It hurts to exclude people from the team, but...

[JBotAlan]

Hey all,

We recently had a student join our team that did not fit in. I wanted him to be on the team because I thought it would be good for him, but it turned out wrong--members made fun of him because he does not fit the stereotype most of the kids on our team fit into, and he left the team. I want to welcome *everyone* that comes to the team, but I don't know what to do in this case. I tried to defend the poor guy, but some of the other members were...less than welcoming.

So how would you handle it if someone that's not an overachiever joined your team? There is obviously a tendency to resist someone who is not like you, but we need a diverse team, and until we can welcome someone that's not a nerd, I don't think we're really successful in our recruiting. How do you get past that? I'm accepting and patient by nature, but I can't say the same for some of the other members.

Help.

JBot