There are biological factors such as genetics and evolution involved with my educational irresponsibility. There have been many college studies proving that the mast majority of lazy students reside from the US. Students from abroad were more likely to come in for extra help, take vigorous notes, and manage there time wisely. Even though some had trouble speaking English and understanding lectures, they still made great effort and were successful in the class. Americans on the other hand, were more likely to text during class, come to class exhausted, and refuse to take notes. They showed less willingness to learn which brought up the following question: are Americans lazy by genetics? Given the information stated above, that would seem most logical; however, Teresa Talbot, a veteran of Utah’s public schools stated the following, "The main problem with our education system today is not what is taught, where it is taught, by whom it is taught or how it is taught." She says instead that the students downright refuse to put in the work. Some evidence supporting this claim is that teachers from schools would have to lessen curriculum to give students time in class to finish work that was supposed to be done at home. When attempting new strategies to motivate these students, they would still refuse to attempt the work since the strategies were foreign to them they decided not to attempt the work at all. The students would then blame their lack of knowledge on teachers, parents, or on fellow students. This provides no clear solution and leaves the students still negligent. So what is the answer? Another study says that laziness is a gene. It states that some rats have been found to have it. The study involved having rats put in cages with running wheels; they then divided the rats in half having the fitter rats breed with fit rats and the lazy rats breed amongst lazy rats. They continued to breed selectively (artificial selection) in this manner for ten generations. The rats bred from the fitter side were ten times more likely to run than the rats from the lazy side. In order to interpret the data, the scientists observed the mitochondria levels (cells’ energy-making structure) of the two groups of rats. They found small differences in the body composition and mitochondria levels in the muscle cells, but the main difference they identified was the genetic difference between the two lines of rats. Michael Roberts, a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Missouri's College of Veterinary Medicine stated, "Out of more than 17,000 different genes in one part of the brain, we identified 36 genes that may play a role in predisposition to physical activity motivation." In a past study with mice, they found two genes that when turned off, turned active mice into lazy mice. When linking this to humans, it makes perfect sense. This explains why adolescent youth has a genetic predisposition for educational irresponsibility. They don’t have the will to learn because they are genetically unable to do so. Like the lazy rats, today’s youth suffers from the lazy gene, which saps their will and prevents them from extending their knowledge.
Evolution is a process of genetic change of a population over time. From an evolutionary standpoint, the advantage of being educationally irresponsible is that eventually your lazy gene will spread throughout the population, causing the population to evolve into incompetent beings. Organisms need to evolve in order to survive; if you don’t survive and reproduce your organism will go extinct. So technically speaking, if you are educationally irresponsible, you are evolving and surviving. From a normal standpoint, there are no advantages of being educationally irresponsible because you are only robbing yourself of your maximum potential.
Even though genetics are a big role in educational irresponsibility, I believe the environment you are raised in is equally important. Even if you are educationally irresponsible by genetics, if your learning environment is motivational and encouraging, it is possible to change into a productive person. I also believe that if you are genetically productive by birth, you can become educationally irresponsible if your learning environment is that way. Likewise, these traits can be passed down from your predecessors if the traits are dominant (AA or Aa).
The Hawaiians of old were not an irresponsible culture. They were raised with the mindsets that they must take care of and respect the land, and the land would do the same to them. They were indigenous, productive, hard-working people. Educational irresponsibility was not a problem with them, because it wasn’t an option for them. They knew what their kuleana was, and they performed their duties. Genetically, they probably had the ideal genes in terms of getting things done. Uncle Kiani shared the term, “Nalewalu” with the students. The term referred to the Nalewalu people, who starved because they stood in the shade while the others worked. The same idea is happening amongst the adolescent youth of today’s society. There are too many of us standing in the shade and not enough working in the mala. Our Hawaiian ancestors would have never tolerated this behavior. They would have stoned us to death for such insolence. We are Hawaiian, which means that deep down there are productive genes within us that are waiting to be used. For the sake of our school and for the sake of our culture, we need to rid of our educational irresponsibility and fulfill our duties as a student and as a Hawaiian.
Mr. Patino’s course does not promote educational irresponsibility. If anything, it promotes the opposite. Since he uses an even distribution scale rather than a 100 point grading scale, it allows students second chances so if they attempt an assignment but fall short, there is always another opportunity for redemption. When I fell behind due to a missed assignment, I was able to bounce back quickly due to the even distribution scale. He also posts all assignments on BlackBoard, so we can access the current assignment and future assignments at all times. In this sense, there should be no excuse for unfulfilled assignments because they are all on BlackBoard and they are all easily accessible. Everything is located under the “What is due” tab on BlackBoard. Mr. Patino also based his final grades on 95% assessment, which gives an accurate depiction of what you know on his class. If he put too much emphasis on homework assignments, students could copy each others work and their grade would be an inaccurate reflection of what they truly know. In this way, students will be able to showcase the knowledge they have, not what their classmate has. Mr. Patino provides diverse assignments so we can demonstrate out learning in the best possible way. Are you an artistic person rather than a test person? No problem! He offers assignments where you can present your knowledge via crafts! If you prefer oral assessments, he offers those as well. This way, you are able to truly show what you’ve learned in his class. Mr. Patino is very flexible; he can change deadlines if he feels that we need more time to turn in a good assignment. For example, when we had a presenter come in to share their knowledge with the class, he extended the deadline of a previously given assignment so we could include information from that presentation. He also provides quick feedback on our BioBlogs so we can learn from our mistakes and turn in better work the next time. His feedback is very detailed and tells us exactly what we need to do in order to earn an A. Best of all, Mr. Patino has taught us the importance of using metacognitive skills. In most classes, you might take a test based on the terms you learned in class. Mr. Patino, however, encourages us to think metacognitively, or to use our prior knowledge in order to solve real world problems. It is much better than regular learning because it actually puts your knowledge to the test and encourages divergent thinking. Since you are solving actual problems, it makes learning more fun, thus helping us to retain all of the information. If all of the previously stated claims are true, then there should be no reason for educational irresponsibility in Mr. Patino’s classes. He gives multiple ways to express your knowledge and multiple chances to do so. His grading scale is beneficial and his feedback is helpful. His teaching style promotes better thinkers. An explanation for why educational irresponsibility still exists in his classes is unfathomable. My reasoning is because those students who are that way have always been that way before they ever entered his classroom. Educational irresponsibility was already habitual at that point. Mr. Patino tried valiantly to change their ways. At this point, he’s done all that he can, and he did a fine job indeed. He has changed the ways of many of his students; and for those that he hasn’t, it may just be genetics. Educational irresponsibility is neither a condition nor a demonstration of one’s intellect; it is a choice. In the end, it is solely up to that person whether or not he decides to change.
A viable solution for teachers to fixing educational irresponsibility is to change their curriculum so it reflects that of Mr. Patino. Mr. Patino’s teaching method is the best way to change one’s habitual irresponsibility. He uses fantastic practices that I have stated in the section above. He not only promotes educational responsibility, but he also aids in the evolution of a student’s life practices. Mr. Patino helps students to mature into adults by preparing them for the cruel world that lies ahead. He’s taught us how to solve problems using our metacognitive skills and how to apply our knowledge to solve real world problems. I believe that this is the best way to rid of educational irresponsibility. Even though eliminating educational irresponsibility completely is near impossible, Mr. Patino’s teaching practices are the most viable way to do so.
Evolution is a process of genetic change of a population over time. From an evolutionary standpoint, the advantage of being educationally irresponsible is that eventually your lazy gene will spread throughout the population, causing the population to evolve into incompetent beings. Organisms need to evolve in order to survive; if you don’t survive and reproduce your organism will go extinct. So technically speaking, if you are educationally irresponsible, you are evolving and surviving. From a normal standpoint, there are no advantages of being educationally irresponsible because you are only robbing yourself of your maximum potential.
Even though genetics are a big role in educational irresponsibility, I believe the environment you are raised in is equally important. Even if you are educationally irresponsible by genetics, if your learning environment is motivational and encouraging, it is possible to change into a productive person. I also believe that if you are genetically productive by birth, you can become educationally irresponsible if your learning environment is that way. Likewise, these traits can be passed down from your predecessors if the traits are dominant (AA or Aa).
The Hawaiians of old were not an irresponsible culture. They were raised with the mindsets that they must take care of and respect the land, and the land would do the same to them. They were indigenous, productive, hard-working people. Educational irresponsibility was not a problem with them, because it wasn’t an option for them. They knew what their kuleana was, and they performed their duties. Genetically, they probably had the ideal genes in terms of getting things done. Uncle Kiani shared the term, “Nalewalu” with the students. The term referred to the Nalewalu people, who starved because they stood in the shade while the others worked. The same idea is happening amongst the adolescent youth of today’s society. There are too many of us standing in the shade and not enough working in the mala. Our Hawaiian ancestors would have never tolerated this behavior. They would have stoned us to death for such insolence. We are Hawaiian, which means that deep down there are productive genes within us that are waiting to be used. For the sake of our school and for the sake of our culture, we need to rid of our educational irresponsibility and fulfill our duties as a student and as a Hawaiian.
Mr. Patino’s course does not promote educational irresponsibility. If anything, it promotes the opposite. Since he uses an even distribution scale rather than a 100 point grading scale, it allows students second chances so if they attempt an assignment but fall short, there is always another opportunity for redemption. When I fell behind due to a missed assignment, I was able to bounce back quickly due to the even distribution scale. He also posts all assignments on BlackBoard, so we can access the current assignment and future assignments at all times. In this sense, there should be no excuse for unfulfilled assignments because they are all on BlackBoard and they are all easily accessible. Everything is located under the “What is due” tab on BlackBoard. Mr. Patino also based his final grades on 95% assessment, which gives an accurate depiction of what you know on his class. If he put too much emphasis on homework assignments, students could copy each others work and their grade would be an inaccurate reflection of what they truly know. In this way, students will be able to showcase the knowledge they have, not what their classmate has. Mr. Patino provides diverse assignments so we can demonstrate out learning in the best possible way. Are you an artistic person rather than a test person? No problem! He offers assignments where you can present your knowledge via crafts! If you prefer oral assessments, he offers those as well. This way, you are able to truly show what you’ve learned in his class. Mr. Patino is very flexible; he can change deadlines if he feels that we need more time to turn in a good assignment. For example, when we had a presenter come in to share their knowledge with the class, he extended the deadline of a previously given assignment so we could include information from that presentation. He also provides quick feedback on our BioBlogs so we can learn from our mistakes and turn in better work the next time. His feedback is very detailed and tells us exactly what we need to do in order to earn an A. Best of all, Mr. Patino has taught us the importance of using metacognitive skills. In most classes, you might take a test based on the terms you learned in class. Mr. Patino, however, encourages us to think metacognitively, or to use our prior knowledge in order to solve real world problems. It is much better than regular learning because it actually puts your knowledge to the test and encourages divergent thinking. Since you are solving actual problems, it makes learning more fun, thus helping us to retain all of the information. If all of the previously stated claims are true, then there should be no reason for educational irresponsibility in Mr. Patino’s classes. He gives multiple ways to express your knowledge and multiple chances to do so. His grading scale is beneficial and his feedback is helpful. His teaching style promotes better thinkers. An explanation for why educational irresponsibility still exists in his classes is unfathomable. My reasoning is because those students who are that way have always been that way before they ever entered his classroom. Educational irresponsibility was already habitual at that point. Mr. Patino tried valiantly to change their ways. At this point, he’s done all that he can, and he did a fine job indeed. He has changed the ways of many of his students; and for those that he hasn’t, it may just be genetics. Educational irresponsibility is neither a condition nor a demonstration of one’s intellect; it is a choice. In the end, it is solely up to that person whether or not he decides to change.
A viable solution for teachers to fixing educational irresponsibility is to change their curriculum so it reflects that of Mr. Patino. Mr. Patino’s teaching method is the best way to change one’s habitual irresponsibility. He uses fantastic practices that I have stated in the section above. He not only promotes educational responsibility, but he also aids in the evolution of a student’s life practices. Mr. Patino helps students to mature into adults by preparing them for the cruel world that lies ahead. He’s taught us how to solve problems using our metacognitive skills and how to apply our knowledge to solve real world problems. I believe that this is the best way to rid of educational irresponsibility. Even though eliminating educational irresponsibility completely is near impossible, Mr. Patino’s teaching practices are the most viable way to do so.
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