Project Reflectance: Part1: 6th Body

The latter half of studio in March and the month of April were rough, not so much with work load but with group dynamic. There are probably a lot of reasons why the decline happened the way it did but I suppose I just need to take what I can from the experience and move forward. Needless to say, I'm relieved the presentation is over but now that it is, I've been having obsessive thoughts about the experience since then. Before I start, I'd like to say I'm proud of the work we did accomplish as a group. Everyone worked hard to get to the point we were at, there is no denying that. On to my thoughts....

Its a weird feeling, a bittersweet one, not resolving a project to a level of satisfaction one might be comfortable with but meeting a deadline nonetheless. I find this has happened to me to some extent in every studio project. Those unresolved parts always made me uneasy in presentations and crits because I knew they were easy targets for people to bring up. Knowing where I have fallen short has always helped because I've known what to expect, up until this experience. I feel like for the first time since my Flying Anvil project as a 1st semester 2nd year, my mind drew blanks on questions. Its not that I didn't have answers for the questions asked, I just didn't want to sound like I was making excuses, which in my mind, was all I could come up with standing there at the time of the presentation (at least they sounded like excuses in my head).

I knew where we fell short as a group and there was nothing we could do about it. I can't help but think that a 6th body would have filled in the areas that needed help. That is an excuse but it is a luxury our group did not have and there is no denying an extra 36 hours (9 class hours, 27 expected work hours outside of studio, at least) a week of work would have made a tremendous impact on the group portion of the project. See, this is an excuse. You just don't talk about stuff like this during a presentation nor do you use a group's declining dynamic as an excuse either. The internet is the perfect place to reflectively rant though, so I'll continue with that...on to my next point.

Again, before I start this, let me make it clear my opinion is not directly aimed at anyone in particular because that would be unprofessional (I learned something!). Professors always say that we need to work in groups so that we get that valuable experience before we enter the real world. Unfortunately, there is a huge difference between academia and the real world as far as group work is concerned. The difference lies in the model of how everything works in the two, very different environments. The projects we work on as students are not real and the boss, *cough* professor, is there to teach us, help us, hold our hands, and evaluate our performances through the producibles (presentations, drawings, models, etc). Whether or not someone shows up for meetings, holds their weight, or acts professionally in group situations usually doesn't have any bearing on the measure of the final product, their grade. To be short, students don't have any power over other students when it comes to group situations. How does a student handle a problem situation with another student when you've exhausted all professional avenues? It is unprofessional to call them out on the areas they are lacking in a public forum, a blog for example, but what if they aren't listening in the private 1 on 1 forum?

Ok, I'm done with the studio part.