When do mentors go too far?

[Steve W]

Please do not assume that what I am about to say shows anything against student built robots. I will be talking generally not specifically.

Engineers have years of experience and training. They have developed a knowledge base on which to work. There are some things that they don't even try because they know it won't work. This saves time and frustration when you only have 6 weeks to build. Students have enthusiasm, desire, energy and no preconceived ideas. They don't know what will or won't work or maybe a better way to do the same thing. They work on a trial and error system (I do too, I'm not an engineer) which takes a lot of time and effort to sometimes produce nothing. This is why we need engineers. Their abilities and insight actually let us accomplish more than the sum of our parts. Can student run teams work? Yes. Can Mentor/Engineer run teams work? Yes. Can the two work together? Yes.

We should not be debating "When do mentors go too far?" but how do they feel that their team works and inspires with mentor/ engineers doing what they do. This would be only seen and recognized by the members of that team as they are the ones spending the time and seeing what is being done.

I know personally that our team is becoming more student run than the first year i was there. This is great and it inspires me as a mentor. Teams will go through different cycles in their growth. Every 4 years a team has been changed over with all new personalities and abilities. This is what challenges the mentors. We don't just have to inspire you but also everyone that comes after you. FIRST is a great program! Let's not tear other teams down when you are looking on from the outside. As a famous saying goes, don't criticize someone till you have walked a mile in their shoes.