Training teachers in South Africa

You never know what will happen when you’re willing to talk to people you haven’t met yet!

Last summer I was in San Antonio, doing teacher training. One night at the hotel, I went to the workout room. There was one other woman there and we struck up a conversation. Her name was Heather Anderson (pictured above), and she and her husband pastor a church in South Africa. Her role is to lead children’s ministry and she shared her goal of teaching every child in her church to read because that’s the ticket to being accepted in the local schools. Many children are unable to go to school because they don’t have the necessary readiness skills– which contributes to a cycle of poverty.

I told her about my work and offered to allow teachers who worked with her to take our online courses at no charge. They’ve completed the courses and I wanted to share their heartfelt thank you’s… and let you see these beautiful young women who are impacting young children in Africa.

“I chose the course of caring for kids with food allergies, it was so interesting. I’ve learned a lot of things. Food allergy, I took it so slightly because I didn’t know much information about it but now I have confidence that I can care for kids with food allergies.”. ~ Siphokazi Danzana

“Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to take your online course! The courses listed look quite interesting and informative.” ~ Yolanda Xandekana

Vuyiseka, Siphokazi, Yolanda, Sandiswa ~ beautiful teachers in South Africa!

 “I am currently working at a daycare and never really considered pursuing a career in this field; this was always just a temporary job to help pay bills. Now that I have a child of my own, I am so inspired to be a really good teacher and to take the time needed to see each child as an individual and to meet their needs! I loved the course I chose and believe it has encouraged me to study further.”  ~Davidene

 “The course I chose was ‘Understanding Shaken Baby Syndrome, SIDS and Early Brain Development’. I learned so much and shared my experience with my employer at the school. Due to this course, my school has offered me a special opportunity to continue my studies and pursue a teaching certificate! They could see that I was motivated and inspired to learn more!”  ~ Vuyiseka Mpengu

 “I learned so much. I learned how to organize my classroom (I am a 4^th grade teacher in a public school – the classroom has 50+ children and I teach without assistance). I learned why it is important to know and understand the developmental stages of children, how to set tasks that are age appropriate, the type of teacher I should strive to be and how to model the desired behavior I would like to see in my class as their teacher. This helped me to have realistic expectations of my learners. I loved the course!”  ~ Sandiswa Macubeni

 “I chose the Classroom Management course. I chose this course because my classroom is small for the amount of kids that I have, so I thought it might provide ways for me to solve this problem. But when I began learning and seeing that it’s not just about managing the classroom and keeping up with administrative work but rather finding myself and approaching the children in different ways as I teach! I learned so much and now know how to look out for different behaviors in my children and find the underlying problems! I have grown so much through this course. Again, I wish to say thank you, it’s been very informative.”  ~ Lisa Nkanyuza

If you would be interested in sending books to Heather Anderson to give to families who literally do not have any children’s books in their homes, please contact me at [email protected].  I’ll send you her contact information and you can help support early literacy and education in South Africa!