It’s called teamwork for a reason
When I started my private education as a preschooler, the emphasis was placed on the individual child instead of the class as a whole. Even when I got older and started looking at colleges, the introductory pamphlets for the private schools touted “one-on-one” learning and “small class sizes.” We are unique with our own ideas, and we shouldn’t have to compromise that, right?
Well, that’s one way of looking at it.
I am the oldest of three children in my family, so beginning when I was 2 years old, I had to learn to compromise and give a little ground instead of always getting what I wanted. Everybody’s ideas were important and deserved consideration. To some extent, that was the mantra of the public schools I went to. We worked in groups and learned to cooperate to achieve a common goal.
Some people just aren’t good at cooperating. Maybe they’re used to getting their own way. Maybe they’re a leader. Or they might do better following the herd, taking instructions. I always preferred being in the middle. I didn’t like taking charge unless I had to, and I wanted to be important enough to have my own ideas matter.
When people put the needs of everyone ahead of the needs of themselves, that’s when group work turns into teamwork. The worst group work situations I’ve been in are ones in which individual voices are lost. The important thing is to always keep in mind that no single person can think of everything. Yeah, we can put emphasis on how unique we are, but why not amplify it by highlighting the ideas that stand out?
In order for this group project to work, there needs to be ample communication and equal listening and feedback. Just because one person started out as an expert on the topic doesn’t mean the rest of us can’t learn how to be!
