To not cut this woman any slack?

[Anskabel]

I'm doing an MA in creative writing. There's 8 students supervised by a tutor in a workshop group, working towards completing our novels. Every week we submit a chapter of our work to the other students 4 days before our weekly session in order to have time to read and think critically about each others' work, feeding back on the day.

One of my fellows students is a single parent to a four year old (dad has never had any involvement with child) and works at the uni as a lecturer in another subject as well as doing this course. Not once has she ever submitted her work on time, often sending it the night before our meeting, meaning I end up workshopping her work when I should be getting much needed rest. I always put a lot of effort into giving the others useful feedback, but she barely has anything to say about our work and sometimes admits she hasn't even had time to read it. Not only that but she is usually late for the seminars, meaning that the tutor wastes time going over what she has already said. I travel from a different city but I am always on time. She only has to travel from a different room in the university!

She clearly has a busy life with lots of responsibilities and it has been an intense process, but this was made crystal clear to all of us before we signed up to the course and as a lecturer herself, surely she would have understood the rigor involved? Myself and many others have made sacrifices with our time to get the most out of the course and it's really starting to piss me off that not once has she apologised for not pulling her weight.

I haven't mentioned anything to the others yet. They're a nice bunch - maybe they're too polite to say anything, or maybe I'm just being unreasonable not to cut her some slack?

Group work at Uni is the most frustrating thing in the world. There is always someone who takes the piss. You're better off not worrying about her - do the minimum wrt her work and concentrate on the rest of the group. Complaining will get you nowhere IME.

Often in these groups (and I speak from experience) subgroups appear, whose members offer each other more intensive critique. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, because some people will 'get' your work and some people won't, and vice versa. So I think it's normal to give an unequal amount of time to each of your peers. As for this woman, presumably she's not stupid and must realize that she's not being very fair on the rest of you. You could always give her a polite but friendly, "Sorry, but I need more than 24 hours to look at your work properly." Up to her whether she changes her behaviour.

Freudian, actually a subgroup already has formed with myself and two of the others who meet independently of the workshop to give more intensive critique.

I'm probably getting more worked up about this than I ought, it's just if there's one think that winds me up it's people (especially people who aren't stupid and should know better) being unfair!!

To be honest, if she kept sending me her work really late I would just not bother to read and critque it. It's her own fault.

Just don't read her stuff if it's late. Just say you're sorry that she missed the time you'd put aside to look at it.

I never recap in meetings for latecomers, they should pay the price of their tardiness, noht others. Maybe suggest to the tutor, in a neutral sort of way, that the group would like to adopt the same approach?

Agree that you shouldn't read her stuff if its late, and tell her why if she asks!

YANBU. I go to a creative writing evening class and we are meant to get send in submissions on Sunday for them to be sent out on Monday to read before Wednesday.
I find it hard to get everything done in that time frame but I do my best. In my mind if I have nothing to submit by Sunday then I have either missed the boat, or it could be included for submission the next week. But our tutor, because he is nice, often circulates stuff on a Tuesday which I find really frustrating as I don't have enough time to review it properly.
I can't imagine what it would be like to have to review whole chapters.

I would speak to the tutor about it and explain that from now on you won't be reading her stuff if it doesn't get in on time. I'd also make a point of not reading it when submitted late and explain that you haven't had time.

i agree with others

if you get her stuff late then dont bother with reading it at all

YANBU, I am a lone parent to a 4 year old, and a full time Uni student, my work is always handed in on time. She needs to learn time management, and the class shouldn't put up with it.

You are losing valuable time on her tardiness and inability to organise her time more effectively. She should know more than anyone, because most Uni tutors harp on about time management more than the subject in hand!

If she hands it in late, don't read it and tell her it was due to the work being late. She needs to up her game, yes it's hard that she is working FT and a lone parent, but she shouldn't have taken on another course if she is unable to fulfil the requirements of that course. KNOW YOUR LIMITS ha

Another full time MA student single parent to a 4 year old and I'm doing 2 group projects right now (plus the rest)
One week I dropped the ball, but every other week I'm doing as much or more than the others. There is no excuse, if you can't handle the workload and deadlines you shouldn't be there.
There is a woman on mine who is pg with young children and she has missed approaching half of the course. I'm not in her groups thank fuck but I just really think she shouldn't be there.