We are excited to be holding a Golf Day to raise funds for our children’s projects! The Golf Day is a part of ITEC’s birthday celebrations – we have been putting children’s education and development first for 30 years!
All posts by Barbara
ITEC is 30 years old, and the focus is still on children
ITEC is 30 years old this year! We are planning a series of events to celebrate over the year, culminating in our AGM in September.
We kicked off our birthday celebrations with a focus on the needs of young children, a theme that has run through ITEC’s work for the past 30 years. Over 70 guests attended a Jamboree at ITEC to share information about the essential services that children need and have a right to receive.
A range of government departments and civil society organisations shared information with the Early Childhood Development Practitioners who attended. And it was a great networking opportunity for practitioners and service providers!
Click on a picture to scroll through the gallery.
International Book Giving Day
Giving a book to a child is so simple, and can make such a difference.
14th February is International Book Giving Day, when people around the world make an extra effort to provide children with books. Stories and books are not only a source of joy and pleasure to children (and adults), but also support language and concept development, and critical thinking.
In South Africa, only about one in five children* has more than 25 books at home, and very few schools** have functioning school libraries.
At ITEC, we are trying to make a difference. We work with schools from disadvantaged communities to set up classroom libraries.
If you would like to help make a difference too, donate good quality books you no longer need, or perhaps a book voucher. If you would like to know more, call the ITEC Librarian at 043 7438 333.
And start thinking about World Read Aloud Day on 16 February!
* Source: Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2015. You can download the latest South African reports on Grade 5 and Grade 9 here. The Grade 5 study found that children with access to more than 25 books at home achieved 45 points (equivalent to a grade) higher for mathematics and science (see page 8). Grade 9 learners with more than 25 books at home achieved 47 points more for maths and 58 points higher for science. You can download the latest South African reports on Grade 5 and Grade 9 here.
**Information about school libraries:
The State of School Libraries in South Africa (2013), published in the Journal of Education, University of Kwazulu-Natal.
The State of Libraries in South Africa (2015), jointly published by the Department of Arts and Culture and the Library and Information Association of South Africa (LIASA).
Equal Education is a good source of information about the campaign for all schools to have libraries.
Welcome, 2017
AGM Keynote address: Early Literacy, poverty and social inequality
We were excited to have Brian Ramadiro, Deputy Director of the Nelson Mandela Institute for Education and Rural Development, give the keynote address at ITEC’s Annual General Meeting in September.
Brian’s powerful talk resonated with everyone in the room. He spoke of the enduring link between early literacy, poverty, and social inequality in modern South Africa. Brian sketched out some of the almost intractable systemic challenges that hinder young learners, and called on us all to strengthen our resolve, and become more imaginative in our proposed solutions to the issues. His talk is available for download here.
Despite the gravity of Brian’s talk, we remembered the child in all of us. Each group of people built a LEGO model of Brian’s key points. The picture gallery below shows some of the scenes from a memorable AGM.
