BEING A GROUP MEMBER

For some unbeknown reason during this third year of studying Occupational Therapy we have had to do a large amount of group work within our class. And let’s just say it has its pro’s and con’s. It’s always helpful to have different ideas, opinions and knowledge coming together but when those ideas, opinions and knowledge are from two opposite ends of the stick it’s never easy to find common ground. Not to mention that the work load is never evenly distributed and someone always ends up having to tie together all the loose ends that everyone else left undone.

There is definite value in working in a group and one of the things that has become evident to me particularly this semester is that we all have our ways of doing things or our way that we see certain things and we are often adopt the attitude of ‘it is my way or the highway’. We are so often driven by the end goal of getting an A for the assignment or group project that we do not even reap the benefits of working in a group. Could it be that we cannot trust in other people’s abilities. That we are too scared to risk not getting an A for that assignment because we opened our mind to alternative idea’s or ways. Is putting our mark in the hands of others really that bad? Maybe the learning process and knowledge gained through working with you group members is worth more than the mark.  

Everybody has strengths and weaknesses and there will be times when your weakness is somebody else’s strength but will you let that person have that strength. The challenge is letting go of the known even if that known is a weakness at the possibility of allowing someone’s strength to play a part.

Aristotle - "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts."