Lazy group member - let him burn?

mathyone
Sat, 07 Dec 2013 13:57:52 +0000

“There are people that get work done and people who like to goof off. That never changes. So its good that you get to experience this before you hit the workplace.”

In the workplace, does everyone in the group get the same pay raises and promotion opportunities, or are people evaluated on individual review? Yes, the project may need to be done on time and with quality, but a good manager will know who contributed and who didn’t and make decisions accordingly when bonuses are given or layoffs are needed. There are long-term consequences at work which are very lacking in these group school projects.

My younger daughter isn’t even in high school yet and she’s already had way more than she needs of this kind of “experience”, knocking herself out to do high quality work for as many as 4-5 other kids who are too lazy or incapable of doing it themselves. It’s really not helpful for anyone concerned. The slackers aren’t held to consequences and learn they can get through life by slacking. Even well-meaning kids who want to try but are just slow, are probably going to be steamrolled by high achievers who have been trained that “group project” means “go work like crazy because you have to do it all”. Nobody is getting a good interactive experience.

The usual system in schools seems to be to assign mixed groups, with the assumption that the more capable students will teach the others. I really don’t think this is the best system for anyone. I can’t tell you how happy I was when my daughter was put in groups assigned by how well the students were already doing in the class. The good students had the opportunity to work with other good students who would pull their weight. The slackers had to work with other slackers and either take the consequences, or else actually do some work and learn something for a change. And the less capable students could develop their ideas without someone else saying, no, do it this way.