Group Project Hell

[Anonymous]

I can’t believe how many group projects my middle schooler has. Are teachers just too lazy to grade individual projects these days?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Group projects suck, but they are one of the things school does that really truly does prepare you for adult professional life. You are going to have crappy coworkers that don't pull their weight at some point in your career, and you'll have to manage that and find a way to get the work done regardless. As others have said, hopefully the slacker gets their due eventually.

This is so true. I would say that group projects are one of the best lessons available in school. They will learn that someone is going to carry a lot of the weight and how to cope with that.

Ridiculous. You learn that lesson very rapidly and don't need to suffer several times a year, for all K-12 plus college.

I dont see what you can do about it really. If you run to the teacher your DC does not learn how to solve issues. Give the slacker the easiest things possible and produce the rest of it yourself or among the members that are interested. It is such a common part of life. Get some coping skills going.

So sure this is life, but even adults in these experiences will often come home and stress to their partner about the slacker on the job and how much more difficult it makes life. Just because kids can learn coping skills this way doesn't mean it's the only or even best way to learn them. Or that it needs to be happening throughout the year repeatedly.

It’s not when some of them are huge projects for few points.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Don't put the slacker's name on the group project. Your DD and anyone else who actually did their work are the only ones who put their name on it.

Yep, do it yourself and don't put the slacker's kid name on it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe how many group projects my middle schooler has. Are teachers just too lazy to grade individual projects these days?

No. Believe it or not there are actual benefits to group work.

[Anonymous]

Yep, my kid just does the work herself to make up for the slacker. Sucks but this is real life.
Frustrated her to no end at first, but now she has learned this is how it is and it doesn't infuriate her...she doesn't like it ofc but it doesn't get under her skin. So your kid will learn that at least. And in real life jobs, there will always be a slacker or a dumb person.
It has taught my kid how to be a better leader and better delegator - how to assign tasks to other grp members that she think they can/will actually do.

In MS, she did tell the teacher sometimes, and teacher would appreciate being told. In HS, she doesn't tell teacher.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I can’t believe how many group projects my middle schooler has. Are teachers just too lazy to grade individual projects these days?

No. Believe it or not there are actual benefits to group work.

Yes, motivated kids learn to do all the work so they don’t end up as the loser teachers who only want to grade 5 projects instead of 25.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Group projects suck, but they are one of the things school does that really truly does prepare you for adult professional life. You are going to have crappy coworkers that don't pull their weight at some point in your career, and you'll have to manage that and find a way to get the work done regardless. As others have said, hopefully the slacker gets their due eventually.

This is so true. I would say that group projects are one of the best lessons available in school. They will learn that someone is going to carry a lot of the weight and how to cope with that.

Ridiculous. You learn that lesson very rapidly and don't need to suffer several times a year, for all K-12 plus college.

Seriously. This is not what school is for. School is for learning content. Not how to manage slackers.

[Anonymous]

why oh why are you involved in your kid's group project? are you part of the group?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why oh why are you involved in your kid's group project? are you part of the group?

Good parents check in with their kids and provide support.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why oh why are you involved in your kid's group project? are you part of the group?

When your kid is having to learn the coping skills of doing the slacker's work, you usually hear about it.

Once they've learned it settles down.

[Anonymous]

Here is the truth....they will probably have to work with others on group projects to some degree for the rest of their lives. And....every now and then, there will be a person who does not do anything, or does a horrible job. I quickly learned with group projects in secondary school, college, graduate school (yes, I actually had someone in my MBA program not do any work on a semester long project), and in the work place that the best bet with a group project is to get started immediately. I would set up a meeting with everyone and assign parts with an early deadline. If someone did not do their part, honestly, I picked up the slack (I often times had other team mates who were also willing to pitch in and pick up the slack). I refused to let my grade suffer. I always figure that in the long run, the person not participating will suffer from not doing the work. It does stink, but that is it. Start the project immediately with assigned pieces spelled out in an email with dates. If someone does not do their part, give them one more chance (you build in time for this), and then save yourself. I also have no problem giving honest feedback if asked by the teacher. On the plus side, as I progressed in school and took more difficult classes, most students in these classes were also interested in doing well and put in the work.

[Anonymous]

My son has always done somewhere between 75 and 100% of the work on all group projects. Sucks but it is what it is.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:why oh why are you involved in your kid's group project? are you part of the group?

Here’s the parent of the kid who does nothing in the group project. You don’t hear about it because your lazy kid isn’t contributing.

We are hearing about it because when I ask my kid why he has so much homework he launches into a rant about how your kid is a lazy POS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:In the future you have her do their share.

Yes. This is great planning for real life working with others at a future job, where collaboration means that one late piece slows down the entire group effort and your boss grades the whole.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son has always done somewhere between 75 and 100% of the work on all group projects. Sucks but it is what it is.

If you are type A about your school work, this is the way. Helps you prepare for slacker colleagues. You just put slacker's name on the project and move on.