Do you get blamed for every thing one your team!!!

[Jaine Perotti]

Your first year on a robotics team is definitely a learning process (and it remains that way for the rest of your time on the team too). Whenever we learn new things, we are bound to make mistakes. Mistakes are ok, in my opinion. In fact, I think mistakes are good.

When I was a freshman, I knew absolutely nothing. I was so clueless about robotics... I don't even know why I stayed on the team. So naturally, I made alot of mistakes. Many many dumb mistakes. When one makes mistakes, yes, that person is responsible for them. However, too often failure is viewed in a negative light. I know it sounds like a bit of a paradox, but one of the philosophies of my team has always been this: "failure is desirable".

What makes failure desirable? How does that make any sense?

When someone makes a mistake, they learn something. They get a deeper understanding for what makes [insert aspect of robotics here] work/not work the way it does. In this way, they have benefited from their failure. They know not to make that certain mistake again, and they learn something from it.

I don't like it when members of a team get "blamed" in a negative way when things go wrong. It doesn't help anyone, and it makes the members of the team feel more self conscious about making a mistake. Within every group of people, there is a certain "mistake comfort level". How comfortable to you feel about messing up or not knowing what to do? Do you feel alienated or do you feel that someone is willing to help?

On a team, I believe that one should feel comfortable with not knowing... there should not be an atmosphere of disrespect for those who know less. The lack of a high "comfort level" is what is responsible, in many instances, for making people quit a robotics team. It makes me sad to read that people "get blamed for everything that goes wrong", when they should be treated with more respect. Someone should be constructively explaining what went wrong and why, instead of playing the blame game. Blame does not help anyone.

Alot of times this disrespect comes from other members of the team. Freshmen/rookies are often treated with contempt by veterans. I am disappointed with veterans' behavior towards those who are merely trying to learn. I am disappointed when those who are supposed to be teaching the rookies, end up discouraging them. Discouragement is not what FIRST is all about. FIRST is about inspiration.

Another reason why I hate discouraging behavior is this: an example of disrespect is being demonstrated to the younger members of the team. Negative attudes will be passed from one "generation" of veterans to another. The rookies will be taught that it is ok to yell at other people, blame them for what goes wrong, and treat them poorly. This cycle of bad attitude will stick with the team, until someone tries to break it... a very difficult thing. Negativity will fester for years within the team dynamic, and everyone will be worse off.

So next time you feel like yelling at a freshman because they made a dumb mistake, try to be constructive and explain what they did wrong respectfully. Don't ruin the experience of "failure" for them. View their failures as an experience in which they learned, not in which they screwed everything up for the team. Think about what the goals and objectives of FIRST are, and make a decision to inspire, not discourage.

-- Jaine