The assignment 'passengers'

Regarding the title, do you know what it means? Nor I ,until a few months ago. It was a term used by my lecturer to address 'sleeping' members in your assignment group.Everyone will have to go through this experience and sadly,I've had my fair share.

Basically , assignment passengers are those team members who are such a pain the entire time from the minute you form the group,till the essay submission date.They are the people who give the least (or none) brainstorm ideas, the one who is reluctant or late to meetings, the one who is late finishing up their part and the ones who produce low quality work . As a team leader, we do not want to check on their progress without sounding aggressive and hovering over like a hawk. I recalled doing an online e-learning course from girl guides that you have to be assertive,not aggressive. However , when you give them too much 'trust' , they become idle and scare the crap outta you when its almost submission time.

Having done many assignment groups now , I had great experiences working with different types of people.However,there were also times where I almost burst into tears and having to correct their entire essay the night before submission. There were times where a team member copied an entire article from a textbook without paraphrasing or quoting . It was literally plagiarism and I only realized it when I was embarrassingly told by the lecturer. The worst thing was, that team member didn't realize . Too many bad memories to recall now .

That by far was the most stressful thing I had to do, taking up the responsibility of a team leader and all . Many times I ask myself , '' Don't they REALIZE that they are doing such horrible work that affects their team member's marks?'' . I think not.These meme resembles how I feel at times.

From my own perspective , I think these people either don't realize or don't care .Some of them just want to get it over with , regardless how good the quality is . Some , think whatever they doing is right, even though its mostly crap . Frustrating when you and the other team members want to score the highest mark they can in their assignment and get an A in the subject,yet because of these people,their coursework mark goes from A to pass . How I wish I could tell them in the face to step up their work so they don't jeopardize everyone else's hard work .  But telling people off is not the best option when you have to work together .

I find it absolutely unfair that these get high marks for their coursework thanks to their hardworking team members who cover it up.  They pride around as if THEY are the reason they do so well ! As the Malay quote say , '' Tak tahu malu....''.

Which is why, I decided to take the hardest task in an assignment which allocate most marks. Although it puts you in a difficult situation , it is so much better than give idle people such a heavy responsibility . Some of my friends preferred giving them the hardest one so they will HAVE to do it ,at any cost. But to me , there is really no point .Giving them hard tasks will not motivate them . They'll end up doing a shitty job and a chunk of your mark goes down the drain .

It sounds so unfair , but you gotta remember that the purpose of the assignment is to help YOU achieve the highest mark. So make some sacrifices. You're bound to be satisfied that your hard work pay off . Yes your 'passengers' get a free ticket to high marks but how much would that help them ?Enough to pass perhaps? (does not apply to all) Which in that case, is a pity because we should always aim the highest .

And do you notice that the one who does the hardest  task are usually the smarter ones?That's their trick ! They challenge themselves with the hardest , and succeed ! After all, there is always solution in the hardest work . I know two friends who work at the speed of light ! The minute they get their work, they do it continuously and finish weeks before the deadline ! I'm so envious, but in awe! I should learn..

As of 2015 , I'm making it another resolution to challenge myself . I've taken up two of the hardest part of the assignment and determined to get it done . And by getting it done ,in the best quality way possible. Being team leader isnt about taking  an advantage and picking the easiest task with your friends. Its about contributing the most effort and be a good leader to others.

However, don't get me wrong here . As I'm writing these, I do NOT acknowledge myself as the perfect team member , the one with the best work and so on . I will obviously stumble and struggle .In fact , I've done mistakes here and there and I was surprised at their calmness and reassurance. But I won't give up.

So for all you people out there who are dealing with 'passengers', remember that at some point , they will have to get out of the car . They won't be safe forever ,whereas YOU .. are 100 steps ahead .

PS : Sorry for the rant guys .