Another Culture Change

[sanddrag]

This is nothing new. I remember it all the way back to 2003 with Team 60. If it doesn't look like it was hacked together from scrap and place near the bottom of the ranks, people assume the students didn't build it. I remember when I was in middle school, and built a Pinewood Derby car with a built-in battery and LED headlights and taillights. I overheard the parent judges, and was denied an award because "this one must have been built by his father." I think it's rather insulting to the bright students out there to assume students are not capable of higher level work. Do not be so quick to judge how a team works unless you've been in their shop for hours on end.

I really like this quote

Excellence means we need to do everything we can as a team to find the best possible solution to this problem by following the best process possible...

and to that I'd like to add "...using any and all resources and people available."

You don't cut it with a hacksaw if you have a waterjet. You don't epoxy it if you have a welder. You don't beat it over the edge of a table if you have a press brake. You don't let your experienced mentors sit on the sidelines while the students fool around without direction.

You never want to look back and say "we could have done better." If your engineers are not helping your students, I bet one of them says this at the end of the year.

Suppose an engineer has an idea that as shown by an engineering process, provides a competitive advantage over a student's idea. Should the engineer keep his mouth shut and let the student continue down a failed path? No.

Will student learning be achieved? Perhaps, but what will the student have learned? How to fail...

The engineer should provide the guidance to show the student why a certain idea is better than another, with the engineering basis or calculation to support the claim. This is inspiration. This is teamwork. Has student learning been achieved? Yes, to a greater extent than if the student had failed. They are now ready to do things the right way, as opposed to only having learned what they've done wrong.

Any adult can open a door. Some can give direction. A few can give leadership. These are the true mentors. This is where true success comes from.