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Older kids can watch the “medium breeds” version of this video.

Welcome to the very first episode of Logic Dogs: Logic for kids!

This is Episode 1 which was designed for medium breeds.  Episode 1 covers: Modus Ponens, Modus Tollens, antecedent, consequent, Affirming the Antecedent, Affirming the Consequent, Denying the Antecedent, and Denying the Consequent.

Want to be in control? Here’s a Prezi of the same content:

For the Small Breeds version of this  episode (for younger kids) , click here.

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Even if we only teach the concept of Red Herrings (#7 Below) then that may be enough right here, right now.

But let’s have a go at teaching our kids about Claims and Arguments. The claim is the statement of belief or an opinion. The argument is then the reasons provided so that our claim will be accepted as true. Parker & Moore have written about pseudo-reasoning and fallacies. By giving a name to the arguments that DO NOT actually back up a claim as a TRUE claim, we gain power… we know what to look out for… we focus on the claim (without getting sidetracked) and only the arguments that count. This post is a summary of their TOP TEN FALLACIES, in a way that should make it be easy to explain to your kids. There are also a bunch of videos that do not relate to OWS that you can watch and analyze critically.

DISCLAIMERS & A LITTLE HISTORY (Feel free to SKIP to the starred section below)

Let me start off by saying:

Yes, I support the peaceful demonstrations of OWS, our right to a truly democratic democracy (as opposed to one that can be bought), & our right to free speech. I am against wealth accrual that involves injustice, inhumanity, and lack of social and global responsibility. I am against that percent of the 1% (the entire 1% is not bad, nor is the entire 99% awesome) that uses money to buy our democracy and hurt our people, all global citizens, and our planet in the process. My political beliefs side with: JUSTICE, LOGIC, FAIRNESS, and PEACEFULNESS.  I have 2 degrees, 2 kids, 2 pets, a FT job, side jobs, volunteering commitments, and a big heart. I KNOW I AM GOING TO LEAVE SAN DIEGO TO GO STAND WITH MY NYers AT THE HEART OF OWS. IT WILL HAPPEN. I AM ONE OF THE 99% AND MY HEART IS PULLING ME HOME. I have to say this because in presenting details on CRITICAL THINKING, my examples are clearly from someone (me) who supports OWS.”   ~ Jessika [Update: We did go to #OWS in NYC. The above photo was taken in November 2011 at Zuccotto Park.]

One project that we have in the works (forever) is called April Fool’s News. Here’s the elevator pitch: April Fool’s News is humorous adventure in critical viewing that incorporates filming, scripted acting, improv, and both constructing and deconstructing a news piece slotted to “air” on the first of April. Participants take on one or more roles while bringing one producer’s “great idea” to do something “funny to the news” to fruition. This program uses flexible scripts and flexible roles to accommodate varying group sizes. April Fool’s News was inspired (in part) by Parker & Moore’s college-level textbook entitled Critical Thinking, and talking points (argument from outrage, loaded questions, emotive force of words, etc) revolve around concepts found in Chapters 4, 5, and 6. We are eager to further develop this course centered around Media Literacy, Critical Thinking, Critical Viewing, and Visual Literacy. Clips from our test run are below.

Before you think that this is all too grown up for your kids, let me tell you little story. My daughter Athena is a girl who knows what she wants. This has always been true. When she was two, this naturally involved wanting toys. There was someone else in her life who would try to trick her into buying different toy… probably because it was cheaper or “a deal.” She (this other person) would put on a great show (see “emotive force” below) about how wonderful this other toy was and try to get Athena to change her mind. I didn’t want to raise my kid to be trickable. I was raising her to accept “NO” if I wasn’t buying what she wanted, but I wasn’t raising her to be malleable and passive.  So I gave Athena the scoop and taught her to say “Please don’t try to manipulate me.”  Now, all these years later, I am thinking of how awesome it would have been to have taught her “Please don’t try to manipulate me. I won’t be swayed by the emotive force of your words!” It is never too early to teach critical thinking! Kids think tricks are funny on TV. They understand the whole concept of tricking and manipulating. I wish I read the Parker & Moore book a long time ago. I wish I kept up the momentum of April Fool’s News (this started about 5 years ago)!

**********THE GOOD STUFF (START READING!)***********

Without further delay, I present a summary of Parker & Moore’s TOP TEN FALLACIES of all time:

1. Ad Hominen: This is an attempt to rebut a claim by criticizing its source or something about that source. To explain this one to your kids think of a source (maybe a grouchy childhood TV show character) that has any trait or  circumstance that is irrelevant to a claim he/she may make.  The claim may be true no matter who said it! (What if it was a “smelly” character?) Sometimes qualifications, reliability, and honesty of a person are rightly considered when assessing a claim. The Ad Hominem fallacy occurs when irrelevant attacks are made; a person is attacked rather than the actual argument he/she is making.
2. Straw Man: The attempt to refute a position by distorting and exaggerating that position. This could also be a fun one to explain to your kids. Someone says carrot cake is excellent dessert. The straw man attack would be: He wants carrot cake– all day…  and to sleep on a pillow with cream cheese frosting!  He’ll ban all other foods and cakes… and make all the bunnies starve because now they have no carrots! All this just so he can sleep on a bed of cake and rid the world of bunnies. Clearly he is wrong and I am right. Carrot cake is terrible dessert.. it can only lead to ruin.
3. “Argument” From Outrage: This is an attempt to be right simply because you are being loud and angry. This fallacy can be found hand-in-hand with number 2 above. In fact, I inadvertently applied it in my example above.
4. Scare Tactic: This is exactly what it sounds like. It is an attempt to care someone into believing something. Again, this could be a fun one to explain. If you watch our videos below, we came up with “Cellular Assault” and added some motion graphics and sound distortions to “scare” the general public about becoming a victim of “Cellular Assault.”
5. Hasty Conclusions: This is also known as overgeneralizing. We are coming to hasty conclusions when we make generalizations from evidence that is merely anecdotal. If you live near or work with any Muslims, you likely know that there is a difference between a Muslim and the fanatical Muslims that do horrible things. We are lucky to know some Turkish Muslims here in San Diego and they are some of the biggest-hearted, compassionate people we’ve met.
6. Group Think: In this fallacy our loyalty to a group affects our judgement. The amusing Parker and Moore example is “Why is it the refs always call too many fouls on our team?” There are of course, more dangerous examples of the Group Think Fallacy.
7. Red Herring: The Red Herring Fallacy is also known as “attention span” fallacy, since it seems to work best on those who are unable to stay focused on an issue when they are tempted by distractions. The red herring is something that gets us off track. We chase that herrring and lose site of what we were talking about in the first place.  If we are talking about OWS and someone points out that “I bet that protestor bought a tent that is made in China” we may now start arguing about tent manufacturing and get entirely off of the real issue. Additionally, when someone answers an entirely different question than the one she/he was asked, we are witnessing the Red Herring Fallacy. Another word for this one is smokescreen.
8. Wishful Thinking: We are committing this fallacy when we put more trust in what we want to be true than in what we have sufficient evidence for.
9. “Argument” from Popularity: Everybody’s doing it (…therefore it must be true, right, etc).
10. Post Hoc: These fallacies are applications of simple-minded examples of cause and effect. It rained just as I took my sneakers off and you said my socks were stinky, therefore, stinky feet causes rain.

Videos from the Test Run of “April Fool’s News”

This is the production team’s “great” idea for the April 1st newscast:

Note: I spent about a decade working with amazing students who studied Broadcast Journalism and went on to do great things. I am not anti-news. Using the “news” to teach Critical Thinking made this a really fun project. That being said, the news is not always terrific. I have also heard of a case where the court ruled that the news did not have to be true. (Journalists did not want to lie on air and got fired when they tried to get out of it by being whistle-blowers. The courts sided with the station.)

This clip (below) represents the “actual” events.  Watch this with your kids.. it’s quick and straightforward.

The clip below represents the “edited” footage: Watch this with your kids and see what they think! What was done here to twist the story?

This is the “actual interview” with George. Note that the reporter asks what we call a LOADED QUESTION which illegitimately suggests something through the very existence of the question.

Below is the “edited version” of George’s interview. Wow, this was “aired” out of order huh? And notice that George said a lot in the interview, but most of it ended up on the editing room floor.

Below  is the “real” interview with Chad…

Below is the “edited” interview with Chad. One of the key things to address here is the concept of rhetoric and emotive force. Rhetoric uses layers of unstated meaning to influence the beliefs and attitudes of others. One way this is accomplished (or attempted to be accomplished) is via  the use of powerful and biased emotive force. (It should go without saying that just because you are using or hearing rhetoric or emotive force, the claim does not need to be dismissed. Just watch out for rhetoric that is a  substitute for argument.)

These coloring worksheets are not only fun to color — they offer up creative ideas for your little artist! If you’ve seen our ABC Signs Program then your little one may already know how to sign alligator, cookie, and cat!

Coloring Worksheet: Alligator

Coloring Worksheet: Cookies

Coloring Worksheet: Cats