I recently spent three months teaching at the Nanhai International Experimental Kindergarden in Foshan, China. It was without a doubt an unforgettable experience that I could write pages upon pages about, but I will try to keep as short and sweet as possible. I didn’t have much time to prepare for China, as I was on a plane within about two weeks of first being given the opportunity to go. Those two weeks flew by and before I knew it I was in China with the other foreign teachers, Nidia, Rebecca, Bill and Joan. Two weeks later I was joined by my best friend Gemma, which made the experience even more amazing, as I got to share it with a friend. It took some time to settle in, but soon enough we each had our classes and timetables set. I was the Head Foreign teacher of the Penguin Class, which consisted of fifteen 2-3 year old children, their Head Chinese Teacher Jessica, Assistant Teacher Nancy and Life Teacher Landy. I also had afternoon classes with two baby classes (1 year olds). It was interesting trying to work with the Chinese teachers, as we all had different ideas on how the classes should have been run. At times it was frustrating trying to work well together to find what was best for the kids, but by the time I left we could run the class in English with absolutely no Chinese, and the children could understand us. They were incredibly clever; especially for two and three year olds and they absolutely stole my heart. I can still remember all of their names and could tell you a hundred and one stories about them all, but I’ll save those for another day. We went on an excursion to the zoo, had a huge Halloween party, did dancing and kung fu every morning, were invited into families homes, went swimming and so much more! The kindergarden was easily the largest and most remarkable kindergarden I have ever seen. It is four levels high and can hold up to around 2000 students, with facilities for them to board during the week, a cinema, kitchen, swimming pool, two playgrounds, accommodation for the teachers and I could go on and on. It is an unbelievable facility and just goes to show how important education is to the Chinese people. During our time away from the kindergarten we go to do some pretty cool stuff. We saw some of rural China where we went to hot springs then went white water rafting in the mountains, went to Disneyland in Hong Kong, travelled to Guangzhou city at every opportunity we got which was only a 40 minute drive away, rode through the streets and markets of China (we got lost on many occasions) and generally just had an adventure anytime we tried to get anywhere or do anything. We even learnt some of the language but that didn’t help us blend in. We certainly stuck out with three of us girls being blonde and nobody was shy about staring at us, but it always made the day entertaining. However, with most life experiences there is the good and there is the bad. It was at times overwhelming and frustrating when you couldn’t communicate with people, and I definitely experienced my fair share of homesickness. From my family to things like vegemite, English television and books, my mobile phone and the bright blue sky; things I no longer take for granted. At the end of the day, however, I wouldn’t trade my time in China for anything. I met people and saw places I will never forget and learnt a lot about myself while I was there too. I miss Gemma, Rebecca, Nidia, Bill and Joan so much and I am so grateful that I could spend my time in China with people I now consider dear friends. I still think about the teachers and children all the time and miss my Penguin class more than I imagined. I know I am only young and I hopefully have many more adventures ahead of me, but the one I had in China is one I will be telling people about for a long time to come.
A number of new initiatives in Queensland's early childhood education sector have been announced.
The Queensland Government will establish an additional 240 kindergarten services by 2014 as part of an initiative to provide all Queensland children with access to high-quality early education before they start school.
The Queensland Government project will be delivered in partnership with the Australian Government over the next six years.
The new kindergartens will cater for the 12,000 children not currently accessing any early education or care services in Queensland.
The early childhood education initiative will build on the State Government's successful introduction of the Prep year in 2007.
A new Office for Early Childhood Education and Care will also be established in the Education portfolio to bring together responsibility for early years and child care services in one agency. This new office, to be headed by a Chief Executive Officer, will report directly to the Minister for Education.
The Office will take the lead responsibility for children's early development and will manage the roll-out of the new kindergarten services and support the child care sector.
In less than five months more than 3 200 job seekers have completed training under the Rudd Government's Productivity Places Program.
Since 1 April 2008 the success of the Government's Productivity Places Program has continued unabated.
Today, more than 35 000 job seekers have enrolled in the program and 19 200 people are currently in training.
This program has provided 3 200 job seekers with qualifications in areas employers are telling the Government they desperately need.
There are currently 572 Registered Training Organisations participating in the program delivering 3 402 qualifications from Certificate II to Diploma level.
The Rudd Government has committed $1.9 billion over the next five years to deliver 630,000 training places to meet increasing demand for skilled workers.
This includes up to 238 000 training places for people currently not in the workforce and up to 392 000 training places for existing workers.
The Rudd Government is working cooperatively with State and Territory Governments through the Council of Australian Governments to deliver solutions to the nation's skills shortage.
Today, there are 5 million working age Australians without a qualification at the certificate III level or above.
The Rudd Government is committed to establishing a flexible national training system which meets the needs of industry and students as its central priority.
The Howard Government had no focus on skills and no reform agenda. Its Work Skills Voucher scheme did not work and has been swept away by the Rudd Government.
For more information about the Productivity Places Program visit: http://www.productivityplaces.deewr.gov.au/home.htm
Hi from Yue Xiu College, now a University. I have now been at this college since Feb 2005.
Its been an exciting time with some changes and the built up to becoming a Uni. Student numbers have increased from 5000 to over 10,000. Even thought there is many students and staff it has a warm family feeling about it.
I love living on campus and enjoy talking with the students in and around the campus and not just in the classrooms. They are much more relaxed when away from the rest of the class. Teaching gives me a buzz and especially when a student gains confidence to give a presentation or uses something which you have taught them.
Shaoxing has lots to offer in scenery and now that we have wheels (E-bike) we have more opportunity to get out and about to experience the culture. Shaoxing people are a friendly lot and I feel very safe here.
Shaoxing is small enough so that its easy to get around but big enough to have everything that you want or need. Of course, Hangzhou or Shanghai are only a short bus or train ride away.
