Saturday, January 19, 2008

If you think that the content below will adversly affect you, please don't read. It's my thoughts about group work.

Occasionally, the thought of handing in a mediocore assignment had crossed my mind when the stress meter is blinking insidiously in red. I'm sure most of my group members wouldn't mind, but in the end, it was me who minded.

This was the case for ABCHM presentation.

The same applies for AMIC and CSAS3 report.

And a list of other minor group projects and individual assignments.

I put in effort for every single task assigned to us. I could do those individual assignments without much qualms. It was those group work that I had encountered difficulties. I'm not good at group dynamics but still, I always try my best to cooperate and tolerate. I won't deny that I'm a difficult person to work with because of all those expectations I set.

People who had worked with me frequently would know what I mean.

It's difficult to reject your group members' work but when I do, I always supply them with reasons why their part wasn't being accepted. It's like why do it when the effort is not there?

I know I know, most of the times the results are not proportionate to the effort. I used to the unfairness. You teach somebody something and they score higher than you; I'm okay with it. You do 70% of the work but everyone else score the same as you, I'm okay with it too. I'm okay with pretty much everything as long as my groupmates show a certain degree of esteem in their work.

I'm not okay with group members who are free-loaders. I'm not okay with people who crawl to you when they need help and turn away when their needs are met. I'm not okay with sloppy work. And I'm not okay with people using me and vice versa.

Once I had voiced all these things I felt unfair to a friend and what he said really affected me a lot.

"It doesn't matter that the person you taught scored higher than you. The whole thing is about yourself isn't it? Anyway, I'm sure people still think and know that you are the best."

Yeah right. He's right.

God gives you a gift so you can use your gift to help others, not to become selfish.

True.

That's why I can live with all those unfairness in life.

Haha...