In this rant I am making no claim to perfection nor am I attempting to denounce my own issues with procrastination. I am merely venting about my most recent experiences with group work for a 400-level communication class. That being said, I will commence.
Ok, rewind to the early part of the semester. One assignment for this class is a group presentation/reading forum based on our choice of an article from a provided list. I chose one that, based on the shortened title, looked most interesting. The article, Boys Don’t Cry and Female Masculinity: Reclaiming a Life & Dismantling the Politics of Normative Heterosexuality, focuses on the narrative strategies employed in the film, Boys Don’t Cry. The film is based on the life of a FTM transgender. Anyway, my purpose here is not to analyze the film or the article for you.
We have had access to our articles through BlackBoard since the day we signed ourselves into these groups. The Tuesday before spring break two of my group members approached me about setting up a meeting time. We agreed on Thursday, the 17th. We were to meet at a local coffee house at 6:30 that night. I am not generally a very punctual person, but I got there ten minutes early. When I walked in I didn’t see any one from my group, but since I was early I just took a seat and waited. I realized that there was a back room, so I ventured down the hallway and peered into the room only to find that no one was in there. I went back towards the front of the shop, sat back down and waited. I waited and then waited some more. I waited until 7pm. I emailed all of the women in my group to no avail, well no responses that night anyway. I emailed the Prof to see what she recommended, and she responded saying that she had talked to all members of my group earlier in the week in our consultations and that they all sounded excited about the project.
The next morning I decided to email everyone through IUmail only because I have heard a number of stories about blackboard eating messages. So this was Friday morning, I drafted an email including my phone number and non-school email address and still I heard nothing back. Now mind you this is where I admit that not a single one of us had exchanged phone numbers—STUPID, I know!!
I headed off to work, worked my shift, came home and read until I drifted off to sleep. I woke up early Saturday morning to get started on homework and checked all of my email accounts. One response- She said that no one had told her about the failed meeting. So she and I began correspondence to see if we could find some time in which to meet. By the time I had to go to work, we agreed on meeting Sunday at 7pm at a different local coffee shop. An hour before we were to meet girl #2 called… She just got all of my emails and had been so busy she had forgotten about our project, continuing on about everything that she has due Tuesday. (Yeah, well I have a shit ton of stuff due this week too, but come on!)
Ok, whatever… we were, well 3 out of the 4, we were meeting! Progress, right?
The venue changed, so I came to the campus library and sat down with my group to discuss our paper and our strategy for our presentation. I was thinking that I would have this project knocked out in a couple hours and would then be able to focus my energies on my four other papers and mountain of reading. Boy was that wishful thinking! These two girls had not even read the article!! I think in terms of our article, we got pretty lucky. The reading itself was pretty straightforward and easy to understand. So the one girl looks at me and says, “So, don’t take this the wrong way, but since you actually read the paper maybe you should do the outline and analysis part of the assignment.” It was all I could do to not laugh in her face! The entire assignment is 140 points of 450 total for the class. 70 of the 140 is based on the typed outline and 2-3 page critical response. So, wait, because I actually did the reading I earned the privilege to do the majority of the dirtiest work to earn the group grade without the group effort? How the hell does that make any freakin’ sense? Yea, it doesn’t!!
I honestly have yet to have a good group work experience! I now have to step off my bitch box, and get to work on the project!! If you want the grade, you have to do the work…
Please don't get me started on group work. It's so juvenile and I honestly don't feel it has a place in college whatsoever.
ReplyDeleteThis semester, however, I am in a group of 2 (there was 4 of us but 2 dropped the class first week) and my partner and I work great together. It's been my best group experience thus far. I still think they are ridiculous. Especially when a professor gives a collective grade--that is just unreasonable. Last semester I was in a group and the professor graded us all separately--this is the way it should be.
P.S. I love your new background!