Group Project Hell

[Anonymous]

Group projects are the worst! There is always someone who doesn't do their share and always others who stress because they are dependent on the this person. For school projects, I think that it is just important for the members who actually participate to keep the teacher informed so that they know what's going on. In a work situation, you may need to take more drastic actions.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For those with type A kids who are tempted to “do it all,” I’d ask for a little patience and flexibility. My kid is dyslexic. He doesn’t write well, and it takes him longer than others. Being “the stupid one” makes him anxious, which sometimes leads to work avoidance. He always does his part, and he is often the one fretting at midnight that his partners havent gotten their sections in yet. But there have been projects where a kid who MUST get an A doesn’t let him participate. Re-writes everything he writes, or writes it before his due date so he never has a chance. That’s unfair, too.

Just a heads up that encouraging your kid to take control has drawbacks, too. I prefer those where each kid’s contributions are clear and graded separately. They allow the type A kid to get their A, but also allow my kid to learn.

It’s unfair if your kid waits till the last minute. A few days before I make my kid do it. We have lots of activities and other things and last minute doesn’t work. You need to work with your kid to get it done.

[Anonymous]

AP Seminar is famous for this. Your grade depends entirely on your group keeping up and not falling behind. Projects are group related and there’s always one. If you kid hates group projects, don’t take AP Seminar.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those with type A kids who are tempted to “do it all,” I’d ask for a little patience and flexibility. My kid is dyslexic. He doesn’t write well, and it takes him longer than others. Being “the stupid one” makes him anxious, which sometimes leads to work avoidance. He always does his part, and he is often the one fretting at midnight that his partners havent gotten their sections in yet. But there have been projects where a kid who MUST get an A doesn’t let him participate. Re-writes everything he writes, or writes it before his due date so he never has a chance. That’s unfair, too.

Just a heads up that encouraging your kid to take control has drawbacks, too. I prefer those where each kid’s contributions are clear and graded separately. They allow the type A kid to get their A, but also allow my kid to learn.

It’s unfair if your kid waits till the last minute. A few days before I make my kid do it. We have lots of activities and other things and last minute doesn’t work. You need to work with your kid to get it done.

This is why we make our Type A kid do the other kid's part in a way that no other kid can see when she wants to do extra. That way if it's 8 pm and the assignment is due the next day she's not scrambling, but if the kid is just slow and has done their part, no one will ever know DD did extra work. We also get on her about not re-writing other kids' work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:For those with type A kids who are tempted to “do it all,” I’d ask for a little patience and flexibility. My kid is dyslexic. He doesn’t write well, and it takes him longer than others. Being “the stupid one” makes him anxious, which sometimes leads to work avoidance. He always does his part, and he is often the one fretting at midnight that his partners havent gotten their sections in yet. But there have been projects where a kid who MUST get an A doesn’t let him participate. Re-writes everything he writes, or writes it before his due date so he never has a chance. That’s unfair, too.

Just a heads up that encouraging your kid to take control has drawbacks, too. I prefer those where each kid’s contributions are clear and graded separately. They allow the type A kid to get their A, but also allow my kid to learn.

It’s unfair if your kid waits till the last minute. A few days before I make my kid do it. We have lots of activities and other things and last minute doesn’t work. You need to work with your kid to get it done.

This is why we make our Type A kid do the other kid's part in a way that no other kid can see when she wants to do extra. That way if it's 8 pm and the assignment is due the next day she's not scrambling, but if the kid is just slow and has done their part, no one will ever know DD did extra work. We also get on her about not re-writing other kids' work.

+1

My kid just tucks away the extra portions they did and if it's the night before and they need to submit the project, they'll pull out the extra bits and send the whole thing in.