If you want to do something right...

My AP Lit class has recently been experiencing some difficulty with group work.  In the last group project--a short satirical Great Expectations film--the most dramatic conflict dug up wounds from the bullying that went on freshman year.  The least dramatic was just lashing out at each other about alleged incompetence and laziness, in such a way that this group unanimously decided that no one in it ever wanted to work with each other again.

For the current project, a The Great Gatsby twenty minute dramatic performance, one group's fearless but overworked member basically took stabs at everyone in the group.  In the last project, it was sort of understandable because the groups were assigned.  But these groups were student picked, and were all made up of close friends.  People that sat with each other at lunch, held each other while they cried, and worked closely in the same editorial staff, were throwing daggers at their IQ scores and ability to keep up with deadlines.  All for a project being presented next week, that wasn't past due, that not a single person had done anything for besides outline so far.

These difficulties are probably due to a number of factors.  Our school has a little less than 700 children in it.  There are seventy five kids in the senior class, so the twenty that are in AP Lit were all more than familiar with each other and not in the friendliest way. There's been a lot of bullying, infighting, and clique switching and creating.  And I look at this and think wow, how unprofessional are we.  Aren't we supposed to be legal adults in less than a year?  Would this be tolerated in a workplace or risk termination?

I might be a bit of a hypocrite.  I myself cannot stand collaborating. I hate depending on others for basically anything.  I hate two conflicting but great ideas with no way to merge or two conflicting ideas where one is great forcing me to criticize a colleague.  And while my group member lashed out at the rest of us, I hated holding my tongue for the benefit of the team.

But at the end of the day, I've led group writing ventures outside of class and loved it.  And every single one of those Great Expectations films was creative and smart.  I have no doubt in my mind that respect for each other's piece of the work, the desire for the final product and the applause supersedes the disrespect my classmates and I shovel down each other's throats.  I want to be right about that.