[IAEP] [Sugar-devel] [SLOBS] [SLOB] GSoC mentor stipend motion

[Adam Holt]

On May 7, 2016 3:33 PM, "Lionel Laské" <lionel.laske at gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Disagree.
>
> Thought I understand that 500$ is lot of money for some people, I think
that GSoC is also a way for SugarLabs to raise money. Because we don't ask
for an annual fee to member (like other association, for example OLPC
France), it's even the only way to hope for a regular contribution.

Indeed, Google chose to pay "mentoring organizations" rather mentors, for
exactly the reasons Lionel lays out.  If Google wanted to pay GSoC stipends
instead, it would have done exactly that, using the word stipend, and
incurring the very significant accounting/managerial/compliance costs of
managing such stipends.  Google (GSoC) did Not make that choice, though
conceivably in future Google should consider international transactions
direct to Mentors?

Until that distant day, mentors/tutors/teachers are insufficiently
recognized, just like the mentoring organization is insufficiently
recognized, in the constructionist ethos especially we are all learning ;-)

In conclusion, I abstain because my own opinion is that a $500 pass-thru to
the mentor shows a lack of respect for the organization/ops backstopping of
our overall *joint* efforts ~ in the same way that $500 to the organization
shows a similar lack of respect for certain particularly dedicated mentors.

Personally I'd be in favor of splitting $500 GSoC payments between
organization and mentors-in-need ($250 each) particularly those mentors in
low-income countries (of those most demonstrably catalyzed by a $250
Honorarium) if such a consensus later emerges.

Lionel's warning should not be ignored, if anyone cares about
inter-generational leadership: in the apprentice system the parents of
mentees who can afford it would very happily Pay Sugar Labs (Mentoring
Organization), much like users of Wikipedia happily Pay annual donations,
much like members of OLPC France happily Pay for something they believe
in...  (What other learning economies surround us, that we may not even
realize??)

> Best regards from France.
>
>         Lionel.
>
>
> 2016-05-07 1:49 GMT+02:00 Walter Bender <walter.bender at gmail.com>:
>>
>> At today's Sugar Labs oversight board meeting [1], we discussed the
motion submitted by Sebastian Silva to allow the mentors participating in
Google Summer of Code to disperse the mentor stipend among themselves as
they see fit. I second the motion and bring it to you in an email vote.
>>
>> Background: Every year, Google provides mentoring organizations with a
stipend for the mentors. In our first year of participation in the program,
Sugar Labs mentors agreed to have the stipend directed to the Sugar Labs
general funds. We have followed the same procedure in subsequent years.
This year, however, several mentors asked if they could have access to the
stipends (which are allocated per student internship). We discussed this at
the meeting and agreed that it would be appropriate to offer these funds as
compensation and thanks to the mentors for their time and expertise (there
were no objections raised). We need to vote on this however, since the
funds are given to the mentoring organization, not the individual mentors.
>>
>> Members of the oversight board, please reply to this email solicitation
for a vote on the following motion. (Note that since I am a mentor, I think
I must recuse myself from the vote.)
>>
>> Motion: to allow the mentors participating in Google Summer of Code to
disperse the mentor stipend among themselves as they see fit.
>>
>> regards.
>>
>> -walter
>>
>> [1]
https://wiki.sugarlabs.org/go/Oversight_Board/Meeting_Minutes-2016-05-06
>>
>>
>> --
>> Walter Bender
>> Sugar Labs
>> http://www.sugarlabs.org
>>
>>
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>>
>
>
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