Getting rid of dirt, in the opinion of most people, is a good thing. However, there is nothing fixed about attitudes to dirt.

    In the early 16^th century, people thought that dirt on the skin was a means to block out disease, as medical opinion had it that washing off dirt with hot water could open up the skin and let ills in. A particular danger was thought to lie in public baths. By 1538, the French king had closed the bath houses in his kingdom. So did the king of England in 1546. Thus began a long time when the rich and the poor in Europe lived with dirt in a friendly way. Henry IV, King of France, was famously dirty. Upon learning that a nobleman had taken a bath, the king ordered that, to avoid the attack of disease, the nobleman should not go out.

    Though the belief in the merit of dirt was long-lived, dirt has no longer been regarded as a nice neighbor ever since the 18^th century. Scientifically speaking, cleaning away dirt is good to health. Clean water supply and hand washing are practical means of preventing disease. Yet, it seems that standards of cleanliness have moved beyond science since World War Ⅱ. Advertisements repeatedly sell the idea; clothes need to be whiter than white, cloths ever softer, surfaces to shine. Has the hate for dirt, however, gone too far?

    Attitudes to dirt still differ hugely nowadays. Many first-time parents nervously try to warn their children off touching dirt, which might be responsible for the spread of disease. On the contrary, Mary Ruebush, an American immunologist(免疫学家)，encourages children to play in the dirt to build up a strong immune system. And the latter position is gaining some ground.

    With all the wars, fighting and sadness in the world today, it's not only necessary, but also essential to have a good sense of humor just to help us get through each and every day of our lives. Putting a smile on someone's face when you know they are feeling down in the dump, makes me feel good and warms my heart.

    How would you feel if you could not joke around with your wife, husband, child, co-worker, neighbor, close friends, or even just someone that you are standing in line with at your corner store? I am always saying things that make others smile or laugh, even if I don't know the person I'm joking around with. My Grandma always found humor in everything she did, even if it was the hardest job anyone could imagine. This not only relieves stress in any situation, but also is common courtesy(礼貌)to speak to others that are around you.

    I know of a few people that don't have a funny bone in their bodies, as they say. Everyone around them could be rolling on the floor after hearing a great joke and they would sit there without the slightest smile on their face. They don't get the joke that makes others laugh. I am busting a gut while they just sit there, looking at me as if I were from outer space. How can people not get a really funny joke?

    Laughing is essential to keep your stress levels under control. Without humor we would find ourselves with a lot of psychological problems, or on a lot of medications to keep us from going crazy. There is too much sadness in this present world. It drives people crazy. We all need to find a way to ignore the sadness and bring a little light into our lives. So, I believe our best medicine is to get together and tell some jokes and have some fun laughing together.

    No one likes to make mistakes. But a new study says organizations learn more from their failures than from their successes, and keep that knowledge longer.

    One of the researchers was Vinit Desai, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver Business School. He worked with Peter Madsen from the Marriott School of Management at Brigham Young University in Utah.

    They did not find much long-term "organizational learning" from success. It is possible, they say. But Professor Desai says they found that knowledge gained from failure lasts for years. He says organizations should treat failures as a learning opportunity and not try to ignore them.

    The study looked at companies and organizations that launch satellites and other space vehicles. Professor Desai compared two shuttle flights. In two thousand two, a piece of insulating (隔热的) material broke off during launch and damaged a rocket on the Atlantis. Still the flight was considered a success. Then in early two thousand three, a piece of insulation struck the Columbia during launch. This time, the shuttle broke apart on re-entry and the seven crew members died. NASA officials suspended all flights and an investigation led to suggested changes.

    Professor Desai says the search for solutions after a failure can make leaders more open-minded. He points to air-lines as an example of an industry that has learned from failures in the past. He advises organizations to look for useful information in small failures and failures they avoided. He also urges leaders to encourage the open sharing of information. The study appeared in the Academy of management Journal.

    The mistakes we learn from do not have to be our own. We recently asked people on our Facebook page to tell us a time they had done something really silly. Fabricio Cmino wrote: Not long ago I wanted to watch TV, but it wouldn't turn on, so I did everything I could to start it. Thirty minutes later my mum showed up and, passing by, said to me "Did you try plugging it?" "I'm just dusting, Mum!" So she wouldn't notice how dumb I am sometimes!

    Bruno Kanieski da Silva told about a time he looked everywhere for his key. It was in his pocket. He wrote: I always promise I will never do it again, but after a few weeks, where is my wallet? For sure it will be in a very logical place.

Summer Programs for Teens

    University of Maryland: TERP Young Scholars

    This program is the perfect summer camp for academically talented teenagers who want to pursue academic interests, explore career opportunities, and discover college life at the University of Maryland.

    During three weeks of intellectual exploration, teens can study with students who share similar interests, and communicate with some of the university's best teachers. Upon successful completion, students can earn three college credits.

    Carpe Diem: The University-bound Adventure

    Carpe Diem supports both American and international students in applying to a university by providing private consultation. This 2-week experience also includes tours of famous East Const universities Students will also have the opportunity to build their resumes (简历) by working with writing experts.

    Great Books Summer Program

    This is a lively, warm and welcoming summer camp community of outstanding teens, who love literature and ideas In the past eleven years, it has gathered middle and high school students from across the world to read selections from the greatest works of literature, experience heated discussions and enjoy summer camp fun with other literary-minded students. Participants can gain confidence in their ability to read a text closely and express their ideas clearly both verbally and in writing.

    Zeal Travel

    We offer our teens two week and three- week long trips to Hawaii, Alaska, Australia and Spain. All trips include 15-25 hours of community service activities.

    Depending on your trip of choice, you'll be helping Hawaiians protect their forest ecosystem, caring for dogs in Spain, working with Habitat for Humanity, and much more. Every trip also includes exciting outdoor activities like surfing, driving, ice-climbing, hiking and more. The possibilities are endless and there is a zeal trip for every interest.

    My teacher held up a piece of broken glass and asked, "Who broke this window?"

    Thirty boys tried to think about not only what they had done, but also what our teacher may have found out. She seldom became angry, but she was this time.

    "Oh," I thought. I was the one who broke the window. It was caused by a naughty throw of a baseball. If I admitted guilt, I would be in a lot of trouble. How would I be able to pay for a big window like that? I didn't even get an allowance. "My father is going to have a fit." I thought. I didn't want to raise my hand, but some force much stronger than I was pulled it skyward. I told the truth. "I did it." It was hard enough to say what I had.

    My teacher took down a book from one of our library shelves and I had never known my teacher to strike a student, but I feared she was going to start with me.

    "I know how you like bird," she said as she stood looking down at my guilt-ridden face. "Here is that field guide about birds that you are constantly checking out. It is yours now. It's time we got a new one for the school anyway. You will not be punished as long as you remember that I am not rewarding you for your misdeed, I am rewarding you for your truthfulness."

I couldn't believe it! I wasn't being punished and I was getting my own bird field guide—the very one that I had been saving up money to buy.

    All that remains of that day is my memory and the lesson my teacher taught me. That lesson stays with me every day, and it will echo forever.

"Software developer at Unidays, internatsonal speaker and enthusastie learner" is how Jess White describes herself on her blog. But it is not a path she'd originally planned to follow. After completing her psychology degree. White took a Master's in neuro-science (神经科学), fully expecting an academic carcer. But after her interest was raised by the part of the course that involved coding (编码), she decided to take a Master's course in computer science. She graduated with flying color.

Now 27, White hasn't looked back. She joined Oakbrook Finance in Nottingham as a software developer, and stayed for two years, rounding off her time there by winning Rising Star of the Year at the 2018 Women in IT awards. At Unidays, a business offering discounts to students, she works as a back end developer in the maintenance team, "working on the systems and making them better". It's a job she loves. "It's a challenge every day and you never get bored. There is always something to learn." she says.

White believes that some graduates are put off technology careers because they don't realize the range of jobs available, "A lot of people think tech is programing. But there's also design product management—and everything in life is to do with tech these days. Whether it's buying something with your cards or posting something on social media, you can't really avoid it."

A common misunderstanding, she says, is that IT is all about maths. "I'm terrible at maths and it scared the living daylights out of me when I started this because I thought I wouldn't be able to do it," In practice, it hasn't been a problem, and she has found that there are a lot of creative elements in programing. Her psychology background has proved to be a bonus, enabling her to bring a different perspective to her work, purticularly when she has to cooperate with user experience designers.

As for the future, White wants to learn as much as she can and become very strong in the area.