SteveFarra

The Ecology of Inter-A

Inthedeepdepthsoftheconcretejungle,thereexistsalandofredlockersandbright lightsstackedinrows,asolid,whiteflatland,and6massive,cavernousrooms.Inside,youcan findhexagonaltables,chairs,desks,whiteboards,andaprojector.ThisisknownasInterA. InInterA,thereare3bioticfactors:students,teachers,andtheparentsociety.Thetables andchairsareusedbythestudentstoacquireeducation,andtheteachersdistributeeducation throughthewhiteboardsandprojector.Schoolsuppliessuchaswritingutensils,paper,and bindershelptoacquirethestudentseducation,alongwithtextbooks,schedules,andlockers. Theparentsocietyhelpstheobtentionofeducationbyhelpingfundotherendeavorsthestudent andteacherhave. Manysymbioticrelationshipsexistinthisecosystemtheteachershavea commensalisticrelationshipwiththestudents,astheteachersdonotgainanythingfromgiving educationtothestudents.Whenonestudenttutorsanother,thisisamutualisticrelationship onestudentgainsknowledgewhiletheothergainsservicehours.Occasionally,astudentwill breakarulelikethesharinginformation(education)duringatest.Thesharerwillhavea damagedreputationwiththeteacher,andthepersonwhoreceivedtheinformationhasthe potentialforhighermarks.ThisisanexampleofparasitisminInterA. Thereare4trophiclevelsinthisecosystem:teachers(producers),gradetwelves (primaryconsumers),gradeelevensandtens(secondaryconsumers),andgradeeightsand nines(tertiary).Teachersarethefirsttoorganizeanddistributetheknowledge,andhave everyonerelyingonthem.Graduateshavethesecondmostresponsibilityandknowledgeto distribute,andthispatterncontinuesuptothegradeeights,whohavenexttonobodyrelyingon themintheprogram.Theparentsocietyisthedecomposers,astheyconvertfundinginto functionalityandopportunitiesforInterA. Marksarethecentralnutrientinthisecosystem.Therearetwowaysitenters:learning, andcomponent.Inlearning,theteachersusetheabioticfactorstodistributeknowledge,whichis thenconvertedtomarks.Theknowledgeistakenfromthecurriculumandtextbook,transferred toawhiteboardorprojector,thendeliveredtothestudentsthroughlectures,assignments,and projects.Marksareyieldedthroughtests,whichareaculminationofallthosedeliverables. Component,ontheotherhand,breaksdownintotwosectionsCSL/service,andchoice. Intheformermethod,gradestentotwelvecreateopportunitiesforthegradeeightsandninesto getservice,whichiscalledCSLtheteachersgrantmarksforthis.Gradeeightsandninesenter theseopportunities,andaregrantedmarksbytheteachersforcompletingthem.Inchoice,grade eightsandninesruneducationalseminarsforeachother.Marksaregrantedforrunningand attendingtheseseminars.

SteveFarra

The Ecology of Inter-A

Mainstreamersareaninvasivespeciestothebioticfactorsofthisecosystem.Their schedulesaredifferentthatofInterAs,meaningthatwhenthestudentsarebusylearning,the mainstreamersmaybecreatinglotsofnoiseanddisruptingtheprocessofacquiringmarks. Mainstreamersalsotakeupalotoflockerspace,decreasingproductivityandthusslowingthe markscycledown. Asthemonthsprogress,theamountoffundsintheInterAaccountbioaccumulate.This isdonethroughfundraiserssuchastheBigBrotherclothingdrive,Purdysgiftcards,theCoin Drive,InterAdancesandmovie/bowlingnights,aswellasmanyotherevents.Intheunitcycle, theworkloadalsobioaccumulatesovertimeasitapproachestheunitend.Overaperiodof years,theworkloadbiomagnifiesaswellasonepassesthrougheachtrophiclevel,theworkload andresponsibilityincreases. Everyresourceinthisecosystemislimitedoftentimes,theconsumersmustplaya gameoffirstcomefirstservetogetthenecessaryresources.Allthreetypesofconsumers struggletowritetheirnamesdownonaservicesignupsheetbeforethelistfillsupinorderto obtainmarks.Competitionalsoexistsbetweenthetertiaryconsumersandsomeofthe secondaryconsumers,whenlimitedseatsintheportablearefoughtoverbetweenthestudents duringaMathCelebrationblockmathtestsmustfrequentlybetakeninordertosustainthelevel ofmarksastudenthas. WhenanewstudententersInterA,anessentialadaptationthatmustbeinstilledisthe leadershiptrait.Thiswillputthemheadandshouldersabovetheirpeers,andultimatelydictate howwelltheecosystemfunctions.Thishelpswithbioaccumulatingfunds,creatingservice opportunitiestohelptheyoungerstudentssurvive,andmakingsureeverythingelseruns smoothly. InterAisaverydynamicenvironmentwithpropertiesthatmakeitspecialanddistinguish itfromallotherecosystems.Manyfactorsbothbioticandabioticcontributetomakethe ecosystemthriveonadaily,weekly,monthly,andyearlybasis.ImDavidAttenborough,andthis hasbeenPlanetEarth.