#brittany margrave

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Final Reflection: Brittany Margrave

    Reflecting on my recent trip to India with our group from UNO, thousands of words come to mind. Upon my arrival I was bombarded with bright colors, overwhelming aromas, and loud noises everywhere. I was astonished by the beautiful historic sights we saw such as the Taj Mahal, the Red Fort, Qutab Minar, and many more. I must say that when I look back on my experience in India however, it was not the tourist explorations that left the greatest impact on me, but the Indian way of life. 

     As we rode in our tour bus and walked along the streets, the issue of poverty started to surface in my understanding of the country. I have never experienced children coming up to me to beg for food or elderly women grabbing my arms in hopes for spare rupees. I can say these experiences changed my entire view of wealth and opportunity. I felt humbled and realized how much I have in my life to be grateful for. I now understand how easily I have taken these blessings for granted. Simple things such as adequate housing and sufficient food to survive are not commonplace for all Indian citizens but are considered basic expectations for most Americans. I have developed a greater appreciation for the small needs in my life that are easily met. 

     Another striking revelation I had while in India related to their pollution. I was stunned to see mounds of garbage and litter throughout the streets. At first, I had trouble understanding how a small issue could get that bad, but the more we traveled through the north of the country, the more I understood that this is a generational problem India faces. Many of India’s eldest population was not taught any better than to throw their trash on the street and thus, taught their children the same. I also found this to be a systemic issue because many of the public streets do not have adequate waste management services because of the overwhelming population. This issue will take a couple generations of teaching about pollution to be resolved. I was extremely surprised about this difference in environmental mentality between the U.S. and India. 

     Ultimately, I found the experiences that were the most prominent to me were the interactions I had with native Indians. From the moment I stepped off the plane, I felt such a strong sense of welcoming and I felt extremely at home during my stay. It is a common Indian custom to treat one’s guests as gods and I certainly felt treated as such during my visit. I will cherish all of the friendships I began and the connections I have taken with me from our faculty led trip.

Brittany Margrave

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NAfME Celebrates 71 Members Who Are Newly Certified NBCT Music Educators

This past week, the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards celebrated 3,907 new National Board Certified Teachers (NBCTs). Each of these accomplished educators earned this prestigious achievement through a rigorous, performance-based and peer-review process, exemplifying their direct impact on student learning and achievement.

This year, there were 61 newly certified NBCTs in Music, Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood; and 68 newly certified NBCTs in Music, Early and Middle Childhood. NAfME is delighted to share that out of those 129 newly certified music educators, 71 are NAfME Members. NAfME congratulates all newly certified teachers in all fields of education, and extends our warmest wishes to our newly certified members. 

Here is a list of our newly certified NBCT Members. Teachers whose names are italicized received their certificate for Music, Early and Middle Childhood. Teachers whose names are not italicized received their certificate for Music, Early Adolescence through Young Adulthood.

Angela

Albrecht

Rockwood School District R6

Missouri

Corey

Ames

Lake Forest School District 67

Illinois

Mathew

Anderson

Monroe School District

Wisconsin

Susan

Asplin

Spokane School District 81

Washington

Margaret

Austin

Boulder Valley School District RE-2

Colorado

James

Baum

Riverside-Brookfield TWP School District 208

Illinois

Andrea

Brannman

Mt. Vernon School District 320

Washington

Jana

Bromley

Kenton County School District

Kentucky

Audrey

Burt

Desoto County School District

Mississippi

Charles

Burts

Fairfax Country Public School District

Virginia

Sarah

Butler

Highline School District 401

Washington

Miriam

Capellan

Arlington County School District

Virginia

Brittany Adele

Carter

Georgetown County School District

South Carolina

Teresa

Catania

Kettle Moraine School District

Wisconsin

Johnathan

Cline

Warren County School District

Kentucky

Ashleigh

Cook

Gaston County School District

North Carolina

Veronica

Crawford

Tuscaloosa City School District

Alabama

Ashley

Cuthbertson

Fairfax County Public School District

Virginia

Mary

Davis

Bellevue School District 405

Washington

Lisa

Dwyer

Croton-Harmon Union Free School District

New York

Kelly

Edgar

Clark County School District

Nevada

Melissa

Ellenberger

Falcon School District 49

Colorado

Bethany

Fernbaugh

Hancock County School District

West Virgnia

Dawn

Fiebrandt

Western Springs School District 101

Illinois

Eric

Fleischer

Clark County School District

Nevada

Laura

Garsson

Issaquah School District 411

Washington

Megan

Goransson

West Valley School District 42

Washington

Kaethe

Grabenhofer

First Immanual Lutheran School

Wisconsin

Bruce

Harkins

Martin County School District

Kentucky

Michael

Hayden

Wauwatosa School District

Wisconsin

Denise

Hurst

Walla Walla School District 140

Washington

Michael

Ihde

Kenmore-Tonawanda Union School District

New York

Amy

Kerker

Wenatchee School District 246

Washington

Leah

Krucelyak

Prince William County Public Schools

Virginia

Erin

Lyon

Jefferson County School District

Alabama

Gillian

Malacari

Edmonds School District 15

Washington

Molly

Malone

Chippewa Falls Area USD

Wisconsin

Brian

Margrave

Cheyenne Mountain School District 12

Colorado

Susan

Masson

Fremont County School District 1

Wyoming

Levi

Mazurek

Nine Mile Falls SD 325-179

Washington

Justin

McCrary

Davie School District

North Carolina

Timothy

McFadden

Newport Mesa Unified School District

California

Patrick

McGinthy

Highland Community School District 5

Illinois

Heidi

Menzenberg-Zvilna

Lake Washington School District 414

Washington

Rebecka

Mercer

Johnston County School District

North Carolina

Joseph

Mitchell

Frederick County Public School District

Maryland

Corynn

Nordstrom

Menomonee Falls School District

Wisconsin

Jason

Parker

Bellingham School District 501

Washington

Beth 

Philemon

Wake County School District

North Carolina

Joshua

Poe

Virginia Beach City Public School District

Virginia

Kevin

Proudfoot

Renton School District 403

Washington

Laine

Riley

Blue Springs School District R4

Missouri

Melissa

Roach

Clover Park School District

Washington

Aaron

Robinson

Clark County School District

Nevada

Lora

Roosendaal

Pasco School District 1

Washington

Gabrielle

Rosenblum

Oak Park Elementary School District 97

Illinois

Paul

Rotramel

Breckinridge County School District

Kentucky

Jamie

Rottle

Clover Park School District

Washington

Lindsay

Rudebusch

Eau Claire Area School District

Wisconsin

Heather

Schimpf

Anne Arundel County School District

Maryland

Heide

Schoffstall

Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District

North Carolina

Elizabeth

Smiley

Peoria Public School District 150

Illinois

Haley

Smith

Snoqualmie Valley School District 410

Washington

Rachel

Spencer

Durham Public School District

North Carolina

Angela

Tarbutton

Anderson School District 1

South Carolina

Sandra

Teglas

Guilford County Schools

North Carolina

Terry

Thompson

Washoe County School District

Nevada

Kristin

Umbarger-Keene

Cashmere School District 222

Washington

Allan

Weberger

Prince William County Public Schools

Virginia

Scott

Wheeler

Poudre School District R-1

Colorado

Bonnie

Zeitler

Howard County Public School District

Maryland

Did this blog spur new ideas for your music program? Share them on Amplify! Interested in reprinting this article? Please review the reprint guidelines.

The National Association for Music Education (NAfME) provides a number of forums for the sharing of information and opinion, including blogs and postings on our website, articles and columns in our magazines and journals, and postings to our Amplify member portal. Unless specifically noted, the views expressed in these media do not necessarily represent the policy or views of the Association, its officers, or its employees.

Catherina Hurlburt, Marketing Communications Manager. December 14, 2018. © National Association for Music Education (NAfME.org)

Source: https://nafme.org/nafme-celebrates-members-who-are-newly-certified-nbct-music-educators/

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Day Five: Brittany Margrave

Brittany is studying Psychology and Spanish at UNO. Brittany will be spending her fall semester studying abroad in Argentina. She is most looking forward to getting to know the daily lifestyle of Indians. 

Today we had an exceptionally early start to an exceptionally hot day! We first started our trek to Agra at about 5:30 AM with only a few bumps along the way, speed bumps of course. Once we arrived and grabbed breakfast, the sun was in full blast and so were we! As we arrived at the gates of Taj Mahal, we could feel our excitement in the air. Once we entered one of the new seven wonders of the world, we walked up to the front, taking pictures along the way. With the Indian sun beating down heavily on us, we frequently stopped in the shade to hear the tour guide explain the historical significance of the Taj Mahal. Dripping sweat, we were relieved to finally enter the shaded mausoleum to admire its beauty. As we were leaving the picturesque site, the heat really started to set in; even the locals were a bit overwhelmed by the scorching sun. 

Our plan from there was to have lunch then leave for Agra Fort; however, due to the heat, there was a shift in plans and the opportunity to go the Wildlife SOS Bear Sanctuary near Agra opened up. We jumped at the opportunity and as we arrived, we learned the focus of of this sanctuary is to help save bears from the abuse they experience as dancing bears. I think it was fate that we ended up at this sanctuary because it is sponsored, partially, by the Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo. As we walked the the sanctuary, many of us were taken aback as we learned about the torture these animals went through.

I have developed a greater understanding of how animals can be mistreated and the efforts to help them regain some of their life as freed animals. Many of us showed our support for this cause and contributed through buying t-shirts available. 

There is a certain nature of India that I seem to find inescapable, and that is “to go with the flow.” Just as with today when our plans got flipped upside down, plans in India don’t seem to workout exactly as scheduled. It is through this wonderful change in our schedule though, that we got the opportunity to have an unforgettable experience at the sanctuary. India is showing me that sometimes the most beautiful things come from something completely unexpected. 

Brittany Margrave