8th-12th Grade
Shannon Beddo, Instructor
This class has been canceled.
About this course: This course is designed to teach students how to think, not what to think. It is designed to help them think without error in their thinking and to spot errors in other people’s thinking.
First Semester. Formal Logic: Students will learn:
How to properly define terms for maximum precision and accuracy — and thus win the debate. How to form and interpret statements, the building blocks of logical thought. How to compose valid syllogisms, and — just as importantly — expose the invalid fakes using counterexamples. How to analyze arguments in normal English. How to identify and deflect informal fallacies (one of the most instantly applicable parts of logic).
Second Semester: Informal Logic: Students will learn:
Five rules of brainstorming. How to determine who has a reason to lie. How to analyze opposing viewpoints. How to analyze evidence and sources. How to list reasons why you believe something. Next, students will learn how to recognize 38 logical fallacies and counter them.
Students will need to plan for 45-60 minutes of homework four days a week. Students will review difficult material in class through lectures, quizzes, and discussions. Parents must provide oversight for student’s daily progress on assignments. Grades will be updated monthly at schoology.com. Students who do not have a 70% at the end of fall semester will need instructor permission to continue.
Pre-requisites:
- This is an academically challenging course. Grade level does not matter, but students must have satisfactorily finished Pre-Algebra. They also must have basic grammar and language arts skills, i.e. being able to identify subjects, predicates, and parts of speech.
- Reliable internet service and a printer.
- The ability to multitask, i.e. simultaneously listen to a lecture, watch a powerpoint presentation, and take notes. The expectation is that students know how to take notes.
Day and Time: Mondays at 2:25-3:25
Tuition $135 a semester
Maximum class size: 15 Minimum class size: 7
Parents must Purchase:
1) Introductory Logic: The Fundamentals of Thinking Well Student Edition by Nance (5th Edition)
Paperback – July 30, 2014
Publisher: Canon Press; 5th edition (July 30, 2014)
ISBN-10: 1591281652
ISBN-13: 978-1591281658
2)The Thinking Toolbox by Bluedorn
Publisher: Christian Logic (January 30, 2005)
ISBN-10: 0974531510
ISBN-13: 978-0974531519
3) The Fallacy Detective by Bluedorn
Workbook Edition (4th Edition) edition (May 1, 2015)
ISBN-10: 097453157X
ISBN-13: 978-0974531571
Click here for information on Enrollment and Registration