Changing a culture of cynicism

[staplemonx]

Be the change you want to see.

[YAK'ker]

Not ever meaning to judge a member by their outward attitude....but I have known many who are on our team simply because their parents pushed them to be, or they want robotics on their resume. Sometimes that works and they eventually become engaged and team-oriented, but more often than not, they take their rebellion against parental authority out on the mentors and the team officers.

My son is a non-cheering type, it's just not his thing. I have no problem with kids who are that way. It's the kids who go out of their way to be negative about showing spirit and who judge others who do that can pilot a team into a negative slump. In a way, it can be a form of bullying, especially when they make fun of others on the team. This has to be stopped right away, then find out what the cause is for their negative attitude and go from there.

[Dylan Danzeiser]

Originally Posted by YAK'ker

My son is a non-cheering type, it's just not his thing. I have no problem with kids who are that way. It's the kids who go out of their way to be negative about showing spirit and who judge others who do that can pilot a team into a negative slump. In a way, it can be a form of bullying, especially when they make fun of others on the team. This has to be stopped right away, then find out what the cause is for their negative attitude and go from there.

Definitely agree with this- there's a huge distinction between those who are just more quietly excited, and may not get into the cheering, dancing atmosphere of competitions but are nevertheless very motivated an invested in the performance of the team, and those as described in the first post that have this attitude towards the competition as a whole.

[ArtemusMaximus]

Originally Posted by staplemonx

Be the change you want to see.

Absolutely agree.

I also would add, ask them what would make them excited. Even if one of them can verbalize what it is and you can help that happen, it'll make difference.

Another thing, if it all possible surround them with easily excited people; after all for logs to burn you need a lot of kindling

[aciarniello]

Another thing, if it all possible surround them with easily excited people; after all for logs to burn you need a lot of kindling

This really made the difference for our team. Much of our presence in the stands had a "too cool for school" attitude to it in years past. It was a consequence of the culture of our school, really.

An extremely enthusiastic mentor with FIRST experience found and joined our team...and she has made a world of difference. She refuses to be unenthusiastic and won't allow our students to be either. She's fairly young and so relates to the students well, which kind of 'gives them permission' to let their hair down a bit and really have fun at competition.

She's a bit of an anomaly and I don't expect someone like her to just walk onto your team like ours, but perhaps a pointed search for a "spirit mentor" could help with your culture!

[JamesCH95]

A few things I will note:

The great teams in FIRST and FRC are not stepping on the necks of lesser teams, the great teams are reaching down to lift the lesser teams up on their shoulders. Imparting this mindset to your team, and having positive interactions with other teams, will help to shed (what I think is) the underlying "it's us versus them" attitude that manifests as cynicism on your team. Celebrate all others' successes because they are our successes as members of FIRST.

Lead by example. Get you students to laugh. Taken them with you to talk to other teams. Take them with you to HELP other teams. Make all of them dance. Remind them that they're at a robotics event, any traditional "coolness" got left at the load-in doors and they're not going to impress anyone by being aloof. Reward the worst (I mean best) puns your students make. Remind them, or better yet show them, that people aren't too different between different teams; we're like one big cult (I mean that in a loving way) and they should embrace being part of such a fantastic group.

[ArtemusMaximus]

Originally Posted by JamesCH95

A few things I will note:

The great teams in FIRST and FRC are not stepping on the necks of lesser teams, the great teams are reaching down to lift the lesser teams up on their shoulders. Imparting this mindset to your team, and having positive interactions with other teams, will help to shed (what I think is) the underlying "it's us versus them" attitude that manifests as cynicism on your team. Celebrate all others' successes because they are our successes as members of FIRST.

Lead by example. Get you students to laugh. Taken them with you to talk to other teams. Take them with you to HELP other teams. Make all of them dance. Remind them that they're at a robotics event, any traditional "coolness" got left at the load-in doors and they're not going to impress anyone by being aloof. Reward the worst (I mean best) puns your students make. Remind them, or better yet show them, that people aren't too different between different teams; we're like one big cult (I mean that in a loving way) and they should embrace being part of such a fantastic group.

Very good points. Especially one about helping others. See if your local FLL or FTC teams need help. That puts a lot of things in different perspective.

[Bob Steele]

The hardest part of acting like you don't care is knowing how much you actually do.