A call for transparency of judging in FLL

[Dean Hystad]

Originally Posted by EmGe

What police? When I conveyed the team’s concerns regarding the judging process to the FLL administration, not only did we not receive a response to the concerns raised, but Ms. Anna Maenhout, Director, FLL wrote back stating “Perhaps the FLL program is not appropriate for your team.”

Reading your post, I can liken the response the team received, to concerned citizens calling the authorities to report crimes in the neighborhood and being told by the police that perhaps they should move to a different part of town!

I find it hard to believe that FLL would respond to "Our team would like to see the judge's evaluations." with "Perhaps the FLL program is not appropriate for your team." To my knowledge returning the evaluations to teams is standard operating procedure. The evaluations are not always enlightening, but it is rare that they are withheld.

Not being privy to your correspondence I don't know what would prompt FLL to suggest the program is not a good fit for your team. I do know that I have run into a few teams where this was true. Their expectations for the program did not mesh well with the goals of FLL and because of this their FLL experience wasn't satisfactory. In most cases it was that the team focused too much on competing against other teams, and it was their opinion that the competative aspects of FLL did not receive enough attention. While I have sympathy for this opinion, I have have seen how unfettered competition can be very destructive and how FLL's controlled competition results in long standing rivals who like and respect each other.

As for gracious professionalism, the recent warning about not diminishing the accomplishment of the NorCal tournament champion is not a gag order against discussing FLL practices or policies. I have yet to meet anyone in FLL that does not value useful feedback. I know that my local affiliate is always working towards making FLL a more rewarding experience. I expect that is the norm.

[EmGe]

Originally Posted by Dean Hystad

I find it hard to believe that FLL would respond to "Our team would like to see the judge's evaluations." with "Perhaps the FLL program is not appropriate for your team."

I think you have misunderstood my post. The response I quoted was the one we received from the FLL administration, when I conveyed the team’s concerns regarding the judging process at the NorCal Capital District tournament.

The rubrics that we received, after a long delay (the primary reason we were told was "that every rubric sheet must be reviewed for appropriate comments") were completely devoid of feedback/comments.

[Nik Bhatt]

Originally Posted by sgridley

I've been reading this thread for some time, and have been thinking about how best to reply. Many people have spoken very eloquently (thank you Dean and others) about FLL judging, what it represents, how it's done, and numerous other issues. I'd like to invite any additional feedback about ways to improve FLL judging to be sent to me, Skip Gridley, Global Judge Advisor for FIRST LEGO League at flljudge@usfirst.org. We really are interested in your feedback to help make things better....
By all means, please feel free to e-mail me. Dean Hystad mentioned a discussion I had with his girls in MN several years ago. I do listen, I'm happy to share as well. In the end everyone benefits from increased understanding, if not always complete satisfaction.

Has anyone sent feedback to Skip regarding this thread and gotten a response? I sent an email with feedback and suggestions on April 11th but didn't get a response. I sent a followup five days ago and still didn't hear anything. It's been over two weeks since my original message.

[LOLComets]

Originally Posted by Nik Bhatt

Has anyone sent feedback to Skip regarding this thread and gotten a response? I sent an email with feedback and suggestions on April 11th but didn't get a response. I sent a followup five days ago and still didn't hear anything. It's been over two weeks since my original message.

Since World Festival is going on now, I suspect that Skip is very busy being the advisory judge and there is quite a bit of preparation 2-3 weeks prior to WF. He has always responded to my e-mails; just give him time.

[EmGe]

Originally Posted by timdavid

I don't know. I received the email March 29th from a person at us first.org.
I emailed her to see if I can post a link to the survey on this forum.

I did not receive a link for the survey either.

[timdavid]

Originally Posted by EmGe

I did not receive a link for the survey either.

Sorry, I never received a response from FIRST about posting the link in the forum, and now the survey link is no longer valid.

On a brighter note, I did receive a response from Skip Gridley about an email I sent, so as LOLComets noted, be patient if you have sent him an email and are awaiting a response.

[EmGe]

Originally Posted by timdavid

On a brighter note, I did receive a response from Skip Gridley about an email I sent, so as LOLComets noted, be patient if you have sent him an email and are awaiting a response.

Anticipating that Skip Gridley would be busy with the World Festival, I delayed writing to him until after. However, I am yet to receive a response.

[EmGe]

Originally Posted by Nik Bhatt

Has anyone sent feedback to Skip regarding this thread and gotten a response? I sent an email with feedback and suggestions on April 11th but didn't get a response. I sent a followup five days ago and still didn't hear anything. It's been over two weeks since my original message.

Any response yet?

I have not received even an acknowledgement, let alone a reply, to my initial e-mail and a follow-up communication.

[EmGe]

Skip,
I note that you are currently viewing this Thread. Would appreciate a response to the messages sent.

Thank you.

[EmGe]

Originally Posted by Nik Bhatt

I didn't receive an email about that -- I get various other FLL emails. Is this survey limited in some way?

No response from Skip Gridley, but I did receive a link to the FLL Coaches Survey earlier today. In my response, I have documented the concerns expressed by the kids (which the FLL administration has chosen to ignore) and the delay in receipt of rubrics which turned out to be not of any help since they were devoid of feedback/suggestions for improvement. I have also stated that I cannot recommend FLL to a friend or colleague unless changes are made to the current secretive judging process.