SCHOOL CLOSINGS !

[Tristan Lall]

Originally Posted by 1075guy

If this were my team, I would not have pulled the students for 2 reasons:

1) Their own parents drove them there. They're not technically there under school supervision, and therefore, its not the school's problem.

2) I would have let the students continue to compete, as that's what they spent 6 weeks preparing for, and its not fair to deprive them of that. I would argue with the school board about the asininity of their call later, and make sure the students didn't get into trouble.

The trouble is, that's a harder call for a teacher to make, because the superintendent is their superior in the school board's hierarchy. They risk retribution through their employer for failing to comply.

One of the most troublesome things with extracurricular activities—having participated in the process of organizing them several times—is the need to define who is responsible for the activity, to the satisfaction of all of the stakeholders. If the parents drop the kids off at a regional, is that implicit consent for their participation (even if no form was signed)? What if the school board refuses to permit the school-based team from participating, but the students and teacher want to attend anyway; does the school have the right—ethically and legally—to prevent this? Should FIRST/the regional committee allow these "rogue team members" to participate without the backing of the school (which presumably owns the robot)? And what if the local regional committee is organized using some of the (physical and human) resources of that same school board? And of course, who's liable when something goes wrong? (I have the irrational urge to draft indemnification papers for the non-teacher mentors, and make the students and their parents sign them...in theory, that could be useful if a parent goes litigiously crazy when their child gets hurt.)