. It normally takes more than a year for a student to realize how amazing this program is (mentors too). I know it did for me. I barely did anything my first year, but after I found my role and realized how great FIRST is, i was in. I am so thankful that my team gave me the opportunity to travel to competitions where i could work on what I loved (communication). Now, I have learned to appriciate and excel in both aspects of the FIRST competition (the robot and the communication). Give the students a chance...let them niche (sp.?). Don't make them lose their spot on the team because they didn't build the robot...maybe those things aren't for them. GIve them a chance.