One of the most common traditions of college classes is group work. Any long paper or presentation cannot simply go without it. The advantage of this is less work for each student. At least this is how we like to think. Professors also say that working in group is the way to learning how to work in team at the workplace. This is not even politically correct.
In the real world, random people do not work for an organization. All employees are selected based on their knowledge and skills. If one errs he can be told to leave. Same is not possible in a college class. Working in groups here is sometimes not very different from tug of war. Compatibility among members can either be a problem or heaven-sent. At the end of the semester, we reach the final conclusion that each has character of their own. But they are always common. Have a look:
1. Friend: This person is an ally hand picked by us. We know them from previous class or they are someone from high school. We sometimes separate ourselves from the rest of the group to have more chitchats with them. Otherwise, we use them as a force to allow our domination to spread over all.
2. Passive butterfly: The passive one likes to be under control of another group member. This person religiously does their portion of the work and often asks for verification about whether they are going in the right direction. By far, passive butterfly is the most reliable member in the group.
3. Object of Infatuation: This one usually is someone from the opposite sex. When mutual attraction kicks in we start dating them. It is no more a secret that it is possible to find a husband or wife through a group. During the group work, the object of our infatuation compel us to work harder. We become more prompt and communicative about the class project, but not because we have good intention towards all the members. Our mission here is to hear the voice of that person and market ourselves to him or her.
4. The Player: We all know what player means. This person is unusually playful in a group consisting of mainly females. He flirts around and gets personal. Traditionally, he contributes less than all the members because enchanted by his sweet words, they forget that he has done almost nothing. But on presentation day, he talks a lot in front of the class.
5. Free-rider till death do us part: During this age of smartphones, they are so busy that they can't even respond to text messages and emails. They have a shoulder carrying an intense load of external duties. At least this is what they like to say when they can't explain why they could not contribute to the project. Their sob stories sometimes demand us to turn philanthropic. In other words, we allow them to enjoy the grade we achieve with our hard work.
6. Hitler: This person happens to be all knowing and academy award winning editor. This is the feeling we get after meeting them. Proud Hitler gives no one the time to think about who to choose for leadership position in the group. Suddenly everyone is expected to be blind followers. Hitler is a great drama queen, perfectionist and grumpy towards all those who point finger at their stupidity.
7. Plagiarist: This person thinks even Turnitin can be outsmarted. Otherwise, they love to see others cleaning up their copy paste mess. During the meetings, plagiarists behave very serious, educated and talkative. But in emergency cases, they are always missing. They send their work the night before the due date and strangely, it never focuses on the assignment. The reason, perhaps, is that they don't even read what they copy paste. Plagiarists are usually good presenters.
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