If professors would actually take the time to listen to their students, they'd know that group work doesn't work for us for lots of reasons.

College is competitive. There are competitive entrance exams, people are evaluated by grades and GPAs, and high achievers are singled out by honor rolls and dean's lists. All that makes for an environment that fosters individual work. And then all of a sudden we're expected to do the communal group cluster f*&ck and babysit people who are either intellectually incapable of handling college level work or who simply don't care.

When are professors going to pull their heads out of their as^&*s, stop reading their ridiculous pedagogical theory that says that "collaborative learning" is good for everyone and use common sense. The best thing that college can do for students is to teach them to pull their own weight and stand or fall on the merits of their own work. That is a real world skill that many people leave college never learning because they sat around with their thumb up their a$$ while someone else did their work.

First, it's a law of the universe that no matter who you talk to, they will say they hate group projects and they do all the work. Obviously, sometimes it's true and the speaker IS the one who does the work, but I've never heard anyone pop up in a discussion about GPs and say, "yeah, I don't like group projects, I'm lazy and cannot manage my time and end up not contributing."

So, having said that disclaimer, I want o say that this sem I was in 5 GPs (sorry, no 50 page dissertations) and in only ONE did my group classmates step up and deliver their fair share. I accept as soon as the prof utters "group project" that I am going to do it and not give a damn if anyone helps. I don't like it but that's what GPs have taught me.

I am firmly convinced if colleges are going to make people do GPs, then they should have a GP class to prepare people on HOW to dunction in a GP.

I did my work, got the stuff to the "group leader" on time, and, STILL, she bashed me! AND, continued to black-ball me to everyone she spoke to me, until virtually everyone in my major was avoiding me! Very Scary, a person like that! Just think about dealing w/her on the jobsite! Just sayin.

Sometimes people need to get over themselves and be real. Empathy goes a long way, and I know when some are 20-something it's not even in their vocabulary, but it needs to be plastered right in front of thier shallow noses!

Just a little p.o.'d

What erin says is true.

oh and kate as for the length, I've had a class that is done completely in groups and has project that was 45 pages with a 20 minute presentation. can i get a medal? and i don't go to such a prestigious school as you. oh wait i do, so can i get another medal? oh and did i mention the time the 45 page paper was due i also had two midterms (accounting, econ) and a 10 page paper in spanish analyzing a poem. one poem. and i'm not a native speaker. Can i have another medal please. Oh and did i forget to mention that i had to organize a fundraiser for 500 people? another medal por favor.

You wouldn't last a day on the Colorado College Block Plan.

Honestly, even 4 pages and 5 minutes in front of the class (when given less than 2 weeks to do it) is worth writing about. You try writing a psych essay when you have to basically take one girl's work and put it into a google translator.

Also, I don't judge people, again, not sure whose comments you've been reading, but I definitely have sex and take shots.

And I'm pretty sure about a million other people have made the exact same remark about how much I comment, in fact, I think you probably just copied and pasted that entire sentence. But yes, if I read an article and a thought strikes me then I'm going to post it and I'm a pretty analytical person, so more often than not I have thoughts on just about everything I read, pick up any one of my books and the margins are full of thoughts, comments, and questions. So sorry, it's just how I work. But if they bother you that much you can just ignore them.

And sorry about my comment. I just thought what you said to Lauren was pretty fucked up. And for the record, I don't think a 4 page 5 minute group project is a petty thing to whine about, and it is probably more realistic and covers a wider audience than a larger project would, because I'm guessing more people have had smaller group projects rather than larger ones. And I'm sure everyone else would agree that any assignment where even a small part of your grade can be effected by a fellow student is shitty. But that's really beside the point since the article wasn't even about the project Lauren mentioned, but the SITUATION revolving around assignments of the like, so it's actually rather trivial to call out how menial a hypothetical project is when it's simply a offset of the article and not the main point.