Why do teams voluntarily do FIRST without adult technical mentors?

[sanddrag]

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

We need to talk. Please sit down.

Hehe, I don't usually stand up while on my computer, but each to his own I guess. Anyhow...

Originally Posted by Andy Baker

I contend that the best "team" is an equal balance of student involvement, teacher involvement, and engineer involvement. In my mind, can a engineer design something on a robot and be proud of that design? You bet. Some teams frown on this. Some teams, mentors, and students preach that this is wrong. What do you think? Why is that?

I would agree with this. The "correct" amount of mentor involvement in FRC is one of the most difficult balances to stike. Almost as difficult as the mentor question "let fail and learn or succeed and inspire?" but that is for another thread.

This year, we had more mentor involvement than ever, and you could see it in the robot. I'm also afraid that the students learned a little less than ever before. It is all about the balance, and having been both a student and a mentor, I can tell you it is not an easy one to strike.

One interesting thing that was said at our end of the season team meeting (to evaluate the goods and the bads was this). Our main teacher/mentor said to the students (not word for word, but approximately) "In your surveys, you all complained that the mentors did too much of the work. Well, before you ever think about accusing us of that again, you better not be sitting in the corner chatting and playing games when there is a robot to be built" It didn't really come off all that harsh but that was the best I could remember what was said.

Anyway, for all you students out there, I ask you not to complain about your mentors steeling the show when you are not willing to get involved. It is hard for us mentors to "just say no" because FRC is so dang fun. Most likely, it will be hard for some of us to hand you a tool and say "here build this" when it is easier for us to just to do it.

But the mentors already know everything. The point is not always to get the robot done fastest, it is for you students to learn something.

So, for the students, I ask of you this. Grab the tools, touch the machines, give your mentors some chairs to sit down on. Get yourselves in there working. Don't be just an onlooker while all the adults are fixing your broken robot. Sometimes us mentors "forget" that a student is the person who should be holding the screwdriver, so I make it your job to take it away from us.

Anyway, there was once I time when I used to tell the judges "look, our robot was 100% student built" but I later realized that isn't at all what they are looking for. The end goal in all this is to get the partnership between young students and industry professionals. Any bunch of kids can meet up and play with tools (which is a great learning experience) BUT, only FRC kids get to work with real professionals, and you will get a lot more out of it that way, even if you aren't the one holding the screwdriver ALL the time.