School Group Projects.

[SkyKnight03]

Simple question:

How do/did you feel about working with others in school?

I never dreaded the aspect of working with others, as so much I never liked the method of having to get paired up. It lent into feeling excluded and standing around like a deer in headlights if you couldn't find someone to work with.

My high school gym class still did "Team Captains". Meaning kids would be picked one by one by other students until nobody was left. I was picked towards the beginning or middle, until they figured out I wasn't actually good at dodge-ball or sports. Then proceeded to be picked last each day. This was back in 2018. (The one and only year I took gym). I didn't think it would still exist in schools nor be something I would have to put up with.

 

[oak]

When I was in school a decade ago, I did enjoy group projects for classes like social studies or science but not gym. Especially if kids are getting picked one by one cause my chunky ass would always be picked last. I can't even blame them, I was not a sports ball kinda guy.

 

[SkyKnight03]

When I was in school a decade ago, I did enjoy group projects for classes like social studies or science but not gym. Especially if kids are getting picked one by one cause my chunky ass would always be picked last. I can't even blame them, I was not a sports ball kinda guy.

Ugh, science experiments were dreadful o_o Kids are brutal.

A teacher placed me into what was an obvious tight group of friends. One of them told me "Sit down and do nothing, *****. You aren't part of this". I could have probably told the teacher to reassign me, but as a 12 year old my thoughts weren't too clear on what to do with being spoken like that. So I did sit there and watch.

Then they had the group kids 'grade each other' on partipcation and I received total 0's.

 

[VernalLapin]

I usually prefer to work alone. I’m an introvert and socializing is stressful with someone I don’t know that well. Plus, I have more creative control over everything which can help me feel more secure in the project’s quality.

 

[Midoriya]

I didn't mind working with others in school, so long as they pulled their weight. I usually did my fair share and did well on assignments like this. There was at least one or two times, however, where I had to do most of the work (and I wasn't even the group leader)...

 

[QueenCobra]

They were honestly one of the main reasons why I’m glad I’m out of school now lol.

 

[Xara]

Group work was honestly my worst nightmare in school, especially when the teacher would let us pick our own partner(s). I didn’t have any friends during my last few school years, and I have really bad social anxiety, so I would just be frozen in my seat, staring at my phone so that I’d maybe not look as pathetic and alone as I felt while everyone else paired up with their friends.

It was so embarrassing. I graduated almost a year ago, and I still remember how my stomach would drop and I’d go cold all over the minute my teacher said the words “group work”. It was terrible when my teacher would have to pass me off to some group, or a classmate would try to be helpful and tell me that a group still had room for one more person. I know my classmates and my teachers meant well, but it was so unbelievably embarrassing.

I elected to work by myself when I was able to, but when I did have to work with others, I did my best to contribute. I didn’t add much to conversations because of my anxiety, but I did my share of whatever research and project we had to do, and I didn’t abandon my group on presentation day.

There were some groups that I didn’t mind being a part of and some people that I didn’t mind working with, but overall I never enjoyed group work. I’m so glad that I’ve graduated and never have to deal with that again.

 

[Goldi Locks]

I thought it was great. I was such a liability though, that I doubt many people were happy to have me in their group. Apart from in P.E, when everyone wanted my fearless self on their team to take the opposing team down

 

[Kitsuragi]

i love doing group projects tbh. even if the other side doesn't pull their weight. can't say i've had that happen more than once, though.

 

[Croconaw]

No. Picking teams are a terrible idea because someone always feels left out. I even cut class one day only because I didn’t want to deal with the embarrassment of being not being chosen. I hate how schools continue to not do anything about bullying. Even in groups, I didn’t feel useful enough to even participate because nobody took me seriously. I felt like they felt obligated to include me because the teacher would insert me into groups already formed when nobody chose me. It ruined my self-esteem and bullying affects you long into adulthood. I don’t care what anyone else says. They fail to see the consequences of their actions… There is definitely more harm than good in choosing groups.

 

[-Blue-]

I didn't mind group projects, but I always ended up doing most of the work just to get it done and over with. It was not worth the headaches trying to pull teeth with my classmates.

Sometimes you get a group of people who aren't motivated and nothing happens other times you get a control freak who makes the whole process a nightmare.

 

[aericell]

in grade school i didn’t really like group (or assigned partner) projects because i would end up doing most of the work. i remember getting super annoyed when my friends/group mates would keep talking to other people instead of helping out. BUT, on the plus side, me doing most of the work usually meant they would take care of the presenting part. i still remember one group project in my junior english class where we were grouped up with our tables and none of my group mates did ANYTHING. the girls were gossiping and the boys were sleeping or daydreaming or something. i was a very shy & quiet student so even my teacher was taken aback when i spoke up and called them out on not doing anything to contribute despite me practically laying out the entire project for them and telling them what could go on each slide (all they needed to do was fill them in). my teacher commended me for speaking up after class but i do wish she had said something to my group mates also

groups in college were much, much better since people would pull their weight a lot more but i think there were still a few instances of poor effort.

as a teacher, when i assign group work i always give the option of working alone and there’s a good handful of students in each class that actually (rightfully) prefer to do so and are better off that way. with group projects i stress that everybody needs to pull their weight and stay on task, otherwise the whole groups faces consequences. i do let them pick their groups, mostly to show them whether their friends would actually help. they end up complaining half the time because so-and-so isn't doing anything or keeps messing around, but hey, you picked your groups

 

[Halloqueen]

I was always a shy, quiet person growing up and frankly pretty socially inept unless conversing with family or the friends who took the initiative to get to know me and develop a rapport I could feel comfortable with. I feel like I was a late bloomer who gradually grew into charisma and personality as I passed through my 20s and am now in my 30s.

I say all that to convey that group work sucked and I always preferred solo work when it was an option. I could work in a group if I had to, but it's not like I'd be someone that people would choose, so it was just kind of awkward.

 

[Yoshi155]

I’m good with group projects. If it’s big, I prefer to work alone, though. Usually, even if I’m working with people I actually like, if it’s on a big project I’m the one doing most of the work, and at that point I usually think it’s more convenient and efficient to just do it by myself.

There is one thing I have to say that’s not really related to group projects, but in 8th grade, I was always seen as the least important person and always picked last for teams whenever other students were the captains or valued least in teamwork games. It got to the point where I could guess which team I would be on based on who picked first. That made me angry beyond words (even just remembering it makes me mad, because they picked the girls who stand around and talk, literally doing nothing, before they picked me, someone who actually cares about my grade in the class) and made me really hate gym and want to just not play and just lie on the bleachers or sabotage the team or something. This even continued into 9th grade, and it got even worse, and eventually stopped because the teacher started picking our teams instead, which I was more than willing to do. I don’t hate it anymore though.

 

[Corrie]

Usually they were more trouble than they were worth. I always tried to pair up with the smart kids so I knew they'd pull their weight. Group work was terrible when you couldn't pick your teams and you'd have the loser kids who you knew wouldn't do a darn thing. I'd much rather do work myself because then I knew it was getting done.

 

[cornimer]

I always hated school group projects. I usually ended up doing most of the work myself. That, or other people's parts would be subpar and I would wish I had just done it all myself

 

[moonbyu]

i didn't like them before but after recent events (i posted a ton about it on here while it was happening lol), i genuinely cannot stand them anymore. i'll still be courteous and kind to my group members and do my work ofc, but if it were up to me, i'd rather work alone.

 

[Captain Jigglypuff]

As long as the others helped with the assignment, I was perfectly fine with having to work in groups. If they basically sat around and did nothing to help, that’s when I had a problem and would tell the teacher that I was basically doing all of the work and it was unfair if the lazy ones got the same grade as me because I was the one that did all of the work.