Nathan Branson

How to Lead a College-Level Discussion

Seven Steps for Leading a Smoother Classroom Discussion

There is a real difference between leading a college-level classroom discussion and participating in a college classroom discussion.

As a literature major in undergrad, professors were constantly pushing me to form my own point of view about a book and be able to confidently articulate my thoughts in discussion. The typical . . .

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October 19, 2018

The Atlantic Monthly Consistently Delivers a Needed Skepticism of Technology

Long-Form Journalism Is Alive And Well

As Americans in the 21st century, we must question what technology is doing to our personal, social and intellectual lives. What is it doing to your identity? What is it doing to your sleeping patterns? What is it doing to your soul? What is it doing to your friendships? Is it effecting our ability to be a happy, free person?

Such . . .

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July 11, 2018

Making the Transition from “Road Tripping" to “Vacationing in Denver”

Four Beliefs That Shape a Restful Vacation

On June 13th, 2018 at 3am, I sat on a plane completely satisfied. I felt thankful as I flew over the mid-west states, back to North Carolina. Sitting behind me were two children sleeping, traveling alone, leaned up against one another. The two women next to me had each found a way to curl up and sleep in their seat for the 3 and hour flight. . . .

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June 27, 2018

Funerals Are the Best and Worst Kind of Reunion

A Reflection on my Brother's Wake Service

There are many reasons people do not attend the birthday party on Friday night, skip the informal college reunion or attend the local concert. Some are spoken clearly in text messages or in a short conversation after work, other reasons are never said aloud. Here are some of those potential reasons people give for not attending an event:

. . .

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June 08, 2018

What I Want Every One of My Students To Know on their First Day of Class

Every April I spend about 50 hours per week grading essays. That doesn't include other duties at my job. During those hours, I begin to take note of the good and bad habits of my students. As I grade I sit and ponder the personalities of my students: students who made an A in my class, students who do the bare minimum to pass, students . . .

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May 17, 2018

On Revision: The Most Ignored Part of the Writing Process

Knocking Out Unfinished Writing Projects

Revision is the hardest part of writing. It comes after the free flowing first draft and before the sentence by sentence editing process. Revision is the process of looking at things on a macro scale so your ideas are logical to the reader. Yet most people think that overcoming “writer’s block” and “improving their grammar skills errors” are . . .

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January 15, 2018

What if Books Were Advertised on TV and Youtube?

"I didn't know there was a book about that."

Will the popularity of Kindle help or hurt whether young people read? Will the fact that people power-browse articles on their IPhones negatively effect their reading habits? Aren’t people too busy to read a 350 page novel in 2017? These are the kinds of questions I hear related as to why people might read less than they did in the past. I’m . . .

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December 26, 2017

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