Following the Equator

Twain's World

Mark Twain never grows old. That's the premise of the new Time magazine that just hit newsstands.

A gorgeous portrait of Twain graces the July 14 cover of Time's Annual Making of America Issue, which illustrates how Twain not only was the man of his times ("America's Original Superstar," he's called) but also a man for all times. His wit and wisdom on politics and race, just to name two, make Twain as relevant today as in the late 1800s.

While Twain is lauded as the inventor of the American novel and the forerunner to today's political funnymen such as Jon Stewart, Time also points out what we well know about our hero: "Twain was best known as a travel writer."

Time created a remarkable map (above) that marks where Twain traveled in writing his five travel books: The Innocents Abroad (1869), Roughing It (1872), A Tramp Abroad (1880), Life on the Mississippi (1883) and, of course, Following the Equator (1897).

Education around the world

The February issue of Edutopia magazine is out. It's especially worthwhile because the theme is global education.

The cover story, "As the World Learns: Education as a Vital Global Marketplace Represents the Future," is particularly interesting with reports on how students are taught in Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, India, Japan, New Zealand, Pakistan, Russia, Sweden and Uganda. There's also a report on Room to Read, a global nonprofit that builds schools and libraries in developing countries. Plus, there are additional global education resources.

The other cool thing in this issue is the Sage Advice page, which asks, "How do you prepare your students to be citizens of the world?" Some good responses that are worth reading.

Edutopia is the website of The George Lucas Educational Foundation, a nonprofit that celebrates and encourages innovation in schools. The monthly magazine is free to qualified subscribers. You can even get the ultracool digital version, which looks and reads just like the printed version.