Bad Education

NUS believes in the value of group projects; they form a part of many of the university's modules.

Ostensibly, I suppose, the aim of this is to encourage teamwork, individual responsibility and leadership skills etc etc. But I am sure the real reason many course instructors adopt this pedagogy is because they want to reduce their marking load by two-thirds or more.

I've had many bad experiences with group work. Last semester, my worst continual assessment grade came from the only module for which I had a group assignment. Two semesters ago, I got sufficiently annoyed with the dynamics in another group that I just went and did the entire project myself (which was a manageable 2000-word research essay), changing the topic and starting from scratch.

Now why would all this be happening? It's easy to say that the common factor, i.e. myself, must be to blame. I must be this asshole who just can't get along with anyone, right?

Not necessarily. Most of the time, I've found myself having to take matters into my own hands out of necessity. I'm of the opinion that Singapore universities, especially mine, are currently over-enrolling students. I read somewhere sometime ago that the government intends for one in every four Singaporeans to have a degree. Without knowing the secret economic calculations that went behind this policy, I can only conclude it's rubbish, because when you open the floodgates, shit floats in too. And what *is* the value of a degree when every other person and his dog has one?

Once, I was in a group with this girl who appeared more interested in her made-up face than the work to be done. She assumed that colorful paintings pasted from the internet would pass for quality. When I wrested control of that project and dictated the arguments we would put forward, she accused me of not giving anyone room to speak and promptly disappeared, not even turning up for classes. She later told me that she couldn't care less if she failed the module, and that she's forfeited modules in this manner before. She added that I would never understand, since I'm an honours student bound for bigger things.

This semester, I believe I'm in a similarly unenviable situation. Earlier today, I had my first project group meeting for one of my modules. The two first-year girls I ended up with, while eager and earnest, did not contribute a single useful idea. They merely collated and reiterated everything I said, giggling with exasperation. And while they tried to think, they were too happy to break off topic at the first opportunity, latching on to anything amusing that the other guy in the group said. "Oh, you mean you did this before? Wooooow..."

And they had the cheek to ask if I could "sacrifice" myself and conduct both the required interviews since I'm apparently "the best speaker" in the group.

Maybe I'll have to. But I'm seriously not amused.