General

Cleaning Your Carpet on a Weekly Basis

A very simple but effective way to clean your carpet is to vacuum regularly on a weekly basis. There are many benefits of vacuuming your carpets regularly. One benefit of vacuuming your carpets regularly is that it will help remove dust mites. The dust mites may live on the carpet for years and if they have not been removed properly by the vacuum, they can multiply quickly.

Another benefit of vacuuming your carpets on a weekly basis is that it helps to maintain the freshness of the carpet and also keep the fibers clean. Many people do not realize that dirt that builds up inside the carpet can cause fading of the carpet fibers. It can be difficult to avoid this problem and it is best to take action before it becomes too late.

Another advantage of vacuuming your carpet on a weekly basis is that it helps prolong the life of your carpet. When you do not vacuum your carpet on a regular basis, it can begin to wear out in as little as five years. Vacuuming your carpet on a weekly basis will extend the life of your carpet and make it appear much more attractive.

Another benefit of vacuuming on a weekly basis is that it helps to clear away allergens that are trapped in the fibers of the carpet. You should vacuum your carpet on a regular basis so that you do not have to be worried about any type of allergies. Many times when there is an allergy attack it can happen on the spot that you vacuumed.

Finally, a deep clean on a weekly basis can help to prolong the lifespan of your carpet. This helps to ensure that you do not need to replace your carpet for quite some time. It is important that you vacuum your carpet on a weekly basis to ensure that the fibers are not damaged and that the carpet remains looking new and vibrant.

If you want to learn how to vacuum on a weekly basis, then you can find many different methods that will show you how to clean your carpet on a weekly basis. There are many different ways that you can get the carpet vacuum cleaner that is right for you. Some people prefer to use the brush while others prefer to use the suction. type.

Once you know what type of cleaner that you prefer then you should research all of the different types of cleaners available. When you have chosen a cleaner, it is important to get it at least once a week. You should try to schedule the time that is right for you so that you can do the vacuuming on a weekly basis. Once you have gotten into the habit of getting the carpet vacuum cleaner on a weekly basis it should become second nature to you.

A deep clean on a weekly basis can be beneficial in many ways. If you do not have time to do a regular deep cleaning then it is important to find a way to keep the carpet clean so that you do not need to replace it very often.

General

THE HIGH PRICE OF AMERICA’S TESTING CULTURE

The following excerpt is from the opening chapter of STANDARDIZED MINDS: THE HIGH PRICE OF AMERICA’S TESTING CULTURE AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO CHANGE IT by Peter Sacks. (Perseus Books, Cambridge, Mass., February 2000).

Most Americans take standardized mental tests as a rite of passage from the day they enter kindergarten. Gatekeepers of America’s meritocracy—educators, academic institutions, and employers—have used test scores to label people as bright or not bright, as worthy academically or not worthy. Some, with luck, are able to overcome the stigma of poor performance on mental tests. But others do not.

Indeed, not only is it a stigma, but one largely unrecognized in our culture. Meritocracy’s gatekeepers brand those who score poorly on standardized tests as somehow deficient, incapable. Educators have used a quasi-clinical term for such people: Remember the teacher or counselor who scornfully labeled an ambitious, competent child an “overachiever” because her academic performance exceeded what the tests predicted? Or recall the hand-wringing over the “underachiever,” the student whose brilliant test scores predicted greater things than what he actually accomplished.

These terms are disappearing from public discussion, a result of concerns about standardized testing and its role in the American merit system. Some scholars have forcefully argued against the narrow views of ability measured by traditional mental tests. Many educators have sung the praises of new, authentic alternatives to standardized testing, such as performance assessment. Advocates of performance assessment say schools ought to focus more on what people can do and less on how well kindergarteners, high school students, and prospective teachers take tests.

Although the antitesting bandwagon has gathered new adherents, the wagon itself has crashed head-on into an entrenched system that is obsessed with the testing of American minds. With roots in intelligence testing that go back generations, the mental measurement establishment continues to define merit largely in terms of potential ability rather than actual performance. The case against standardized mental testing is as intellectually and ethically rigorous as any argument about social policy in the past twenty years. And yet such testing continues to dominate the education system, carving further inroads into the employment arena as well, having been bolstered in recent years by a conservative backlash advocating advancement by “merit.”

How has the standardized testing paradigm managed to remain entrenched, despite the many criticisms against it? Like a drug addict who knows he should quit, America is hooked. We are a nation of standardized-testing junkies.