For a group-based project, a rarity in my classroom, I told students to make group-member proposals that I would consider when assigning groups. As I could have guessed, my birds of similar feather flocked together; their group suggestions promised either exceptionally fine work or no work at all.
I figured there would be some complaining when I announced my group assignments today, so I prepared students for disappointment by announcing the appeals procedure: “First, you have to write your appeal on a piece of paper,” I said. “Then take your piece of paper and put it in the recycle box, where I won’t read it.”
Most students throughout the day chuckled, but some still complained, especially in my first class.
“Stop whining,” I ordered. “Or I’ll give you a demerit.”
“Whine, whine, whine,” a girl whined.
I gave her a demerit.
No one else said anything, and as I added the “Whining equals a demerit” line to my appeals procedure speech to later classes, things turned out pretty good, in that regard.
Somehow I still ended up with a few bozos together in thus-doomed groups. We’ll see how that works out.
