There’s nothing better than sitting in class and being told you have a group project today, being  split up into groups to exchange contact information, and start planning out your project. We all know the feeling: you just start looking around in class making eye contact with people to let them know you want to work with them. Then the teacher makes your day by saying, “And you get to pick your groups.” Now you look around and jump for joy because Squad is in the class and your project is about to be lit.

Let’s face it, that never happens though. The teacher always assigns your groups and you want to strangle your teacher because you get stuck in a group full of people you don’t know. Not to mention, there is always that one person in a group who just doesn’t want to do anything. They always try to get everyone else to all their work because, “I’m too busy,” and you really need a good grade on this project in order to finish the class strong. Why do teachers do this to us? They have to know that group projects with random people is a traumatizing event for some of us. Yet, all teachers say we need these projects to learn how to work with people you don’t know or with people you don’t like. However, does anyone really end up working with them? Of course not! Which is why you always find yourself doing their part of the project because you want it done right to pass the class, that is required for your major, that is simply an elective for them.

The best thing when it comes to group projects is the fact that people are obsessed with Google Docs and Google Slides. For those who are unaware, Google Slides is basically Microsoft Powerpoint, but with less features and multiple people can work on it at the same time from different computers. This allows a group to create a powerpoint “together” without ever having to meet up and discuss what they’re going to put on the powerpoint and what they’re going to talk about for a presentation. All too often this leads to an extremely sloppy powerpoint and a presentation that has not been rehearsed at all. Some people literally cringe when a person in the group recommends the use of Google Slides.

All things considered, working in groups does in fact help you to build your leadership skills and improve your teamwork. Being able to work in groups and/or work with a partner is crucial to almost any profession you may find yourself in after you graduate. Merely, because being apart of a group project helps you compromise with your team, or partner, in order to have the best outcome possible.

For all the future educators out there: Please! For the love of God, please, actually try to put people in groups with other people that are equally as motivated as each other. This will force the lazy students to actually need to try on the project, or it will show how little they care about the class; it does not harm the students that try to get a passing grade on these projects.