September 1970

Merit pay for the best teachers?

The idea that a good teacher should be paid more than a poor teacher seems a self-evident truth. It appears obvious that the teacher who is effective at opening young minds to learning is worth more than the teacher who just can't reach his students. Yet the issue of merit pay not only is controversial in educational circles, but is viewed by some as subversive.

How to repair clapboard siding

Defective wood siding is a frequent problem-- even with new houses. At least twice a year you should carefully check your wood siding for peeling paint, warped clapboards, and cracks beginning to develop around the nails and joints.

How to get the most for your car at trade-in time

The value of your trade-in car often appears to be cut, dried, and frozen by the little book in the salesman's pocket. This book lists the average prices dealers are getting and giving for specific makes and models. But even though practically all dealers go by "the book," the condition of a given car is always important. It can change the allowance more than ten percent above or below book value.

How clean is clean?

How would you describe a clean house? Rugs and upholstered furniture freshly vacuumed, floors and wood furniture polished, windows spotless, porcelain surfaces clean, chrome fixtures brightly polished-- no visible dirt?

Before- and after-dinner drinks

Don't be put off by the fancy vocabulary, ritual, and mystique surrounding before- and after-dinner drinks. For instance, aperitif means nothing more than a tasty drink that gives you an appetite.

How to do your bulky items

You can wash those outsize items at home with ease when you have an automatic washer and dryer. Many of the rules for washing bulky items are the same as for the everyday laundry load.

What's happened to the market?

Just when millions of us had accepted the idea that common stocks (or mutual funds) were smart bets for long-term capital growth, the stock market suffered its worst collapse since the Great Crash of 1929.

Good News

Crush the trash and garbage explosion right in your own home. This compact new appliance-- just 15 inches wide-- cuts the volume of kitchen waste to one-fourth. Unit can be used freestanding or as a built-in appliance.

Giving consumers the facts

The increased complexity of consumer products-- along with the shortage of salespeople who really understand how they work-- has created one of the greatest dilemmas that today's consumer faces.

Some Creative Stitchery Favorites

Selected by Better Homes and Gardens Editors, these kits have had special appeal to our readers. So, we are making them available again. Order several, for yourself and friends!

The truth about rabies

Rabies is an incurable disease, and it's invariably fatal to man. Fortunately, the improved versions of the Pasteur vaccine in use today are very effective in preventing the disease-- if administered before the onset of symptoms.

Twelve very comfortable chairs

Comfort is the first thing a man looks for in an easy chair. It should be large enough to suit his size, sturdy enough to support his frame, handsome enough to please his wife. These chairs qualify on all counts.

How to spot-paint your house

If the exterior paint on your house looks weathered or dirty, it doesn't necessarily mean your entire house needs repainting-- especially if the paint is less than three years old. If the original paint was of good quality and properly applied, probably all you need to do is spot-paint the weathered section and wash the dirty areas.

All about owning a cycle

Your eyes and ears can scarcely miss the motorcycles now taking to our streets and highways. They're increasingly popular among adults and young people because they provide transportation without a sizable cash outlay-- and they're also extremely inexpensive to operate.

FRONTING!

The contemporary look ... it's all around you, in the clothes you wear, the car you drive, and the furnishings in your home. But what about the outside of your house? How much has it changed over the years? Probably very little. That's why we developed the technique of "fronting"-- to help you give your own house the exterior look and the outdoor living spaces of the Seventies. And it doesn't matter how old-- or how ordinary-- your house may be. Fronting works with any home. Here are five intriguing examples.

HANDSOME SHELVES YOU BUILD

When you build any of the ten shelf units shown on these four pages, you'll have something that does much more than support weighty objects. You'll have a well-designed unit that complements your room as well as the books and baubles you put on it.

EXCITING CRAFTS WITH DYE

Tie dyeing is a quick and easy way for anyone to revitalize old fabrics or individualize new ones. You simply tie off parts of the fabric, then dip it in dye. The result is a freeform design on a dyed background.

Kitchens just aren't what they used to be

Nothing around your house is changing faster than the way you buy, prepare, and serve food. New packaging, more products, varying meals and meal hours-- all are radically different from their counterparts of only five years ago.

New Ideas

Shopping editor's choice

Discover the fun and convenience of shopping by mail! You can order with complete confidence any of the items shown: each company will refund your money if you're not delighted.

The man next door

It has been a pretty good summer for Aunt Opal. Her garden failed, there has been too little rain, and the neighborhood children made more noise than usual-- but her cat somehow neglected to give birth to its usual litter of kittens.