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"What Makes a Great Teacher? Image credit: Veronika Lukasova Also in our Special Report: National: "How America Can Rise Again" Is the nation in terminal decline? Not necessarily. But securing the future will require fixing a system that has become a joke. Video: "One Nation, On Edge" James Fallows talks to Atlantic editor James Bennet about a uniquely American tradition-cycles of despair followed by triumphant rebirths. Interactive Graphic: "The State of the Union Is ..." ... thrifty, overextended, admired, twitchy, filthy, and clean: the nation in numbers. By Rachael Brown Chart: "The Happiness Index" Times were tough in 2009. But according to a cool Facebook app, people were happier. By Justin Miller On August 25, 2008, two little boys walked into public elementary schools in Southeast Washington, D.C. Both boys were African American fifth-graders. The previous spring, both had tested below grade level in math. One walked into Kimball Elementary School and climbed the stairs to Mr. William Taylor's math classroom, a tidy, powder-blue space in which neither the clocks nor most of the electrical outlets worked. The other walked into a very similar classroom a mile away at Plummer Elementary School. In both schools, more than 80 percent of the children received free or reduced-price lunches. At night, all the children went home to the same urban ecosystem, a zip code in which almost a quarter of the families lived below the poverty line and a police district in which somebody was murdered every week or so. Video: Four teachers in Four different classrooms demonstrate methods that work (Courtesy of Teach for America's video archive, available in February at teachingasleadership.org) At the end of the school year, both little boys took the same standardized test given at all D.C. public schools-not a perfect test of their learning, to be sure, but a relatively objective one (and, it's worth noting, not a very hard one). After a year in Mr. Taylo

"On December 10th 1989 the first TAC commercial went to air. In that year the road toll was 776; by last year 2008 it had fallen to 303. A five minute retrospective of the road safety campaigns produced by the TAC over the last 20 years has been compiled. The montage features iconic scenes and images from commercials that have helped change they way we drive, all edited to the moving song Everybody Hurts by REM"

It is soon the start of a new school year for students in Australia. In other parts of the world, the year continues after a short break for Christmas while New Year festivities are just around the corner for those observing the lunar new year. The start of the year is considered an excellent time to reflect on key ideas that matter to our learning and potential for success. But does this equate with goal-setting?

At the start of each year we arrive back from our break hopefully rested and energised. The new year brings many new opportunities including new students, new team members and new teaching programmes. We begin again the climb up the hill with a fresh group of learners arriving at our doors full of excitement who will rely on us to meet their learning needs in the year ahead. All of this means we are at risk of starting the year with a certain level of panic. There is so much to do, our students are not accustomed to our routines, we don't know each other well, there are parents to meet, assessments to be done and before we know it we are back to being busy. 

Various explanations and solutions have been proposed over the last ten years in relation to the ongoing problem of student lack of engagement with the middle years' curriculum in Australia. Identified contributors to this problem include an irrelevant or trivial curricular focus and ineffectual teaching and learning strategies.

For those in Australia the end of the teaching year has arrived or is just around the corner. With holidays approaching now might be the perfect time to find a good book to read and reset your thinking ahead of the start of a new year. Here are my favourite reads from this year. 

Critical thinking is a difficult concept to define in clear, objective terms. This can make it a challenging objective for teachers to implement and assess. The aim of this resource is to provide teachers with some tools to help clarify and communicate what critical thinking is and how it might be implemented as a teaching method.  This resource includes materials that can help teachers to engage their classes in critical thinking. The materials have been written with year 9 and year 10 students in mind, yet can easily be differentiated for students in years 8 and 11. The critical thinking introduction addresses what critical thinking is, where is applies in the curriculum and how to teach it. The teachers guide provides an overview of this resource in relation to the accompanying PowerPoint presentation.

The roll-out will begin this year (2009) with all public high school teachers having a laptop by 2012. The roll-out to teachers complements the laptop program for the state's 197,000 senior high school students. It means that students and teachers will use the same type of laptop, giving teachers compatibility in planning and delivering lessons electronically. The Department of Education and Training is currently assessing tender submissions for the supply of laptops in NSW public high schools. It expects to award a contract by the end of February 2009. As part of the $44 million package, primary schools will receive 20,000 more computers over four years. This will provide students and teachers with access to the most up-to-date technology in the early school years.

"Review of 2009: 100 great resources At the end of 2008 I produced my review of the year by listing 100 resources I enjoyed during the year. This proved quite popular, so I have done it again this year. I have selected 100 resources - articles postings, PDFs, presentations, videos etc - about (workplace and academic) learning, tools or technologies that I found of interest or practical use or made me think! The 100 resources are listed below, chronologically by the month in which they appeared. "

Some great links to resources on many different educational areas. Will need time to do the research.

"There are some tools that educators need to embrace and learn how to use both in and out of the classroom. Each of the tools on these lists have some value either with students or for professional development. I encourage you, as part of a professional resolution for the coming year to investigate these tools. If you are already an expert, pass along the list to someone who isn't and perhaps resolve to take that educator under your wing and work with them this year. "

With the year rushing to a close, this seems like the right time to set goals for the year ahead. To pause and consider what next and make some personal promises.  The trouble is that the history of setting New Year Resolutions is littered with failures. It is so easy at this point  in time to make commitments for change and then just a few weeks later to have forgotten what they were.

Across Australia students are returning to school. Armed with fresh stationery, new books full of promise, shoes that are not yet comfortable and uniforms washed and ready to go, students will be heading off for the first day of a new year. What do they hope to find and how might we make sure their first day back sets them up for a successful year of learning?

I still remember the first day I met my mortal enemy, I was back from school and my mother gave me this piece of cloth to tie around my chest for the rest of my life. It sounded archaic to me but as 13 years old I couldn't help but obey her. Since then till last year not wearing a bra (Stop Wearing Bras) never seemed like a viable option. Being a slave to bras for 13 years was enough for a person like me and finally, I had to let them go (The torture can was filled to the brim). It was a bittersweet parting as I have exhilarated to let them go but since they were so damn expensive that my bank balance is still in mourning over the loss of such a nice and hefty collection.

"On this day of great celebrations worldwide, we also invite to celebrate the impressive wealth of knowledge, information and beauty that today, like every year on this day, becomes freely available to humankind. Every year on New Year's Day, in fact, due to the expiration of copyright protection terms on works produced by authors who died several decades earlier, thousands of works enter the public domain - that is, their content is no longer owned or controlled by anyone, but it rather becomes a common treasure, available for anyone to freely use for any purpose."

Interesting website that lists what copyright works enter the public domain each year. Leon Trotsky has just been added to the list.

The Middle Years of Schooling Association (MYSA) invites all those committed to the education, growth and development of young adolescents to their 6th International Conference, 21 - 23 May2009. The Conference will enable participants to: explore ways of connecting in the middle years of schooling

"The Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations has confirmed that year 9 to year 12 students in 2013 will be the last to receive laptops under the current scheme."

" The nominees for the annual Teens' Top Ten have been announced today in honor of Celebrate Teen Literature Day by the Young Adult Library Services Association (YALSA). Nominations are posted every year on Celebrate Teen Literature Day during National Library Week. This year, the nominee list features 28 titles that were published between Jan. 1, 2012 and Dec. 31, 2012. The nominees can be found below on the Teens' Top Ten website www.ala.org/teenstopten and on the new teen friendly Teens' Top Ten website http://www.ala.org/yalsa/reads4teens.

It is difficult to have not noticed that the Presidential Election in the United States of America has been somewhat controversial. The same conclusion can be drawn about 'Brexit'. The implications of these events will keep historians, political analysts and indeed educators busy for many years. Regardless of your political leanings there are genuine implications for educators in these events and a considered response now and in the coming months (even years) will be required. 

Etihad Airways is the second largest airline of the UAE and it was established by Royal Decree in July 2003. The operations commenced in November 2003. The company is now fast growing in terms of its operations, influence, and services. Since this prestigious company is now speedily growing, they need to hire people who are best in their own field of expertise. Why do you need to be part of Etihad Airways? The airline's vision is to be the center of hospitality between the East and West. Its goal is to be a great global airline in the 21st century. Every year, the company always receive awards. One of its achievements is "World's Leading Airline at the World Travel Awards for five successive years.

Gooru is a new service (still carrying the Alpha label) that aims to provide teachers and students with an extensive collection of videos, interactive displays, documents, diagrams, and quizzes for learning about topics in math and science. As a Gooru member you have access to hundreds of resources according to subject areas such as chemistry, biology, ecology, algebra, calculus, and more. Within each subject area you can look for resources according to media type such as video, interactive display, slides, text, and lesson plans. When you find resources that you want to use, drag them to the resources folder within your account. Gooru also offers you the option to add resources to your folders even if you did not find them within Gooru.

A search engine for learning. Aimed at Year 5+, millions of resources alligned to US Common Core standards.