Monday, February 20, 2012

This is Why I Prefer Individual Projects

For AP US History, my teacher (who I absolutely love, despite which people she puts me in a group with) assigned everybody into groups for a project where we have to teach the class about a specific part of the Progressive era. My group got the corporations part of this (blah, I know, not my favorite part of APUSH either) - and yes, I do actually enjoy AP US History, and not meaning to brag or anything, but my having a 100 average in that class for more than a semester does help in the fact that the class is easy for me - but I was put into a group with girls who I do get along with (the majority of them), but discovered are not so great work partners (except one girl) - because they all expect me to do the majority of the work because I'm a nerd in that class. 


The problem is, no one wants to make the effort to actually contribute to the project. We had split up the one vague topic into many detailed parts and each one of us chose something to research. I chose the breakup of the Standard Oil Company in 1911. However, the project is due next Monday, we have to submit two FRQ prompts by Thursday, and it will immensely help the organization of this project if we met after school or this weekend to put it all together. But noooooo...everybody's too busy with personal things, fun things. One is sick, the other has rehearsals for a play, and the other two...I don't know what's up with them. I have things after school this week that I am willing to put aside for this project, and they refuse to do so, which makes me feel like I'm the only one who cares about making a good grade on this project. Too bad the grade will be a group grade instead of personal grades, otherwise I'd be making a very good score on this regardless of how everyone else performs. However, since this grade is not based on individual efforts, I have to depend on them for the A I really want. 


And I try to set up a date and place where we can all meet, and one girl said Sunday was free for her, another said she couldn't on any single day of the week or the weekend (she said that she could on Friday since she'd be staying after school anyway, but computers aren't open after school Friday and my mom has a no laptop to school policy cause people at my school are thieves, and one said she just plain didn't know. So Sunday it is, then. I told the Friday girl that she should just send everything to me on Sunday then so I can put it all together, and she goes all dramatic and is like "I can't just rearrange my family stuff" and I'm like dude, I'm not asking you to rearrange anything. You're misunderstanding me. And she starts saying that no, she's not misunderstanding me and that I don't know what I'm talking about. I told her that technically it is a misunderstanding because I know myself better than she does and for that reason I know that I would never ask her to change family plans because I know as good as hell that I can't opt out of going to family stuff. 


Ugh, dramatic people these days! I wish they'd all disappear. Without them, this world would be much more calm and peaceful. And this is why I prefer working individually on projects...but not science labs, because I am clueless in chemistry and would totally fail that class without someone's help. 

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