surley we aren't THAT bad.. :p

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Yeah I used to be picked last. All the time I think but in most occasions I decided not to get into any games being played. I usually stuck to my self.

I was usually picked towards the end at first—until they discovered I wasn't so bad at soccer, baseball, volleyball, and some other sports.

Same here, I was always picked last for team sports. People used to fight over who had to have me on their team. Gym was HELL.

Schools didn't have any programs or policies for dealing with such matters thirty years ago. I remember at that time this girl who had been held back a year was bullying me mercilessly whenever we went out for a run. One afternoon this girl was threatening me. I decided that to avoid her bullying in gym class I would hide behind a tree near the school, then just run in with the rest of the class and pretend I had gone for the run with the other kids. I don't know what made me think I could get away with it. I was motivated by embarrassment and humiliation more than anything. Unfortunately the other kids took great joy in ratting me out and then I had to sit in a chair in the gym while the P.E. teacher (a woman) spewed her contempt of me in a lecture. I'm sure she had never seen the like of such behavior before. Hiding behind a tree! And I had enacted my evil scheme all alone, not even with any team like conspirational spirit with friends. I'm sure the P.E. teacher thought I was despicable. This P.E. teacher was so angry that she even brought the boy's P.E. teacher over to join her as she lectured me. I remember the contempt on her face as she went on and on about how some kids would do anything to get out of gym class.

Yeah, I always hated group work for that reason--everyone would always flock to their friends, and I'd be stuck waiting for whatever group wound up being short a member or for the teacher to assign me to one at "random," or for a group filled with annoying people to ask me to join them (for it was always THOSE groups that'd ask me to join them...)

Who voted no? show yourselves!

I voted no. I always loved sports, and was usually picked early, if not made a captain. I wouldn't read too much into it though as to what it says about us as humans, or if we're a good person or not.

People want to win, plain and simple, and they'll pick whoever it is that will help them win. I don't think it has much to do with friendship, but its more about winning. Even though I was good in sports I still had no friends. I knew people who were terrible in sports but had a lot more friends that I did, and I bet they were probably happier too.

No, No, No. You're getting me all wrong. I'm only using sports as an EXAMPLE.

Read what I said a few posts back about being picked for other types of groups where talent really doesn't matter.

I know the feeling. Always picked last for team sports. I have also witnessed team captains argue over which team had to take me. They would say "You take her" and "We don't want her".

I also hated group projects because I was always the last person left over without a group and the teacher would always have to ask the other groups to take an extra person to which they reluctantly did so.

I remembered one class project which we all had to work in groups of two people. As usual, I was the one with out a partner. The teacher made me pair up with this other girl. This girl grumbled and griped about it. This girl said, "Let's hurry up and get this assignment over with because the sooner we get done, then the sooner I don't have to deal with you anymore." I said "Whatever _itch! I don't want to deal with your snotty @$$ either." We ended up getting into a fight and getting sent to the principals office. I didn't get suspended or anything but we got off with a stern warning. But that girl didn't mess with me anymore.

hmm.

Its pretty stink, really. Teachers shouldn't laugh at that sort of thing!

I've never liked group projects and still don't, even though now I can get a group without teacher interference. I don't want the pressure on other people.

We get a fair bit of group work at uni, and although I don't know anyone at all, people generally don't mind being paired up with me because most people there don't know a lot of people either. Well, not only that I suppose but people in my course are a fairly nice bunch overall. Superficially at least (which is all I can judge because like I said, I don't know them). Plus, most of the work is class discussion-type stuff, and everyone just partners up with whoever is nearby.

However, the last major assessment I had was a group assignment and we were left to make up our own groups. Well, I dunno what I was thinking but I went up to these two women I vaguely knew (only slighter better than the others) and asked if they needed a third person. They tried to look enthused about it but it was fairly obvious I was the last person they'd want to be teamed up with. But at least they were good about it, and they were pleasant people to work with on the whole.

I think there is much you can get out of group work no matter how unpleasant it may be. Over the last several years I've managed to go from harshly critical of others in group work, to completely mute and agreeable, and recently I'm beginning to discover again how to assert myself without sounding like a jerk. A lot of that isn't even about acquiring the skills to do that - I know how to be diplomatic but am often scared to be assertive, meaning I lack the confidence to use what skills I have.

Group projects in school or uni, those are crappy. 1 person does all the work while the others slack off. Then they all receive equal credit for it.

To be honest I'd have prefered that to having everyone else hold me back.

I should have just gone with my own guts and went about things that way.


I have some wonderful (as in horrible) stories about that kind of thing.

Well to be honest the group assessments I've been involved in, I did a lot more work than the others. This last one I did was a 3 person assignment and I think I put in about 50% of the work. And because of the nature of the assignment, (20 minute presentation with 6-7 minutes each person) I had to give some of my work to the others so that they could present my work. So someone received credit for work I did. I didn't mind though because in the end I think we will all receive good grades.