i am a teacher, why dont my students like having partners?

Question

hi, i am a teacher, i always asign partner work but they never seem to be excited about it. when i was in school, i loved working with partners. i teach second grade. if there are any other teachers out there with the answer or just people with the answer, please tell me. i dont want to be the most hated teacher ever. thank you!

Answer 1

Because you inevitably get stuck with someone who wont pull their end and your own grade is compromised because of someone else. Either that or you end up doing all the work to get the good grade and the other guy gets a free ride.

Answer 2

Being second graders, the kids are probably shy and don't know the other students very well. Some of them could also be very independent or maybe they simply don't get along with each other. Kids will be kids. I'm in high school and I still hate working with partners, mainly because I end up doing all of the work anyway. Having a partner is pointless for me.

Answer 3

It's very dangerous for a teacher to assume that what they enjoyed as a student will be what their own students enjoy doing. It's also worrying that you say you "always" assign partner work. Group size should be selected based on the actual activity being done. Some activities are more conducive to pair work, while some are better as small-group, whole-class or individual work. You need to ask yourself what the benefit is of the students doing that particular activity in the specific group size that you have assigned. In Carol Ann Tomlinson's book "How to Differentiate Instruction in Mixed Ability Classrooms" she charts out which group sizes are best for which types of activities. You should look at this book (you can probably get it from your local university's library, otherwise you can buy it from the ASCD).

Answer 4

When I was in school I hated getting paired with partners. It was fine if I could choose my own partner. When I was partnered up I was always doing all the work. I totally hated it. If I didn't do all the work I would get a bad grade because the ignorant teacher paired me up with a idiot who could care less about his/her grades. I thought it was so stupid to be forced to work with someone you hate.

If you want your students to be happy let them choose or stop doing the group activities. Personally I hated the group activities. I have rather done the work myself, the way I wanted it done, and not having to worry about someone else tagging along making me get a bad grade because they are stupid.

Answer 5

I won't bother with the "Why I hated working with a partner" bit since it's basically what others have said. I will say that I don't necessarily think you should stop using that method (maybe just less). It's good for us to do things we don't like sometimes... that's just life and the sooner we get that one settled, the better. Also, it's vital to learn to work together- we need each other and most of these kids will eventually have partners and families (not to mention bosses, co-workers, employees). Just refusing to work with someone who doesn't see things like you do or doesn't always do their share of the work only complicates the matter; it doesn't help resolve the issue.

Answer 6

Well when I'm at school I personaly prefer to work alone mainly beacause I am very controling but sometimes it may be that they don't like the person theyre working with or they do want to work alone I suggest taking a vot eand then letting them choose their partners

Answer 7

as a student who hated working with partners i can say that it is because they either don't like who they are partnered with, or they just don't like being made to do the work with someone else because they end up doing all the work.

Answer 8

I honestly think tha second grade might be a bit early for group work. I'll tell you, though, I teach freshman composition and technical writing at a unversity, and my students loathe group work. It's for their own benefit, though, so I don't worry about them "hating me." lol. But then again, it is a different age level from what you teach.

Answer 9

Are the children allowed the choice of who to pick? Some children do better when they feel that they are not pressured to be with someone they are not comfortable with (such as when the teacher picks). Other children simply aren't group workers... I know that when I was a child, as well as an adult who attended college, I despised partner/group work because it was stressful to me. I am a perfectionist, so it was hard for me to "let go" of some of the responsibility of a project. It was also hard for me to allow others to do part of it, when I felt that I could do it better, more efficient, or differently and get a better grade. For children who have high standards for themselves, being put in a group where others have to pull their weight can put a large strain on the responsible child. They hate to fail, and so they tend to pick up the slack from another child who fails to do their part- this stresses them out because they are not sure who is going to have to be ultimately responsible for the outcome of the project. For children who are perfectionistic or have high standards, it is much easier to only be responsible for themselves. This is why I despised doing partner/group projects in school... I always had to pick up other's slack in order to keep my own score up. This is hard on those who like the good grade. Teachers sometimes purposely paired up a child like myself with a child who didn't do well, hoping to inspire the child who got lower grades to work up to the challenge. Good idea, but didnt' work- the child who didn't care about his grades anyway took advantage of the fact that a perfectionistic child did care. I think it is a good idea to have the children collaborate on ideas, but perhaps make each responsible for their own outcome. One child shouldn't have to suffer a poor grade because others in their group didn't participate. I loved collaborative talking, throwing out ideas and finding creative solutions, but I didn't want to have to do someone else's work for them in order for me to get a good grade.

Answer 10

It's just personal choice for the students. It looks like the majority of your students are more intrapersonal, and therefore enjoy working on their own. Also, if there is one or two kids that nobody likes to work with, this can also influence their decision.