Classical Education: The Logic Stage

Our Classical Education series is back! Last time we shared about the Rhetoric Stage, and today we bring you the Logic Stage, SLOCA-style. We will start with some basic information taken from the Field Guides on how we approach this stage, which includes grades 5 through 8 – our Lower and Upper Middle School students. Then our very own Logic teacher Ann Lorenzen will share more about our Logic class for Upper Middle School students. This course is one of the many distinctive elements of our curriculum that sets SLOCA apart and uniquely prepares students for high school and beyond:

Building on the foundation set in the primary and intermediate levels of our school (the Grammar Stage), in the Logic Stage students are introduced to logical thinking through the use of English grammar, pre-logic and logic exercises, and through making connections in history, literature, math and science. Students are challenged to ask “Why?” and to seek the meaning behind the content they learn in all subjects.

In Lower Middle School (grades 5 and 6) students are introduced to logical thinking skills that will translate into independent thought in Upper Middle School and High School. The goal of this stage of learning is to make use of the emerging independence of these students and translate their desire for independence into ownership of their own education. Students at this stage begin to learn the why and how of subjects. They will continue to sharpen basic math skills, but also strengthen their understanding of how these concepts work together and the relationships between numbers and how they work in space and time. While grammar continues to be important, students are ready to understand the system of English grammar and how the parts of speech work together to form well-crafted sentences. These sentences can then be developed into meaningful and purposeful paragraphs. Reading and writing go hand in hand throughout the curriculum at SLO Classical Academy, but in this stage students will learn that this relationship is integral to becoming part of the great conversation in which we learn from authors and historical figures of the past while communicating ideas in the present and into the future.

In Upper Middle School (grades 7 and 8) more emphasis is given to cultivating the students’ developing logical thinking skills. Students are taught formal logic at this level to strengthen their independent thought while grounding it in well-reasoned principles. The goal of this stage of learning is to make use of their growing independence. Ownership of their own ideas will be emphasized even more at this stage as students grow in their independent, rational capacity. Students at this stage maintain a desire to understand the why and how of the subjects they learn. In math, students will strengthen their abilities to think abstractly and logically through algebraic functions. Students will continue to study English grammar and will be expected to use writing skills effectively, persuasively and with greater eloquence.  They will read more complex novels and primary texts and will be prepared to dialogue intelligently regarding major themes and ideas presented by the authors. 

Since our formal Logic course for UMS students is a major element of the Logic Stage at SLOCA, let’s hear more from Ann Lorenzen about how we help develop logical thinking skills in this stage:

Logic, the second element of The Trivium, is more easily understood if we spend time enjoying the essentials of this remarkable discipline. The good news? Aristotle bequeathed those essentials to the world, and they are as readily accessible to us today as they were to thinkers in antiquity. Soooo, grab a cuppa of something soothing and let’s do a drive-through of some real critical thinking gems ala’ SLOCA’s Logic and Rhetoric curriculum.

Let’s start with a workable definition of Logic: Logic is the study of argument. There. That’s it. Logic is the study of argument.

“So what? What does that really mean?” you may ask reasonably.

Here’s what: The English word argument comes from the Latin noun argumentum, and means solution or proof. Likewise, the Latin verb arguo translates into English as I solve or I prove. Ergo (a really cool Latin word for therefore), in the classical tradition Logic is the study of solution or proof. NOT the study of heated opinions or loaded questions or bickering or snarking or closely held beliefs or cultural traditions/norms. Nor is it the study of being right.

[Caveat: for the sake of brevity and clarity, and for the underlying Aristotelian principles relating to character, SLOCA’s upper middle schoolers and their families learn about Logic and Rhetoric in the context(s) of their daily lives. Our students understand that formal Logic solves for—or proves—the TRUTH. Rhetoric solves for—or proves—a CHOICE, an ACTION, a DECISION].

Since we are not studying nuclear physics or Law or Medicine, we are using Logic to help us solve for what is True in our relationships/communications with others. How do we solve our differences? How can we prove what is good, noble, meaningful for us and our communities? We do not live in singular, insular bubbles. Most everything that Aristotle and his peers espoused had to do with how human beings interacted with each other and the world in which they lived.

The disciplines of Logic and Rhetoric provide us with reasonable ways to, well, get along well. Well enough to stave off the inevitable bad (or troubling or off-putting) behaviors that seem to be part of the human condition. Well enough to consider— together—how to make our family units, our communities, our world better for as many humans as we are able.

Much of what we hear and call arguments are more than likely bickering—the verbal volleying between two (or more) folks who not only want/need to be right but also want to be right no matter what. If we think logically, we may come to understand that sometimes being right is not, well, right. After all, what DO we bicker and argue about anyway? What have humans bickered and argued about since before we found our way into groups, clans, tribes? Three essential things.

Each of us tends to defend our beliefs and actions relevant to the following: My stuff (possessions). My boundaries (geography, borders). My beliefs (opinions, religion, politics, deeply held traditions, etc.). If we simply observe what goes on in our own homes, amongst our family members, and between neighbors, we can boil down our ‘arguments’ to one—or a combination—of these three concerns. Stuff (material possessions), boundaries, or beliefs.

What better time to learn about and employ these essential bits of Logic than in the middle school (and almost-middle-aged) years? Students are at the developmental stages where they tend to question and push against their boundaries, our rules, their beliefs about our beliefs, their and our places in the world outside the home. Outside school. Outside.

Once the student has begun to clearly express—to be logical about—her or his arguments (solutions, proofs) then he or she begins to use persuasion—Rhetoric—to solidify his or her position and move the listener to agree with her or his argument. It is up to us to realize that we have employed rhetoric in our communications with our children from the time they were born—and it behooves us to do so as wisely and consistently as possible.

[PLEASE NOTE:  An essential element of the Logic ‘spiral’ here at SLOCA:  Introducing Classical Rhetoric alongside Logic in the middle school curriculum, in both 7th and 8th grade. Strictly speaking, The Rhetoric Stage is a construct explored and celebrated during the High School years. Both the Logic Stage and the Rhetoric Stage include instruction in Classical Rhetoric. The difference between the Rhetoric studies that SLOCA middle schoolers receive as opposed to what SLOCAHS students receive is simply essentiality:  the middle school Rhetoric curriculum is rooted in the pure,  basic, and introductory essentials of the discipline. A basic/essential working rhetorical vocabulary is coupled with an in-depth and entertaining introduction to the most accessible and significant rhetorical concepts, as part of the students' investigation into the persuasive power of different kinds of arguments.  We then apply what we learn and practice to the daily lives of our students and their families—with an invitation to explore just how and where rhetoric is present in the world outside our homes and school–the world all around us. The high school students receive further instruction in this kind of Classical Rhetoric in a different context: that of the broader Rhetoric Stage aims of exploring open-ended questions, joining the great conversation, encountering original works, attending to language as a medium of thought, etc.]

Once again we have only to look to Aristotle—the Father of Rhetoric—for some essential concepts by which we can be more effective rhetorically as well as judge others rhetoric. Should we be swayed? Ought we to respond? To buy?

Aristotle gave us Logos, Pathos, and Ethos.

• Logos (Greek) is the argument. The words, Is it reasonable? Does it make sense? (English: study, order, reason)
• Pathos (Greek) inspires relationship. Can/do I relate? Does it relate to me? Emotion that inspires, convinces? (English: pathetic, sympathy, empathy)
• Ethos (Greek) is the evidence of character value(s), virtue. In the speaker or writer. Is he or she credible? Does the persuader carry authority? (English: ethics, ethical)

These three concepts/conditions make it possible for us to discern how we respond to someone’s rhetoric. According to Aristotle we ought to consider carefully how we respond to someone who may demonstrate the logos and pathos but whose rhetoric lacks ethos. The students test for logos, pathos, ethos by watching certain videos, movies, pulling commercial print ads, etc., etc.

Finally, in Logic and Rhetoric (SLOCA style), we consider that how a person lives her or his life—right in front of us—makes both logical and rhetorical arguments that may solve or prove some very real problems or challenges that we all face. That lived life may make all the difference in somehow making the world a better place for all of us.

We can thank Aristotle for his amazing logical and rhetorical Legacy that we can all draw on this very day. Every day if we so choose. I’m game. Are you?

Here are links to the other posts in this series:

• The Rhetoric Stage
• The Grammar Stage
• The Pre-Grammar Stage

SLO Classical Academy is not affiliated with any of the above mentioned websites, businesses, organizations, or individuals.