Highlights and lowlights of another memorable year in education

Dan Haesler

By Dan Haesler
Community contribution / December 14, 2016

As 2016 draws to a close, I thought I’d offer my thoughts on the highlights and lowlights of the year via the obligatory A-E report card.

Lazy Keynote speakers get a 'D' from our resident columnist this year

A – Every single teacher who has gone above and beyond what’s written on their job description in order to ...

This story appeared in the December 2016 edition of Australian Teacher Magazine.

Teacher - Industrial Technologies with Engineering Skills - St Mary's Catholic College, Woree - QLD|Cairns,St Mary's Catholic College

Catholic Education - Diocese of Cairns Woree Queensland

Opportunity awaits at St Mary's Catholic College, Woree! We are seeking applications for a dedicated professional for the dynamic role of Industrial Technologies Tea...

Teaching - Primary / Dec 16, 2025

School Officer - First Nations Education - St Mary's Catholic College, Woree - St Mary's Catholic College

Catholic Education - Diocese of Cairns Woree

St Mary's Catholic College, Woree is seeking applications for a School Officer First Nations Education to join their College community.

Non Teaching Positions/Roles / Dec 16, 2025

Guidance Counsellor - Cairns Catholic Education Office - Servicing St Therese's School, Bentley Park - St Therese's School

Catholic Education - Diocese of Cairns Bentley Park

The Engagement Wellbeing & Learning team is inviting applications for a School Counsellor to join their team.

Non Teaching Positions/Roles / Dec 16, 2025

School news / Vic Govt resources supporting students’ mental health at school and online

The Victorian Government has released new resources for schools to help students, teachers and parents navigate the impacts of social media and screentime.

School news / ‘Timely intervention’: almost 80 per cent of adults support social media ban for kids

With Australia’s social media ban now in full swing, a new survey from Monash University has found that almost four-out-of-five Australian adults support the Federal Government’s social media ban for children under 16.

School news / Global review reveals what works for older students with reading difficulties

A comprehensive new review of interventions for students in Grades 4-12 who struggle with reading challenges the misconception that support beyond the early years of school is ineffective.

School news / Welcome turnaround: encouraging improvements in ear health for First Nations children

The proportion of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander (First Nations) children who reported a long-term ear or hearing problem has more than halved over the past couple of decades.

School news / Not up to scratch: calls for SA Govt to address its ‘outdated’ education standards approach

There are calls today for the South Australian Government to commit to a basic minimum standard for all public education facilities.

School news / Independent schools community rallies in response to unthinkable Bondi tragedy

Leaders from the Jewish and broader community have broken down after 15 people, including a child, were shot dead by father-and-son terrorists at Sydney’s Bondi Beach.

School news / Just days in and social media ban slugged with second legal challenge

Reddit should not be considered social media, the app’s management argues, as it fights Australia’s world-leading ban for under 16s.

School news / ‘Infringement of fundamental rights’: Austria passes headscarf ban for under-14s in schools

Austria’s lower house of parliament has passed a ban on Muslim headscarves in schools for girls under 14 ⁠despite uncertainty over whether the legislation will be ruled unconstitutional as a previous ban was five years ago.

School news / ‘Grave and serious breach of that trust’: principal avoids jail for assaulting Indigenous pupils

A former NRL referee has been spared jail after abusing his position of trust as a school principal by putting Indigenous students into choke holds and painfully twisting their ears.

School news / ‘Backed into a corner’: striking Tassie teachers take a stand for school support staff

Most of Tasmania’s government schools have closed for half of today’s school day as hundreds of staff walked off the job in protest at the Liberal Government’s failure to provide fair pay for school support staff.

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