The early American dream house

The early American dream house

They demand granite countertops. We don't. They abhor 20-year-old kitchen cabinets. We don't notice they're 20 years old. They want his-and-her vanities in the master bath. We want to know, what exactly is a "vanity"?

Aha, it's a sink. "Sink" is a bit downscale-sounding, don't you think? That's what the under-butler uses.

Common Core tests given failing grades by NY teachers
new york

Common Core tests given failing grades by NY teachers

Lizzie Short

This is the season for standardized test-taking in public schools and that has led to a resurgence in the sometimes anguished debate over Common Core education standards for math and English.

Last week in New York state, students took Common Core English-language arts tests developed by Pearson, a U.K.-based textbook publisher, and complaints soon began rolling in. Some said that questions were poorly written, that the reading material was too advanced or that questions didn't make sense.

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