I am so excited about this course's blog assignment. We've been asked to establish two international contacts in the early childhood community and I have chosen to reconnect with the country of South Africa. I traveled there in 2000 to exchange information with educators and policy makers about their practices and was amazed at the culture, people, and kindness I experienced. I am looking forward to hearing about the state of things today. I think it is so important to network with other professionals in any field you work in to determine best practices and learn about difference within the field.
I attempted to connect with the Centre for Early Childhood Development and the University of South Africa online. My intent is to learn about the practices in the field and find out about the process of preparing "practitioners" (their term for educators) for the education of young children. I have not yet heard back from them.
For this course, I will be examining and exploring the website for the Zero to Three organization. I have subscribed to the various enewsletters, emails, and written communications they offer. My passion is birth to three and so I look forward to learning more about the work being done by this organization in this area of expertise.
I am so excited that you and I are looking at connecting with the same country. I think it will be very interesting to see what things we will find.
ReplyDeleteHi Katherine,
ReplyDeleteI am also looking to connecting with the professionals in South Africa. If you make any contacts, please share them with me. I will love to hear about the issues and trends in their programs and services in early childhood.