Those who know me will know I don’t tolerate FON (full of nonsense) and dislike arguing. If you think it is, then it is.
Try to keep reading until you can get the actual meaning. Please do not get too negative after reading; it is just a sharing, and honestly, it doesn’t matter much to me because I already did what I had to do.
As a mature student, I will share tips with you based on my experiences, which will help you to have a better overview so that you can decide whether you would like to join. Anyway, this is just a tiny obstacle.
As you know, you will generally be older than your peers by bit or lot, and at the point of school application, you will be asked, “Are you okay with being together with peers younger than you?”. Well, no one pointed a gun at our head, right?
However, it turns out that most of your peers are too young and playful, don’t intend to study, and have no motivation.
So, when it comes to group work, imagine you are the one who does everything and when you give feedback. You were either told by your lecturers to suck it up, or you didn’t do your role as a leader because you didn’t assign roles to your group members.
Does the leader have to tell the members what time to eat? What day is it today? What time is it now? When it comes to break, always automatically know how to go.
Based on a true story by someone who has done the entire pre-simulation work during the first term and the group pamphlet during the one-week industrial attachment posting.
So here are my questions:
1. As a leader, you didn’t assign a role to your member
The guidelines for the group work were posted a week before. The lecturer had already explained what to do, and even the leader created a WhatsApp group for the group project that week; the leader also worked on a template through Microsoft Teams and added everyone who could contribute. On the first day of orientation, the lecturer also specified that everyone could contribute to each part.
And… No basic courtesy to acknowledge π
2. You cannot say that they never contribute
A golden one-hour group discussion was given. The assignment is to be submitted on Thursday. The leader worked on the group pamphlet from Monday to Wednesday during the one-hour group discussion, during break time, and at home. At the same time, the rest used phones or slept during that one-hour group discussion.
Wah, buay pai seh (not shy) uh. Everyone gets to relax while the leader is doing the work.
3. I am going to ask them all to come in
When the lecturer asked whether they had contributed, all of them said that they had contributed, and one of the members said that she had contributed 40% out of four members. When they asked the leader what questions to ask the staff, they wrote some things down and returned to using their phone afterwards. The leader has to find out everything. When the leader completes the pamphlet and shows the group whether the work is okay, the pretentious “Do you need help with anything?” comes.
Seriously? Hahaha. Can go and become an actress.
In conclusion
Just do your role as a student, and whatever additional things you have to do, take it as a learning experience. There is no point in giving feedback, as you can see who is more well-protected. Well, just because they are young. It is their loss when they enter the workforce. I have worked with these people before. No wonder they got teruk from the higher-ups, and I finally know why.
Additional Tips
Ask yourself what you want.
The more you want, the more stressful you will be. Ask yourself if it is necessary to have it. Think in the long-term rather than the short-term, as you don’t want to stress yourself, which can lead to further complications. But that doesn’t mean you don’t do anything. Just do things at an acceptable pace.
Time management
Always plan rather than the last minute. You do not want to rush things, which could further stress you.
The best environment to study
It depends individually. But I prefer to be alone and in a quiet place, either a home or library, to focus more on my studies rather than procrastinate. You could play some music too while studying if it is too quiet.
Find a study group
If available, find groups of students interested in studying like you so you do not spend time socialising. Instead, the main objective is to study, and you can share your thoughts. It doesn’t have to be a big group.
Achieving high marks
If you intend to get high marks. Follow what you are only taught in school. Don’t add anything extra that you are taught elsewhere, even though it is a better answer. They want the ideal answer because your answer might not be accepted, and you may not have a perfect one.
As usual, stay humble π