Parent/Mentor/Coach Issues

[HoltDan]

Wow - thanks for all the helpful responses (it will take me a while to digest them all)

What a great organization!

Dan

[JohnBoucher]

Do you have a team handbook? The process of creating one and defining the roles and expectations of the students will make a lot of problems go away. Get everyone involved in the process, students, parents and mentors. Incorporate as many suggestions from the parents as you can. When there is a disagreement, explain to them what is in the best interest of the team. The handbook is a living document that will change from year to year. Take time in the off season to work on it.

All our students must fill out a team application each year. On the application both the students and parents must acknowledge that they have read and will abide by the team rules and regulations in the handbook. The application is distributed as the last page of the handbook, so no one can say that they did not receive it.

[RoboMom]

John's advice is right on. Having a Handbook is a goal that all teams should be working towards.

They come in all types. I have started and stopped and started and stopped over the past 3 years doing a review of great team handbooks and highlighting different ones that have done a good job at certain sections. I hope to pick this back up, but life keeps getting in the way.

There are quite a few that have contracts and expectations laid out for parents. I talked about this some during workshops here in Maryland (and at World Championship last year). Presentation posted here: http://www.firstnemo.org/resources.htm on "Parent Involvement". Also, do a search for Handbooks in the white papers here on cd or just google the words "handbook + FIRST."

I got sucked into FRC more than a decade ago as "just a parent" on a team, and I'm still hanging around causing trouble.