I got this forwarded email from a well-intentioned source who meant no harm. This created the following exchange:
****************************************************
RE: Photography shoot for the LDS Curriculum Department

Dear Talent File Participant,
I apologize for the extreme tardiness of this request. I have been given the assignment to find "non-Caucasian" families and singles to attend a photo shoot this Sunday, September 28th. It was my desire to glean help from the surrounding wards, thereby not taxing our talent pool yet again, with requests for ethnicities. However, the members in that area have not responded to the call, and I am now desperate for help!
Would you, or ANYONE you know, be willing to attend this small photo shoot for Church Curriculum? (By "ethnic," at this point, we'd be grateful to have anyone with a dark tan!)
Here is the information I have available:
Project: Photographs for the new "Gospel Principles" manual to be released in 2010.
Setting: A Ward Sacrament Meeting
Needed: Ethnic Minorities (non-Caucasian) who can follow directions in English. Singles are welcome! Families are welcome! All children need to be accompanied by at least one parent.
Location: LDS Chapel located at 1925 Gunderson Lane, Holladay, UT
Date: Sunday, September 28, 2008
Time: Please arrive between 3:30 – 3:45pm. (No later than 3:45pm.)
Duration: Until about 5:00pm.
********************************************************

This is the reply I sent:
Hello. I just received a forwarded email requesting "ethnic" members for a photo shoot. As a person of color, I find the manner of this request quite insensitive. For your future reference, next time you put out an all-call for "ethnic minorities," please don't say "by 'ethnic,' at this point, we'd be grateful to have anyone with a dark tan!"
Also, my skin may be dark, but I am able to "follow directions in English." I followed them just fine during my undergrad studies at BYU and during my graduate work. Your assumption that members of the church with dark skin are unable to follow rudimentary directions in English is quite offensive. I would have hoped that the general population of our church would be more enlightened, if not especially the leadership and those working for church media.
Please be more sensitive- or at least less openly ignorant- when making future requests.
********************************************************
They responded quickly, but CC'd to everyone in the whole world. Basically, they told me that they are "sorry I feel this way."
Here is their response:

I am sorry that you took offense where none was intended. Many "ethnic minorities" come from other countries. If I were in China, I would not be able to follow directions in Mandarin, and that would rule me out. [If you were in China, the directions would be given in Mandarin AND English because that's how ignorant Americans demand everything.]
Again, no offense was intended, nor have I received any feedback from anyone but you that this language was offensive. [clearly, because people with dark skin apparently can't read English]

**********************************************************

You know, offense that isn't intended is just as ugly and often more insidious. So basically, they don't MEAN to be ignorant, but they're going to be anyway.

If they are really having such a hard time finding "ethnic" people, perhaps they could just use Caucasian people and put them in blackface, since they already did that in "Testaments." That's right. Instead of finding an actual "ethnic" person to play the lead role, they put the lovely (and Caucasian) Joy Gardner into blackface for the role... or would the more correct term be "brownface"?

SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE!!!

I really do want to know how many people were in your elementary school classes!

Thank you Shan & Amanda, for your feedback. =)

You should all be pleased to know that I successfully got my Fulbright application turned in before the deadline this past Friday, thanks to the following people:

•  Dr. Keeler- amazing recommendation letter writer and the fastest email responder ever
  
•  Dr. G, Mrs. B, and Mr. S- letter writers extraordinaire 
•  Briana- morale booster, proof reader, and finder of missing verbs
  
•  Steve- essay shaper, proof reader, and catcher of words like "Cocoa-Cola" (Seriously, if it wasn't for Steve, I would have turned in a curriculum vitae that proudly stated that I was a Cocoa-Cola Scholar.)

Thank you, guys!!!

Not that I'm counting, but this...

is starting to feel an awfully lot like this:

I have a relatively large class, especially for third grade. I'm currently at 29 students (and counting!), and I have nearly 40 students in my reading intervention group. Did I mention yet that I only have 32 desks? We are seriously running out of my room, and thanks to the district hiring freeze, we have no hope of getting any more teachers (we have four teachers doing the work of six teachers). Somehow I lucked out and actually have a REAL classroom in the actual school building; the other third grade teachers are teaching in tiny portable trailers where there used to be basketball courts.

I am really dumbfounded. What happened to CLASS SIZE REDUCTION? According to one of my favorite pieces of Nevada Legislation, third grade is supposed to be capped at 21 students. The only loophole exists in a team teaching situation, where two teachers share a maximum of 38 students. This is not the situation in my school. 

I am honestly trying to remember how many kids were in my class back when I was a third grader, and I cannot remember. So, just for perspective, how many kids were in your classes when you were in elementary school?  

These are a few of my favorite things...

(about Steve)

Steve:

 ... loves his family.

... has always been 100% honest with me.

... works so hard and has accomplished so much academically and professionally.

... stands up for what he believes in with undying resolution (even though sometimes this drives me crazy).

... gives his all working for the causes he supports.

... enjoys a flick at the Tower just as much as I do.

... is looking forward to Sundance.

... takes me on dates to the State Capitol building.

... has sent me flowers "just because."

... fixed the door handle on my car.

... spends time with my wonderful friends and family.

... loves art museums.

... reads stories to my elementary school kids and did an AWESOME "Flat Stanley" for my class.

... supports all of my academic and professional endeavors.

So I went to a church function recently where one of the girls was going on and on about some guy- a great catch, she said. In her words, his family was loaded, but she said she would never go out with him because he had "chinky eyes." (yes, this is wrong on sooo many levels) This girl then went on to speculate on the genetic origins of his "chinkiness" (yes, she actually used that hateful word). She wondered out loud, "Maybe his mom is half chink."

W... T... F...

In the light of this event, as well as the recent Racist Spanish Olympic Basketball Team fiasco, I'm going to offer you all a brief tutorial. 

If you are my friend (or "chin-gu," as I call it in my mother-tongue), you can joke with me about the following things:

* my penchant for taking too many photos, especially multiple pictures of the same thing

* my affinity for Korean melon candy and patbingsu (ie: red bean snow cones)

* my love for Pucca stationary products

* my disgustingly amazing ability to achieve a perfect tan in one afternoon

If you suspect someone is Asian, you should probably not do the following things:

* make that disgusting gesture where you hold up the corners of your eyes (ie: the Spanish Olympic Basketball Team).

* call them a "halfie," a "guk," a "jap," or a "chink"

* use a Sharpie to write "Jap GO HOME" on the windshield of their car while they are in a gas station (thanks, random bigot from Cedar City, it was really fun cleaning that off!)

* use a Sharpie to write "Jap GO HOME" on their apartment door (thanks, random bigot in Provo! Seriously peeps, is that a line from a movie or something? Why do random bigots keep writing that on my stuff?!? K, it's only been two people in almost 30 years, but still...)

* refuse to rent them an apartment on the grounds that they "might make Chinese food that stinks up the house" (ahhh, gotta love Provo)

* assume they're from a country that they're not really from, and then gush on about how you served your mission in this country, and gush on and on about how you "love their people"

Oh yah, and did I mention that the forementioned church activity was a thinly veiled attempt at fellowshipping less active members? No, really, it was. Eek.

So I pretty much had the best first day of school ever today. Only 25 kids showed up, which was great, because I was told I'd have 30+ kids. Believe it or not, five kids makes a big difference. (Think about it. Imagine you have NO kids, and then suddenly you have FIVE kids. Big difference, right???) There were no major outbursts, no tears (from me or the kids), and no first graders tried to stab me this year. All in all, it was pretty awesome.

 In the immortal words of Edwin McCain, "I could not ask for more." *

* ...with the exception of more salary, AND more papers/pencils/crayons for my kids. And another teacher in our grade level so that we could actually follow the class size reduction mandate. 

Maybe I'm way out of line here, but my close friend's wedding is coming up in a couple months and I expect my boyfriend to attend the wedding with me. He refuses. Am I really out of line for wanting him to come? Question here...

This one is for my lady friends who are married. So that means pretty much all of you. 

1. When you have a social function, such as a close friend's wedding, high school reunion, mission reunion, etc... Do you expect your husband to attend with you?

2. Does your husband willingly attend or does he act like a mopey poop the whole time?

Wise Words #7

"I don't need to throw around my degree from Northwestern or my juris doctorate to be condescending. I can do just fine being condescending on my own."
- (with love) S.G.

Dear Wendy,

Remember when we used to make up interpretive dances to Britney Spears's songs? AHEM. I mean, remember when our "friends" used to make up interpretive dances to the aforementioned songs?

Well, my college friend Drew made one real humdinger of a video. I can't stop watching it. And so I find myself forcing it on all of you.

Feel free to watch it over and over again. My favorite part comes at about 2:57, and it involves a family of ducks. 

Love, 

Heather

PS: Watch this one by the same artist. Only if you have time, of course. This one is a beautiful rendition of a beloved Primary song. And no, I'm not a heathen. So there.

Can we get a little RESPECT?

Seriously. The Spanish Olympic basketball team released these photos:

What in the name of cultural tolerance were they thinking? How disrespectful and downright disgusting!

"It was something, like, supposed to be funny or something but never offensive in any way," said Spainish center Pau Gasol, who also plays for the LA Lakers, in this article, which contains some real gems. In case you don't have time to read it, here are the highlights:

Frank Zhang (spokesperson from Li Ning, a Spanish clothing brand) said, "...the gesture shows that the Spanish team is so humorous, relaxing and cute. They sat around a dragon pattern, which we think showed respect to the Chinese."
Listen here, Frank. It was humorous and cute until y'all started making hate gestures.

Manuel Calderon, one of the Spanish players (who plays for NBA's Toronto Raptors), said, "We have great respect for the far East and its people. Some of my best friends in Toronto are originally Chinese..."
Ohhhhhh, okay. Some of your "best friends" are Chinese? Like we haven't heard that racially insidious qualifier before. Hmm... George Wallace, the trademark racist governor of Alabama in the 1960's, apologized for his segregationist ways in the documentary George Wallace: Settin' the Woods of Fire (2000). How so? Wallace said, "some of my best friends are black." 

Sure they are. Sure they are...

This was shared today by a friend. Thanks Amanda E.!!!

warning: there is some mild language (ie: d***a**) and one questionable image.

This Land! | Funny Jokes at JibJab

So if you know any men in their, um, nineties, who are looking for a very superior wife of the 1930's, tell them to give me call. Did they even have phones back then?

93 As a 1930s wife, I am Very Superior Take the test!

I am so excited about Girls Rock Camp!!!!!!!! Steve took me to see the documentary about the camp at the Tower Theater back in June, and I can't stop thinking it. In case you didn't click on my hyperlink, Girls Rock is a summer camp based in Portland, Oregon. Basically, they take girls at all levels of music experience, help them choose groups ("rock bands"), give them private lessons, and  help them write an original song. Then, at the end of the week, the campers participate in a showcase concert, performing for their friends, family, and the community. HOW AWESOME IS THAT?!??!?!?!

Also, they are 501(c)3 non-profit organization with lots of scholarship assistance for girls who can't afford tuition. 

From their website:
We want to eradicate all the limiting myths about music and gender that make girls afraid to speak up, sing out, and make noise. We want to abolish all the obsolete traditions that restrict many girls' and women's free musical expression and obstruct their access to the world of music. We seek to demonstrate—through lessons, mentorship, positive examples, and the shared experiences of the staff and volunteers—that every genre of music from the heaviest to the most delicate, and every technical job and creative endeavor in the music industry, is available to any girl or woman who wants to explore it.

I had a really strong emotional connection to this film. Not so long ago, I was one of those girls who played the drums and sometimes felt out-of-place making music. I often felt intimidated by jerky boys who didn't want to "play with a girl." I eventually found solace with Brickle, my girl band from college. I made music with two amazing women (Briana and Minda) and one incredible, enlightened, opened-minded male bass player (Dave). I can't begin to describe how empowering it is to make music, to play the drums in a rock band, and to play shows in front of big (and semi-big) crowds. 

The camp has locations in other cities around the world, all organized by woman rockers who are dedicated to empowering the next generation of female musicians. There are camps in Washington DC, Portland, Brooklyn... 

Can anyone guess what city still needs a branch of Girls Rock Camp? I am seriously considering organizing a Las Vegas chapter. I have one colleague who is willing to collaborate on this. Anyone else willing to lend a hand for next summer?

Wise Words #6

There's such divinity in not being what people expect.

-Darci L.

K, so in case I haven't made it already clear, I have been out of town for nearly a month. I arrived home to find that there were zero groceries in the fridge (surprise!). And since I'm really hurting for money, I thought I could scrape together a few meals until my next paycheck on the 25th. Last night, I made a delectable meal of spaghetti noodles, a pat of butter, and pepper. Exciting, I know.

So tonight, I was feeling pretty good about my culinary skills. Plus, I was hungry and had ZERO dollars. I thought I'd branch out and make migas, using a recipe from the Rachel Ray website. Heck, I saw Rachel Ray herself make these on t.v. a few days ago. Plus, Steve and I made them a few months ago for dinner, so I didn't feel like I was exactly flying solo on this one.

However, remember that I had an empty fridge and zero cash. So I had to substitute a few ingredients.  And the ingredients that I HAD were ALL borderline moldy. To be fair, none of the expiration dates had been expired for longer than two weeks. But still...  

Tonight I learned an important lesson. If you cook with disgusting, near-moldy ingredients, your dinner will be a soggy foul-tasting mess. 

I can't even bring myself to throw it out because today was trash day, and I don't want this mess hanging around until Friday (the next trash day). I'm contemplating putting it all in a plastic bag and driving to the nearest public garbage can, preferably a garbage can in front of a 711 where I can splurge $2 on a slurpee to help get the taste of rancid bacon, eggs, and onion out of my mouth. After tonight, I think I could start a whole new fad diet based on taste aversion.

We had the second annual Scarlet Something camping reunion over Fourth of July weekend (FYI: "Scarlet Something" was my rock band in college, the predecessor to "Brickle," another college band). 

It was really fun to go camping, and even better to be with such awesome friends. You guys are like family- I love you all! It was so much fun to get together again, along with our spouses/children/significant others.

PS: 

This was my first attempt at "digital scrapbooking." Be sure to click on the "play" buttons at the bottom of the picture so you can see the rest of the pages.  There are five pages. My favorite is the "then and now" page. It's funny to see how much (and how little!) the four of us have changed in the last six years! 

I bet y'all are wondering about those last couple of posts. 

Well, I've been out and about for the last few weeks... I went to Washington D.C. with a group of teachers from the Clark County School District, thanks to the Teaching American History Grant. After six fun-filled days in D.C., I flew to San Antonio to co-present a session at the 2008 NECC Conference with Dr. Keeler. Click here for our fun and exciting presentation, and download the presentation, complete with my extra fun slide design! It'll feel just like you were there in person! Really!

Anyway, when I'm at a conference, I like to take notes on my laptop, but I found that if I post the notes from the sessions on my blog, I'm more likely to review them. So yah, sorry about that.

Fun-filled photos from D.C. and San Antonio will follow soon. It was my first time to visit both places and I had a great time. The trips included the following:

• 4 hotels in two weeks
• 6 airplane rides in two weeks
• 3 DC Metro tickets
• 2 fun outings with Natalie!
• 1 visit with Steve and his family!
• 12 hours in Colonial Williamsburg
• 4 hours at the Holocaust Museum
• 1 pair of crocs, with soles worn COMPLETELY through
• 2 Texas-shaped waffles
• 11-13 trips on San Antonio public transportation

But don't worry. Apparently, Steve was very busy while I was away...

Therese Laux
From iPods to MIDI: Transform Learning through Music Technology

North High Magnet School in Omaha, Nebraska, Vikings

READ: Technology STrategies for Music Education, Thomas E. Ralph, Floyd Richmond, David Mash, David Williams

Focus on 21st century learning
Where do you see:

• engaged students
• scial nd emotional connections
• sensitivity to cultural differences

• Have you noticed?
• students working collaboratively and creatively
• self-direction
• adaptability and accountbility
• What is it about music?
• engaged students- they like being in school and have positive experiences
• emotional and social connections
• collaborative and creative
• When business leaders ask what is needed today, they often say:
• people who think with creative sides of their brain
• people that have played in a band bc it enhances symbiotic capabilities
• http://ti-me.org
• the technology insitute for music educators
• non-profit organization devoted to helping music teachers learn how to integrate the tools of technology into the music curriculum
• 7 Areas
• electronic musical instruments
• MalletKAT
• MIDI wind controller
• keytar, Justin Timberlake, Herbie Hancock's recent CD
• electric violin from Yamaha
• Roland V Session electronic drumset
  
• MIDI sequencing
• music notation software
• Finale or Sevalius
  
• kids have to "own" music, it's a tremendous creative outlet
• teach kids to play happy birthday, let them figure it out
• in their music media tech, they have a piano recital every year for EVERYONE- this is true differentiated instruction
  
• computer-assisted instruction
• multimieda and digitized media
• internet and telecommunications
• information processing, computer systems, & lab management
• What are they so engaged in???
• Garageband!!! kept kids in school and out of trouble
• beginners and pros are able to do it
• tracks, loops, instruments, oh my!
• they find a way to communicate their ideas!!! They can express themselves
• podcasts: fellows night out, fellas night out
• What can we learn from the world of business? Do they have answers?
• at first this sounds insulting, but they might have some answers!
• Winning the Answers, by Jack & Suzy Welch
• Daniel Pink book
• seeing difference_ pay attenetion to differences that matter
• understanding difference: gain knowledge about those differences matter
• value difference: experiment with changes in how you operate as a result
• martin davidson, Darden School of Business
• What's the next big thing?
• www.sltib.com, Earth Harp, Bill Close
• Japanese Tenori-ON, blending the beauty of shape and sound, 16x16 led panel
  
• REactable, collaborative electronic
  
• therese.laux@ops.org
• web.mac.com/omahanorth
• andy crozier ipod ade
• apple learning interchange
• music and the mac, join this group at the apple learning interchange, form a ning group