Robotics Not Wrapping Up

What? Another Robotics after school meeting? I thought we were done with that now that the meet is over and we placed so dismally. Drew shut himself in his room for days afterwards, wishing he could have figured out ways to conquer the problems they encountered. The team slid from #2 to #26 out of 45. Boo.

This was both a debriefing and a planning for a fundraiser at Sam's Club. First the planning for the fund raiser. It took an agonizing hour to plow through the "thinking out loud" stage. The chair I am sitting in was built for a skinny teenager, not a work weary adult. My back is aching and not a break in sight.

Then the debriefing. They are warned to be "professionally gracious" - no finger pointing, no accusations, only ideas of how to improve next year. The moderator will only entertain suggestions from the students. When they have finished and their ideas carved in chalk on the board, they are dismissed to go eat pizza while the parents stay.

I feel as if I am about to be punished. The room is serious and ominously silent. I know only what Drew has reflected. He is frustrated and having a hard time even vocalizing what the issues are. It is a complicated and touchy situation. I listen quietly as one parent and then another tries to be positive about how to plan for next year, but the bottom line is that there is not enough adult involvement.

I know I cannot volunteer. I am still trying to get back on my feet. I am also not an engineer, and they need several software engineers, several electrical engineers, and several mechanical engineers. They used to have 14. This year they had 3. That is a huge issue. They also need mentors for publicity, fund raising, accounting and graphics design. And I think they need a project manager - someone to oversee this process. Goodness! I am unprepared for all this.

I have a whole new appreciation for what Drew has been dealing with. There will be no solutions tonight. I suggest we figure out how to let this need be made known. We have not asked for help, so of course, we don't have it. But we have to identify the right pool of candidates. We will work on it.

Right now I am only interested in getting home. I was not prepared for a 2 and a half hour meeting and I have not even had supper! Not to mention that it is now past my bedtime. Once again I must admit that I still have limitations I would rather not have. I collect Drew and we head for home, commiserating together. The one good thing about this whole scene is that he and I are closer to speaking the same language. Something tells me we are far from done with Robotics.