A Sticky Situation.....

[C7First]

Ok, im just gonna start off by saying that this is an anonymous post. All name and places have been changed or omitted. The story is still the same no matter what the names.

Ok, so this is gonna be long, but I really want feed back. I also want to know how you would feel. So please read this and tell me.


So here it goes........

This past year was a good year, we did well at our regional and also at the championship, but it was followed by a lot of troubles. So we have this one mentor that lets just say can lose his cool from time to time, but he isn't a bad person he just has trouble handling the stress. Well, this got some people on our team angry. So they got the administration involved. A right step in my own opinion, but in some cases they over embellished the circumstances a little ok a lot but still. So all the teams mentors had a meeting with the administration and this mentor at our meeting place, and they basically had a bashing party of this one mentor they told him everything they didn’t like about him and he took it like a descent person would. After they he promised to change his ways and work with us to make it better. So everything was all well and good. Then, some of the main leaders of the mutiny got the idea to leave the team and start a new one. Which was fine but this is what I want some feed back on. They did all this without telling this particular mentor who was also the moderator of our team by the way about this. Then about a month ago our moderator received an envelope containing 3 sets of keys, which were the keys of three of the mentors that led this whole thing. And now come to find out today that these members not only started team but convinced a good number of our team members to go to theirs. I personally am staying with the team I am currently on because I know you won’t always like everyone you work with and plus they never even gave the mentor a chance to change his ways. So this year we are down a bunch of members and are at risk of losing our sponsorship because the person who was the liaison to the company sponsoring us was one of the ones who left.

In my opinion I think the whole situation was handled completely immaturely and unfairly because they didn’t even gave the guy a chance.

Now my question to you people is how would you feel about this whole thing and do you have any suggestions to never let it happen again and I hope everyone can learn from our mistake and learn from it.


Thank you so much for your time and attention,
C7First

[AdamHeard]

Posting anonymously isn't going to spare anyone's feelings... anyone on your team will immediately recognize the story.

Just forget all that stuff, okay? The team exists to work with whatever resources available to build the best robot they can with those resources (and to actively try to increase those resources). There's no sense in worrying over a situation you can not change.

If anything, try to get the two new teams to work together, and spin this into a positive change.

[C7First]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Posting anonymously isn't going to spare anyone's feelings... anyone on your team will immediately recognize the story.

i know i just wanted to be sure....

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Just forget all that stuff, okay? The team exists to work with whatever resources available to build the best robot they can with those resources (and to actively try to increase those resources). There's no sense in worrying over a situation you can not change.

i know and i know we'll do well it was just the situation and the way it was handled.

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

If anything, try to get the two new teams to work together, and spin this into a positive change.

Good idea, no way it is gonna happen

and thanks for reading

[Tottanka]

First of all, you ahould try talking to that group of people who left. If that does not work, I'm not sure there is anything you can do. It could be nice if your team held it and found sponsership and all it needs. I'm sure you guys can still be FIRSTers, but if those 2 teams become enemy-like it will not be GP at all, and therefore not with the spirit of FIRST. You should see how it works.
Are those 2 teams gonna be from the same school, or city?
Do you want ti recruit the same members?
If those 2 question have a positive answer than you have a serious problem, and mabe even should contact FIRST.
Hope i helped, Liron.

[JaneYoung]

FIRST-A-Holic's-Anonymous Mailbox is a forum in CD that was set up to be able to deal with tough questions/situations, I thought. I'm not sure what happened to it or if we still have that available to us.

Edit: this is a response to Adam's post, sorry I didn't include a quote.

[C7First]

Originally Posted by Tottanka

First of all, you ahould try talking to that group of people who left. If that does not work, I'm not sure there is anything you can do. It could be nice if your team held it and found sponsership and all it needs. I'm sure you guys can still be FIRSTers, but if those 2 teams become enemy-like it will not be GP at all, and therefore not with the spirit of FIRST. You should see how it works.
Are those 2 teams gonna be from the same school, or city?
Do you want ti recruit the same members?
If those 2 question have a positive answer than you have a serious problem, and mabe even should contact FIRST.
Hope i helped, Liron.

we tried talking and it didn't matter. i know that we will find sponsership, we are actively figureing that out. o we will still be in first and we will have a great time. there is no bad blood between us to them i dont know how they feel about us but i will never know for sure. not the same school but prob the same city. and most likelty the the same members and i am looking into options of the course of action to take.

Woah. Well, first off, don't look at what happened, because no amount of complaining or discussing can change it. Let's look at what's going to happen. Here's what I'm gathering from your description, please correct me if I've drawn the wrong conclusions: The other mentors split off to their new team without notifying the other mentor, and without giving him any time to change.

Here's what I'd do in this situation. If you're really really concerned about this, ask the mentors to sit down and talk about the issue. However, since it seems like there's a bit of a communication issue, you may want to write up your concerns (in a very polite way, maybe write and then edit it a ton of times, with different people reading it, just to avoid any and all chances of misunderstanding), and just send the written form to all involved parties.

If nothing comes of discussing the issue, I suggest going gung ho on sponsorship gathering and recruitment, and try and build your team to a new level. You and the one mentor left could work together to develop a new team image, name, and to gather new students.

Personally, I'd look at this as an opportunity to start from scratch, and to build a new team, based on a new system. Also, make sure to document any and all changes you make at this time, as all that makes prime Chairman's submission material.

Good luck with the new changes!

[C7First]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

FIRST-aholics-anonymous-mailbox is a forum in CD that was set up to be able to deal with tough questions/situations, I thought. I'm not sure what happened to it or if we still have that available to us.

i didn't know there was even such thing.....

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by C7First

i didn't know there was even such thing.....

Not so sure it has been used in a while, maybe one of the mods could tell us a little bit about it.

[AdamHeard]

Originally Posted by C7First

i
Good idea, no way it is gonna happen

Why not?

There is no way that so much animosity was created by one mentor that two teams would refuse to work together. This isn't about mentors or their power struggles, this is a program for high school students.

If enough kids with level heads decide it's best if the teams help each other (which is true), and the mentors refuse, tell the mentors to grow up and remind them that this program is for students.

[C7First]

Originally Posted by 114ManualLabor

Woah. Well, first off, don't look at what happened, because no amount of complaining or discussing can change it. Let's look at what's going to happen. Here's what I'm gathering from your description, please correct me if I've drawn the wrong conclusions: The other mentors split off to their new team without notifying the other mentor, and without giving him any time to change.

Here's what I'd do in this situation. If you're really really concerned about this, ask the mentors to sit down and talk about the issue. However, since it seems like there's a bit of a communication issue, you may want to write up your concerns (in a very polite way, maybe write and then edit it a ton of times, with different people reading it, just to avoid any and all chances of misunderstanding), and just send the written form to all involved parties.

If nothing comes of discussing the issue, I suggest going gung ho on sponsorship gathering and recruitment, and try and build your team to a new level. You and the one mentor left could work together to develop a new team image, name, and to gather new students.

Personally, I'd look at this as an opportunity to start from scratch, and to build a new team, based on a new system. Also, make sure to document any and all changes you make at this time, as all that makes prime Chairman's submission material.

Good luck with the new changes!

the first part is right and it is a small group of people on our team now not just me and the mentor but thanks so much those are all great ideas.

[C7First]

Originally Posted by AdamHeard

Why not?

There is no way that so much animosity was created by one mentor that two teams would refuse to work together. This isn't about mentors or their power struggles, this is a program for high school students.

If enough kids with level heads decide it's best if the teams help each other (which is true), and the mentors refuse, tell the mentors to grow up and remind them that this program is for students.

im not sure it is worth a try but not knowing how they feel right now. it makes it difficult but it is defenatly a great idea

[C7First]

Originally Posted by C7First

im not sure it is worth a try but not knowing how they feel right now. it makes it difficult but it is defenatly a great idea

it also not just the mentors in the struggle some of the students had problems with this mentor too.

[C7First]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

Not so sure it has been used in a while, maybe one of the mods could tell us a little bit about it.

that would be cool

[Madison]

Originally Posted by JaneYoung

FIRST-A-Holic's-Anonymous Mailbox is a forum in CD that was set up to be able to deal with tough questions/situations, I thought. I'm not sure what happened to it or if we still have that available to us.

Edit: this is a response to Adam's post, sorry I didn't include a quote.

This is the link to the FIRST-A-Holics Anonymous forum: http://www.chiefdelphi.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=124

You can create a thread there that will remain hidden until approved by the folks behind the scenes. When your post appears, it will be stripped of your identifying information.

Remember, it's otherwise against forum rules to maintain more than one account per person.