What grinds my gears: group work

Group work in university is painful, especially in the first and second years. There are many reasons why people think group work is essential. Many believe it teaches you communication, responsibility, collaboration, and teamwork. Personally, group projects have taught me none of the above, only to trust no one.

I'm not sure why, but I am an idiot magnet, I tend to get every immature squealing girl, and every jock that should be in physical education, and every person who can’t talk either publically, or in our small isolated group. In the end, I always seem to wind up doing all or most of the work. The other group members end up sitting around collecting marks - I am a nice person so I don’t charge them with plagiarism.

The reality is that most just don’t know have enough education or experience to contribute in any meaningful way. As my friend Shawn always says “everyone f*cks up their first year”. As a result a few end up carrying the majority. A bad grade is often the result of trying to meet the goals of communication, et. Al.  The only real apparent way to a good grade is to carry all or most of the weight on one’s own back. 

Different People

It’s very difficult to compare someone with a severe disability to myself, as I am unable to imagine life without two of my five senses. I first learned to write in a classroom, by hearing words spoken aloud. In the beginning I wrote very poorly, only being able to correct my mistakes by seeing the words on the page. Even today I wouldn't be able to correct the majority of errors without my sight.

Keller never had the luxuries that we have. Although she praised her typewriter, claiming she wouldn't be able to attend college without it. Hearing admiration for a typewriter in the twenty first century is almost ironic; by contrast just about everything I write is on my personal computer. Writing this now, by hand, makes me truly grateful for my word processor, as my eyes would currently be seeing the enormous amount of red and green underlining that would be on this page.

Any research currently being done can now be completed with just a few clicks, rather than the slow process of locating the right book in a library and then running your fingers over the small bumps on a page. It’s hard for me to imagine the difficulty of doing research without a computer, eyesight, or hearing. Living in the 1800’s and being limited to only reading books published in braille, would be a handicap in itself.  Having no other option than too physically feel every word would have probably made their meaning so much more important to her. I see the written language as just a secondary way of communication, rather than the only way to connect with the outside world.

The Anonymoose

Our society rapidly changes on many levels every day. The world today is a drastically different place than it was, even yesterday. Some would even call these changes “progression”. Arguably, our greatest advancement was the invention of the ARPANET, and later, the internet. With the internet our world could change every minute. People are constantly sharing ideas with billions around the globe. Others can share their ideologies with ease, we can now find the answer to just about any question asked, and most importantly we can do this all anonymously.  Many people underestimate the power to express personal views through anonymity. The greatest gift the internet gave was giving a voice to many, so they may speak openly and honestly about their own opinions.

Our progression isn’t limited to just technology. Not long ago, society viewed many social issues a lot differently than they do today. Only 30 years ago did Canada finally come to the realisation that it needed to end segregation, in the public education sector. Today, if you are walking down any street, you will rarely hear the racial or misogynistic insults of the past. In general, most would call that advancement. However, there is still a common place where bigotry is found with ease. It’s located on most major websites in the infamous comment section. Generally, it is expressed in the most unashamed and horrendous array of racial and sexist slurs.

Giving a voice to many is tearing down the societal barriers that contain much of the intolerant voices of the past. The internet is not a place where people are accepting of other races or ideas they do not agree with. There are even whole sites that are dedicated to hating others. However, most will not venture to those fringe sites and will only be exposed to the few unsavoury comments. It should also be pointed out the ignorant posters are few in numbers and are often scorned by others.

Although, some could argue that by allowing these comments, we’re allowing the regression of racial and gender feats that have taken us so many years to achieve.  The concept of group polarization may help to illustrate how a reversal of this progression might happen. The majority of people only read things that peak their interest and that they agree with. Most of the people they discuss it with will share their point of view. After this group of like-minded people discuss it, their opinions will become more and more extreme as time progresses.  

Nevertheless, the person who has the loudest and most shocking opinion gets the most attention. That is why my rant on tipping servers got the most comments. That’s just how the internet works, which is why many things said in the comment sections, may be offensive. Certain people may say racist things to get attention or just a reaction from others A.K.A. “trolling”. Racist comments allow for a brief moment of popularity among the masses, while others commenting much more intelligently will be noticed much less.

There’s no secret to why people are bigots on the internet. People are extremists on the internet because they can be. They want a reaction or attention. No one knows who they are. Online, you can say whatever you want without any consequences. In real life, you can’t. On the internet “no one knows you’re a dog” or a racist.

Eating out?

I don’t normally eat out much, however when I do go out I usually go out with company. There is nothing nicer than being with others, enjoying food, and having making conversation. However, I feel the night revolves around the service of the restaurant. Whether it’s good service or bad, it always ends in that awkward moment of tipping the service. I personally feel that tipping is strictly dependant on the level of service. This means, giving no tip is an option as well. The most annoying thing is being scolded be friends and family for not tipping. The reason I sometimes don’t tip isn't because I'm a cheap person. The reason I occasionally don’t tip, is because I am displeased with the service. I have a history of working at many restaurants, therefore I can comprehend the reason for tipping, but I feel that most people do not know where it stems from.

In the United States the federal minimum wage for servers is $2.13 as of 2013.Being Canadians we are heavily influenced by the States. In Alberta, the minimum wage is $9.75. Everyone gets at least this amount. Even, the guy working at the local Wal-Mart is receiving this amount hourly. He may, and often does go above and beyond his job requirements, but I don’t tip this man, and I'm willing to bet you don’t either. So, why would you tip someone who is just doing their job?

Now, I bet you wonder what hell a server goes through we feel the need to tip them. Generally, the process is as follows; they greet you, ask you what you’d like to drink, return with the drinks, take the order, comeback with the food and, carry the small white piece of paper to your table. A good server will go beyond the requirements and visit more often, even if it’s busy. As I said I have worked in restaurants in the past. I've heard the “kitchen talk”. Instead of servers being productive, they often talk poorly of their customers, chatting about what they screwed last night, or complaining about lack of tips. Meanwhile the cooks are working their asses off, the bussers are making everything clean, the hostesses are seating customers, and managers are “baby sitting” the servers.

And who normally never sees this tip money that we all give? Generally, no one see that the tip money except for the servers. Now, this is a generalization as some establishments have different tipping policies. For example, bussers may get a percentage of the tips or sales. However, if the bussers are supposed to receive a portion of this money they often get stiffed because they don’t know the full amount the servers received. This percentage is never accurate because the server’s tips are not monitored, as it is considered incredibly rude in the industry to ask how much they made in tips. As well giving away their hourly bonus isn't something they are happy about. This is something else they would often complain about.

When I was young, my mom always forced me to tip. She still does to this day, because she used to be a server. So, I've been tipping for the sake of it. Until, I got into the industry. I was socially conditioned to do it, as I'm willing to bet you were to. Naturally seeing dad slip an extra toonie on the table taught me that the norm was to give a little extra to the server, but I've been educated and I hope you have to, that this is not the case.

Last Friday

Last Friday afternoon the bus dropped me off at my usual stop, three blocks away from my house. It was ridiculously hot, and when it's hot no one in a very good mood, especially old people. As I approached my place, the new neighbour was mowing the lawn. That quickly stopped as I arrived on the scene. I thought this would be a great chance to meet the new residents next door, but as I stood in front of him, I knew he was not happy, because old people never are.

            “Why don’t you get your lawn mown?” the old man said.

“Maybe someday” I shot back. It’s my property! Why should anyone be telling me how to take care of it? It is so incredibly rude to tell someone they don’t take care of their things properly.

“Maybe right now” he said a little angrier this time. I was stunned at first. I stood there cemented to the ground, waited a second or two; and then began to laugh. He couldn't possibly be serious, even the most stubborn of people wouldn't be this rude, he must be joking I thought to myself. “NOW!!” he screamed. I soon realised he was serious and as such I began to laugh even harder. He then hit me in the mouth out of nowhere. Now I am not going to hit an elderly man, but I am going to restrain him from harming me. I pushed him to the ground, rolled him over on his stomach, and quickly put a knee onto his back. He twisted, he turned, he yelled, he screamed, and he cursed. It took a lot to hold him down. I am now a true believer in old man strength. I quickly assessed the situation; I knew I couldn't just let him go, especially after he had been held down by a person a foot and a half shorter than him. He wasn't going to just let it go. He had too much pride for that, too much old man pride. So I knew I had to quickly act. I dragged him to the nearby garden hose and wrapped his hands. I then walked inside my house.

Inside the house I told my room-mates about the situation. We all had a good laughed about.  The two of them then went out and untied the neighbour.  Later that evening I went and mowed the lawn… slowly, with a grin on my face.

Hello World.