Process for Listing in
"Books by Brights"
The "Books by Brights" Web site section was created to inform Brights of substantive materials created by Brights that are aligned with the Brights movement and its aims. Books that promote the naturalistic worldview, or that deal with issues related to the movement, are welcomed if presently available for purchase. Novels are fine if they have some pertinent relationship to the likely interests of brights at large. Any Bright who has authored or coauthored such a work may seek its inclusion in the listing. (Coauthors, if not themselves constituents, must approve the submission.) Books about extraneous subjects do not qualify for inclusion. Neither do books that are judged more destructive than helpful to the constructive civic aims of the movement.
Author Instructions
Using the same e-mail address employed at earlier signup to the Brights (or updated subsequently), authors can submit their name, the name of the book, the ISBN (International Standard Book Number), the cost, a Web link or address to contact the publisher and/or author to buy the book, and a succinct description of the work that touches on the book's relevance to the Brights movement. (A small mention of author qualifications may be included, if desired.) A maximum 250 words for the book description and 100 words for the author description, please.
Put BOOK LIST in the subject line of the e-mail, and send to Brights Central. There is no need to send a copy of the book, as BC will not have time to review the work, but a listing is subject to removal if a challenge of authenticity is substantiated.
Sample Format
The following example serves as a model for book submissions.
Fifty Nifty Ways to Help Your Child Become a Better Learner
Author: Philip E. Johnson, Ph.D.
ISBN: 0-9749676-0-2
To Purchase: http://www.learningtolearn.org/p/book.html or send a check for $18.95 plus $2.00 postage and handling to Dr. Philip E. Johnson, 1755 E. Deer Hollow Loop, Tucson, AZ 85737
Description
If the Brights movement is to continue and prosper, we must find ways to help young people become Brights. Traditional transfer education, “I-know-you-don’t-and-I’m-going-to-tell-you”, does precious little to help kids to become independent thinkers, creative, self-learners; their own teachers. But a naturalistic world view, the realm of the Bright, can not be established in a child by indoctrination. We must walk the talk.
I have written a simple 130 page handbook, designed for parents of school age children, to help kids learn the skills of learning and independent creative thought rather than merely learn the school curriculum.
Topics go from the simple technique of asking your third grader, when she comes home from school, not only “What did you learn in school today?”, but follow it with “That’s interesting! How did you learn that?”, to more exotic skills like being able to evaluate controlled research, and the use of systems thinking.
Some of the topics are: Get the focus on learning as a process; the “how” of learning / Emotions in learning • Figure it out! / Learning to learn and computers / Be a discriminating learner / Learning other than in school / Grades and report cards / Asking good questions / Research methods / Study skills / Listening / Help your child to be an independent thinker / Mathematics and Science as learning to learn / Formation of values / Learn to learn and gender / Competition and cooperation.
239 words (maximum = 250)
About the Author
Philip E. (Ed) Johnson has been a teacher for many years - from graduate programs to the elementary school level. He has been an elementary school principal, and holds an M.Ed. degree, and a Ph.D. in education. Ed has been Director of Faculty Development at the college level, and has written extensively on the concept of Learning to Learn and process education. He is the father for four children, and lives in Tucson, Arizona.
74 words (maximum = 100)
