TEAM FALLING APART! HELP!

[roveout]

I hope things work out, but if they don't.... is there another FIRST team nearby? It's not unheard of to have a 2 school Team. You might be happier and better served by combining with another team and working in their space. It's not good to work in a toxic environment.

Jeff

[missledojer217]

I feel sorry for your team. my advice would get everyone and to his Bluntly, and strait to the point. It has worked for me with past teachers, and mentors. also thanks if you actually bother to read this I do know it is eather at or near the bottom.
-team 3230

[Bob Steele]

Originally Posted by fox46

First of all, the shop is not *HIS*. He is merely an employee of the board- he does not own the equipment and resources in your school. Contacting your administration is the right way to go. What would *I* do next?

Work with your mentors and sponsors. Explain the situation if they are not already aware of it, then move everything - and I mean everything robotics related off-site to your mentor's garage. Have another teacher or the administration let you into the room and collect all your equipment. There is a magical key known as a cordless drill which can defeat nearly any lock! If it can't then it's friend- the bolt cutter, will. Your teacher will quickly get the message and he will then have to make the judgment call as to whether he's with you or against you. In any case, it doesn't matter- you will be free to work off-site as you please.

Keep in mind that (I am making an assumption here) he's not the one who paid the entry fee. You have sponsors who expect to see something for the money they have contributed. Explain to him that you have a duty to deliver a product and his actions have prevented you from doing so. Appologize for removing the equipment but explain that you felt it was necessary in order to continue with the project.

i have to respectfully state that this is really a bad and possibly criminal idea.
Breaking into school facilities and stealing the materials there are criminal acts and would only result in a quick closing of your program. You are putting a school administration in a no win situation for you if you do this.

Being a teacher in a situation where my room was being used to build robots I have experienced some of the issues here...

Cleaning up the room... It is only courtesy to clean up the room you are using if it is being used for other classes/projects

It really makes no difference who paid for your entry fee... the tools and materials belong to the school that the team is representing... not to the students...

Is your Head Coach being paid for this or is he volunteering? I know it can be a TREMENDOUS burden to the coach to do all of the things that are required to make a team work.

I think you have to find out WHY the head coach is acting the way that he is acting. Remember that there is an almost CERTAIN chance that student/mentor actions have prompted his reactions. No one acts for no reason...

I am certainly not condoning your coach's actions... they seem to be unreasonable from your description.

I just know that there are always more than one side to any situation.
Find out what the real problem is...

Again I am not condoning his actions... fighting unreasonable leadership with unreasonable or possibly criminal behavior is not ever the thing to do.

My own opinion is to not confront the teacher with a huge committee of obviously antagonistic mentors and students. Find another adult.. one with good social skills. and have that adult do a one on one meeting... no demands.... just informational on what needs to be done... and then work towards that plan... kindness and respect will do a great deal towards fixing your situation...

I hope things work out for you...
Just please don't make it worse...

Remember it is not a matter of who was right or wrong...
It is a matter of how do we proceed in a way that will allow a robot to be built and programmed ...

[xitaqua]

Hello All,

This is a very interesting thread, and I gotta say I can relate to it as someone that have been in the industry for a couple years. There have been times I have disagreed with my past bosses (just in case my current boss is reading this, I agree with all your ideas, it is just my past bosses I had disagreement).

Although I might have disagreed, and sometimes might have thought their idea was not the best idea, I have agreed to commit and give my best effort, and many times my boss was right.

For those that will be joining the workforce in a couple years, and have been thru this situation with your FIRST team, you will be better prepared when you become a professional in the industry. What does not break you, make you stronger.

Cheers,
Marcos 4:8
BERSDT (Broad Engagement Robotics Spiral Demo Team)
Spiral 11 - Program Manager.

[VKP]

Hmm. I was about to recommend that you talk to your school administration then I read that you have started doing that. I would try and make the most of that.

It does seem that your teacher has serious power issues, and your school administration needs to have a serious talk with this teacher. Likely, you will need to find a new teacher to supervise your club, and move your parts from this teachers room. I would actually do that ASAP. I'm hoping that the school administration has keys to all the locks in the school, so even if your teacher disagrees, you can get in there and move your parts somewhere else, or to a mentor's garage.

I REALLY hope you guys get through this!

[Zembas]

I can't think of much more that hasn't been said, but I think that if you can't work it out at your current site, you might see if any other teams in your area can accommodate your team for the time being.

[LinuxArchitect]

You should get your PTSA and the school board involved in this problem. Remember that you, the student, are not the customer; your parents are. Your Principal is not senior management; the school board is. Those stakeholders, along with a local mentor representing the community, need to become engaged in addressing the issue. Get a meeting scheduled and go in prepared and with an open mind. Think of positive things to say, and have constructive ideas on how to resolve issues.

If you have other teams in your school district, ask their coach to also attend to provide information about their program.

Also make sure you address the issues as they relate to academics and your college prospects. If you walk in talking about your "club", you will be at a big disadvantage. That's not the school's mission. You should mention any financial support you get from non-school sources. Your activities are not a drain on the school system, but rather a positive extension.

In the off season you can prepare alternative plans to form a community team. You can even offer that to the school and see if they actually prefer it. I can predict that they will not. Don't present it as an ultimatum, just as a possible solution. But don't kid yourself, converting to a community team is hard and not without a fresh set of problems. Even the worst school environment has certain advantages.

And know that you are not alone with this problem.

PS If you are in the DC Capital Region, I'm happy to help face-to-face.

PPS Also check to see if you have a school or school district ombudsman, someone with the actual role of bringing two parties to the table to resolve conflict.

[Kims Robot]

I think some of the ideas here are good... though I would highly advise against any kind of striking tactic... it hurts both you and him and may put even more distance between the team. Talking to the administration can be good, but depending on the situation, sometimes they can move slow, and even if they attempt to resolve it in a week's time, even more time is lost for you.

What I would recommend is find one of your committed mentors and one or two of your lead students and go see the teacher. Depending on what you think might be best, you may want to pick one person to approach him one on one, or you can go as a group if you think he won't feel threatened.

Now by what you said, I am assuming the team has probably already gotten into arguments with him, they have probably told him how unreasonable he is being and pushed back... and I'm guessing this hasn't worked.

What I would suggest is approach it from a different angle. Have this person or people LISTEN to him. Ask him (only if you can do it non-confrontationally) why he has come up with the changes/suggestions he has. There may be all sorts of things at play that you do not know about. Maybe the administration is pushing him to have more success with the team. Maybe the sponsors have told him there isnt enough "engineering" going on. Maybe he is trying to prove to other tech teachers that he can do something. Maybe he got cited for having a dangerous shop. Maybe he really wants the team to win the Inventor award...

Do whatever you can to look at it from his perspective. Admittedly his tactics aren't working to help you all create the environment you want. Very few of us are calm and cool and perfect in stressful situations. It may be even harder for him if he has been forced to step back either for family, health, or whatever reasons. He is obviously taking things very seriously and is having issue with the team not doing things the way he is trying to get them to do it, and his actions seem to indicate that he feels like no one is Listening to him. He probably also feels that he has quite a lot of experience, and that the team should respect that and know that he has knowledge that is causing him to make these decisions. Again, admittedly, he could probably be better at communicating that, but not many of us are master communicators.

So figure out what his motives are. Figure out why he wants things the way he does. But try to do it by asking (non-threatening) questions and really really listening to his answers. Maybe some of his ideas could benefit the team, maybe there is some room for compromise. Maybe once you have really heard him, and he knows you have listened (try the technique of echoing back to him what you think you heard him say), maybe then he will let down his guard a bit and you can begin to understand and come to a plan that will work for everyone.

Small sidebar... the major points you mention... 1511 went through all of them. Our first year we had nothing in CAD really (except one gear box a sponsor designed for us). By the fourth year, while we did not have a ton of students who knew CAD, our entire robot was designed in CAD and was possibly one of the most attractive robots we made (not to mention it all was exactly the weight we predicted!!), and because we did it in CAD, everything went together in a single night right around the end of the 4th week. So just because you are working in CAD and do not have parts yet, doesn't necessarily mean you are behind. There is a lot to be said for not having to assemble and disassemble, redo, assemble again... etc. And on the clean shop thing, same again... 1511 was kind of a disaster our first year. We were given a woodshop that no one really used at that time of year, so everything was out all over the tables as everyone used the logic "well Im still working on that". That was the same year my own personal $500 makita drill was stolen from the shop. Now 1511 puts absolutely everything away into cabinets or closets, tools get put back in the tool chest, and rooms are exactly as they were found. Its painful at first go to through these transitions, but trust me, 1511 is a much better team for it, and on those two points, you will be too.

Back to the point... try really listening (not just asking & hearing) and see if it helps. Good luck!

[LemmingBot]

Maybe you should sit the mentor down with your whole team and explain to the fellow what concerns you. He needs to know that the team is not his own personal battalion, its a democratic group that he is only a coordinator for. Give him an ultimatum, if he dosent change his ways you will throw him out of the team. Start contacting local car or mechanical workshops, they will probably be very interested and be better equipped for your build. Don't let this one person ruin what is ment to be a fun sport because he's a jerk.

You cannot sacrifice your time, money and sanity dealing with this guy.

[Djinn74]

Its been about a week. What is the progress on the problem?