For my genius hour I researched the flute, mainly because I realized I had been playing flute for so long but didn’t really know anything about it. I learned about the first flute, how it evolved, the best players, and more. It helped me grow, to feel more connected to my flute even if it is just an instrument I still feel like it’s a part of me since it’s one the constant things in my life. And because of moving a lot, it helps to keep the things that are always there close. This genius hour I had less slides, because I wanted to focus more on the performance I had in the end. The song I choose to perform is called Dona Nobis Pacem, and I chose it because I really like the song and it gives me a content satisfied feeling. It also hold some memories, back 3 years ago when I had to perform it in a concert. I noticed that the class took me seriously the entire time, and actually gave me the respect and silence that I needed to play the song. In the group of people I find that very rare and just something that doesn’t happen often. I really felt accomplished that I was able to open their eyes and give them a taste of what I get 2 hours a day three times a week. The type of music I play isn’t to everyone liking, but the song I chose I feel as though everyone could relate to it, and everyone did.  For my next genius hour I have no idea at all what I’m going to do, but I really am considering continuing this one.

What is the collective impact of Media on culture, gender, the economy, and you?
Media plays a very large role in what shapes our views and perspectives on/of society. The news that we see each and every day is specifically broadcasted from certain countries that the viewers find more interesting and time worthy. This means that most of the news revolves around Europe, the Americas, and parts of Asia. Due to the lens that we are given, we are only given one point of view to relate to and identify as important. The government only sees some crisis’s in the world as important, since the population shares the same perspective. Africa and Asia are disregarded. Most of the countries if not a large majority are third world so in other words at the moment a lost cause. I think this impacts me, because growing up, before I was able to think for myself, I assumed what I heard and saw was always right. It wasn’t until I began traveling that I saw the impact Media has on my life. Almost all the decisions I made were thought out. Whether or not they were right, or seen as the norm or ‘weird’. I discovered gender inequality while living in India, and saw how it was changing and were improvements could be made. Women over the past decade have slowly been getting more and more rights. The amount of standards set up for women are far greater than men, but now that the social media is addressing these issues, the situation is getting better as is gender equality. Social media defines the environment and pretty much everything we do. Culture across the world has different traditions and rules to abide by or respect. For most cultures, especially the stricter ones, media is despised since it represents everything new and modern. Most views are frowned upon and discouraged, and in turn Media does not exist in most countries who follow stricter beliefs. Furthermore the economy IS influenced by it, whether it knows it or not. It boosts communication and connects people from all over the world. Today the economy is benefited by media, it allows everyone to branch out and share their goods and ideas from all over the world. In the end, media has its up and downs, if it didn’t the word to describe it would be…perfect.

In this assignment I contacted 10 professional flute players in an attempt to gain some advice and insight for my genius hour project on the flute. In the list I made on Twitter entitled Flute, I added @sooyunkimflute, @porterflute, @Abbieflute, @davidbartonmus, @flutewise, @kewiflute, @paigebrownflute, @Ninaflute, @garethmclearnon, and @FluteQueen. All of these people are professionals, and either teach the flute to others, or it is their profession. Since this is what they do, I figured they would have some knowledge and ideas of how to help me out with my project. I mostly asked for the history or background of the flute, and tips on how I could improve my intonation (sound) when playing. I thought that this would give me a running start and a foundation to figure out how to create my presentation and what to include in it. The results were satisfactory since even though the majority of the responses were not useful, since they just included links to websites, or offers to buy their CD’s or books. The few that took the time to really answer my questions, really gave me a thorough answer that I plan on using and can see myself making use out of. None of the people followed me back, although I gained some followers from re-tweets on their pages. Two of the people that I asked questions responded in a total of 3 tweets, and 4 tweets, saying that if I wasn’t sure about anything or needed any more advice to just ask! I thought that that was thoughtful and kept it in my mind to use in the future. I continued the conversation to thank them for their time and for replying to my tweet. Overall I can say that I gained some useful information that will help me to enhance my genius hour project.

 

Nardos Scott

Mr. Linebach

DC9

September 18th 2015

                                                                             How to be Successful in School

 

          School is a necessary step for every successful person. Even a year or two and it changes the possible outcomes of your future. The key though is to be able to manage your time and make sure everything is balanced. Your social life and school life, as well as other activities or volunteer work. Doing the bare minimum won’t work for your whole life, but doing too much will exhaust you as well. That’s why finding a balance is key.

 

          I learned many things the hard way, but I know more now from my mistakes. One of the many things that I found out was to NOT procrastinate. I’m not saying that I no longer do, but it is something I try and stay away from as much as I can. Some days it is unavoidable due to lack of time and resources, but overall it is due to lack of effort and me just being lazy. This can be avoided by creating a strong will and determination to get work done. This way it causes less stress and overall makes life easier by getting things done and out of the way.

 

         My second and final tip is to not stress too much. Worrying and flipping out over something you have no control over won’t help fix the problem. Instead try and take a few breaths and think about what you can do and how you can do it. Math is one of my weaknesses and it’s fair to say I get frustrated on almost every homework assignment. This has taken me time but instead what I used to do, which is panic and cry, I try and use my resources or get help so I may be able to finish it and understand. Trying to gain control or steer something your way will not help. Attempting to shortcut through an issue won’t help you solve it. It’s best to take your time and go through the process needed to reach the end. This way you took your time and effort and ended with your best product.
        These tips have taken me time to be able to achieve. I would be lying if I said I don’t have stress or procrastinate. It’s apart of being human. School is a place to learn but also a time to find yourself and meet people whom you can carry with you throughout your life. Finding your balance will let school be simpler and less worrisome. Life is a roller coaster so just hang on and enjoy the ride. #staystrong #stressfree #icanandiwill

Overall Summary…

1. don’t procrastinate
2. have a balance in everything
3. always put in your best effort
4. stress and worrying won’t help your situation
5. don’t try and control things out of your reach
6. try your best to enjoy school for all it is while you can

For more on this-  http://www.princeton.edu/mcgraw/library/for-students/avoiding-procrastination/ 

 

PICTURES:

http://www.theperformanceinstitute.com.au/tips-stop-procrastinating/http://

 

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Fig. 1. Tips to stop Procrastinating by Jowett Go, The Performance Institute, web, Sept. 20th 2015

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/deeplifequotes/8873118243 

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Fig. 1. Live Life Happy, Flickr, May 28 2013, web, Sept. 20th 2015