Articles written by Derrick Bright

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Religion & Spirituality > Religion & Spirituality (Other) Should one's faith influence a citizen's vote?: 28 of 308
Whether or not we realize it, our beliefs, our faith affects how we view the world and subsequently how we vote. This is one of those topics that has implications whether you adhere to any faith or no faith. Many folks seem to think that because they do not belong to any church or synagogue that they are somehow better able t... More..
Relationships & Family > Communication Skills How to improve your communication skills: 12 of 58
Understanding your audience and their background can be extremely important in terms of how we communicate and receive information. It is important to be able to communicate what you know to someone in a way he or she will understand. If you are able to recognize some attributes of your audience, your skills of communication ... More..
Creative Writing > Reflections Reflections: Abortion: 16 of 67
Dr. Ella Lingens-Reiner, a survivor of the holocaust, once pointed to the chimneys of a Nazi death camp and asked a Nazi doctor, Fritz Klein, "How can you reconcile that with your Hippocratic Oath as a doctor?" He answered, "Of course I am a doctor and I want to preserve life. And out of respect for human life, I would remove... More..
Society & Lifestyle > North American Culture Is there such a thing as a "true" American?: 8 of 32
In the course of history, many people had differing points-of-view, different ideas, different languages. However, people found a means to communicate and when the Americas were settled, English played a big part. As many other immigrants arrived there was a need for a unifying language. Even today, the debate continues as to... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Racism Discuss the forms of discrimination that exist in your country: 6 of 23
"It is illegal to give a black man and IQ test". The first time I heard this, I was surprised. A family friend heard this while taking a multicultural class for his teaching credential. It got me thinking about how we relate with others who are different. When I heard that one of the reasons (Not necessarily the main reason, ... More..
Creative Writing > Humor Humor: Family: 86 of 169
If it were up to me, I would probably go live in a cave with my wife and daughter. The reason? Besides the high gas prices? Family. Now I am not talking about your run-of-the-mill family. I am not talking about my wife. I am talking extended family, by marriage, twice removed. I am talking about dysfunction like it's no one's... More..
Education > Education (Other) Are our schools preparing our children for the future?: 49 of 94
How can we improve our schools? Neil Postman wrote a book titled, The End of Education. In it he makes several interesting points on how to improve the quality of our educational system. They include having teachers teach outside of their areas of expertise, getting rid of textbooks and having students pay attention to the le... More..
Education > Reading & Writing Skills How to get kids excited about writing: 13 of 22
It is interesting that when we talk to our friends, we talk about more than we would to a teacher. This has been especially true for me. I did not like having the correct answer to a math question. I would feel like I was "kissing up" to the teacher. On the other hand, if I did not understand something, I would rarely ask the... More..
Society & Lifestyle > Ethnicity & Gender (Other) Labeling: How should we refer to people?: 9 of 9
One of books I recently finished is The End of Education (Redefining the Value of School) by Neil Postman. In one section, he makes the point that it is ridiculous to teach people of different ethnicities about their ethnic historical figures simply because of their ethnicity to enhance the students' self esteem. I think this... More..