It’s like that in the work force also. I hate it too but there isn’t much that can be done about it.

Adapt, live with it, ignore the @$$es, and relax after school/work.

When you are old enough, a cold brew will take your mind off of that nonsense.

Since the ‘touchy-feely’ types came into management, that’s the way things have been.

Why don’t you go into management and fix it?

There can be, but often they put you with a group during the first week of the class unless it is an unannounced project. For world History I got grouped with a Japanese girl that could barely speak English. And a guy with a afro that was about a foot and a half thick. It was made very clear that it would be up to the group to get the projects done by any means possible, meaning that if the others wouldn’t I would have too, and the grade would be shared…so I dropped the class the same day.

Thats the beauty of college, if you don’t like it, or feel like you will fail it, drop it and try again another semester.

It sounds to me that you have had many bad experiences with group work. Unfortunately, you are right when you mentioned that some people work and others sit there and do nothing. Those people are the ones that need the most help in the group in order for them to get their crap together. Most don’t get the hint though! Not too many suggest that it’s their way or nothing. Sounds to me like it’s your group members that suck and you really dont hate the work, it’s them that you hate for doing this to you! Find other people to work with or pick out the ones that you know will work well with you and leave the rest behind.

As a teacher, I will tell you that your teacher will put a slouch in the group on purpose to make them work. If they do not do their work then tell the teacher (this is why that person was put with your group to begin with!).

As a student, I had an experience when I was completing my Masters Degree. This is not limited to high school, get this… A guy was in every one of my classes and he knew I liked to do group work and that I did a good job so he always came to my groups. He decided to cut class several times and later asked us for notes, etc. . Eventually, we caught on and decided to get back at him. We told the teacher he did nothing for the final project and he failed the class!

Don’t blame yourself, some people are just idiots!

(PS the same guy came to me the day before my graduation and asked me to give me a copy of my dissertation so he can graduate! I told him that I worked my butt off and that this wasnt high school. He should earn his degree himself, unless he wanted to hand me his degree personally. No answer, and I walked away)

Not unless you are working on a term paper and you are allowed to conduct it with someone else. Besides that, I don’t think so because they don’t have the time for it. Good Luck! What I do is try to become the leader of the team. One time, I was ina group with two other people and one of them was the quiet type and the other wanted to do everything but somehow I kinda became the leader of the whole thing so it turned out alright in the end I would think. And another time I was working with all boys and I was the only one in the group and I ended up doing 95 percent of the work, but it was nice to be the one in charge and I had everyone listening to me and following my lead. Be more aggressive and take charge. Don’t be afraid to tell people your idea and if it makes great sense to you tell them to go with it. GOOD LUCK!

Unfortunately there is a lot of group work in College and in most offices.

The best way to deal with the situation is to recognize your strength in a group and make sure that when you start working with a group you all explain where your strength is and how you can divide the work to fit within your strengths.

High School is a hard time any – wait till you get to College – people start to group up and mature. It will get easier.

I hated it too sooooo much!!!! I used to dread it. I know it sucks now, but it really does help. I realized it after I had been working for a few years. You have to deal with so many different kinds of people at jobs. Just like you said, people who don’t want to do anything or the one’s that want to control everything. It will give you some good experience. I know it sucks, though.

You will most likely do some group work in college, it really depends on the professor, though.

College is more individualistic and there’s greater opportunity for freedom of choice. In return, there’s greater responsibility for learning on your part. Your professors are going to set very clear learning and achievement goals for you, and you will have the freedom to choose how you want to get there. Of course, you’re never alone in this endeavour – caring teachers will always guide you – so will some good friends who are bound to help you achieve your aims.

High school is really a messy affair – some how or the other, try and muddle through, but stay afloat. See what you can gain out of these group work sessions. Even if these don’t result in any significant acquisition of academic knowledge, you’ll learn a lot about human nature just by observing how others behave. In life, there’ll be a lot of things you won’t like, but you’ll have to learn to brave them out. It’s good for the character! All the best and lots of love.

I have been in college for 7 years, and all I have learned is that group work is a waste of time. What you need to do is isolate yourself from your group members so they stop bugging you to help with the work. One successful strategy I have found is to always show up drunk for group meetings. This makes the time go faster. Also you can try bringing Nintendo DS or PSP to the meetings.

I graduated last year, but when I was in highschool, I hated group work too; it was the same senario for me.

In college (where I am now), sadly there has been a pretty good bit of group work. But for the good news, it’s not as bad as highschool, especially when you’re in a group with people in their 20’s. They’re not as bad as highschoolers about not doing anything or wanting it all their way, generally speaking.

Then here is a bit of advice do not join the workforce out in the world where any Team Based work systems are involved. They try to push that method on people and you run into the same issues with only a couple of people doing the work and someone else taking credit for your sacrifices.