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TheArtofArgument:AnIntroductiontotheInformalFallacies

WritingIntensiveCourse

Yearlong2020-2021

ELIGIBLE STUDENTS:

Rising 7th–12th graders who are able to type and have had some experience writing academic papers including the following skills: compare/contrast essays, thesis statement and evidence, and alpha-numeric outlining.

Please note: Students enrolled in this course will complete not only the text, but also seven one- page writing assignments and one three-page writing assignment, thus earning this course the distinction of being a writing intensive course. Students who complete this course earn 1 high school course credit.

ClassDates:BeginWednesday,September9,2020;runningthroughFriday,May28,2020.Class Times: Monday & Wednesday: 9:30am–10:45am (EST) Instructor: Jimmy Schambach

E-mail: jschambach.scholeacademy@gmail.com

SCHEDULEFORARTOFARGUMENT

CLASSSESSIONDATES:

ClasseswilltakeplaceonMonday&Wednesday:9:30am–10:45am(EST)for32weeksand63classesonthefollowingdates*

September:9,14,16,21,23,28,30October: 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, 28 November: 2, 4, 9, 11, 16, 18, 30 [Thanksgiving Break, No Class November 23rd & 25th] December: 2, 7, 9, 14, 16 [Christmas Break, No Class from December 21st – January 8th] January: 11, 13, 18, 20 [End 1st Semester on January 22, 2020) 25, 27

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February: 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17 [Winter Break February 22nd – 26th] March: 1, 3, 8, 10, 15, 17, 22, 24, [Easter/Holy Week March 29th – April 2nd] April: 5, 7, 12, 14, 19, 21, 26, 28 May: 3, 5, 10, 12, 17, 19, 24, 26 [End 2nd Semester May 28, 2020]

*Please note the above dates and times are the anticipated class sessions for this course. However, alldates are subject to change as the instructor’s circumstances might dictate (e.g. illness, familyemergency). Any classes canceled by the instructor will be made up at an alternate time designated by theinstructor.

CourseMap

Quarter1

1. What is Logic?2. Critical Thinking as a Way of Life3. Formal vs. Informal Logic4. Fallacies of Relevance: Ad Fontem Arguments5. Fallacies of Relevance: Appeals to Emotion

Quarter 2

1. Fallacies of Relevance: Appeals to Emotion2. Fallacies of Relevance: Red Herrings3. Unit 1 Cumulative Fallacy Test4. Fallacies of Presumption

Quarter 3

1. Fallacies of Presumption: Fallacies of Induction2. Unit 2 Cumulative Fallacy Test3. Fallacies of Clarity4. Fallacies of Clarity5. Unit 3 Cumulative Fallacy Test

Quarter 4 – Taking Logic out of the Textbook and into the Real World

1. Teacher-led Source Analysis & Teacher-led Discussion2. Response Paper #13. Teacher-led Source Analysis & Teacher-led Discussion4. Response Paper #25. Independent Source Research & Student-led Discussion6. Final Essay (3 Page Paper)

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OFFICEHOURS

Inadditiontoscheduledclasstimes,theteacherwillgenerallydesignateanoptionalweeklysessionasneeded.During“officehours”studentsmayraisequestions,seekassistance,orreviewclassmaterial.

REQUIREDCOURSETEXT

Thecoursetextistheaward-winningArtofArgument:AnIntroductiontotheInformalFallacies,availablefromClassicalAcademicPress(https://classicalacademicpress.com/products/the-art-of-argument?_pos=4&_sid=1d5ba3b89&_ss=r)

OPTIONALCOURSETEXTS

PapersandessayswillbesubmittedusingbasicMLAformattingguides.TheMLAHand-bookforWritersofResearchPapers:7thEditionmaybeahelpfulresource.

ARTOFARGUMENTCOURSEDESCRIPTIONBecausethisisawriting-intensivecourse,completingthisArtofArgumentclassistheequivalentof1fullhighschoolcredit.Asafundamentaltextforteachinglogicandcriticalthinking,TheArtofArgumentwillimparttostudentstheskillsneededtocraftaccuratestatementsandidentifytheflawedargumentsfoundsofrequentlyineditorials,commercials,newspapers,journalsandeveryothermedia—aswellastheabilitytoaccuratelyidentifyfallaciesthroughouttheircoursetexts,lectures,andothercurriculum.StudentswillcompletetheentireArtofArgumenttext,learningall28+fallacies,identifyingthem,definingthem,andcreatingthem.

Studentswillalsoberequiredtowriteapproximatelysevenone-pageessaysandonethree-pageessay.Theshorteressaysareintendedtohighlightspecificconceptswherestudentsoftengetstymied.Thecompletelistofshorterpapertopicsis:

1. SimilaritiesandDifferencesbetweenInductiveandDeductiveLogic2. Propaganda/Non-argumentativepersuasion/Legitimate(thoughpossibly

fallacious)Arguments.

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3. AdHominemCircumstantialvs.GeneticFallacy4. AppealtoPityvs.AppealtoFear5. IrrelevantGoalsandFunctionsvs.IrrelevantThesis6. Compositionvs.Division7. Composition&Divisionvs.HastyGeneralization&SweepingGeneralization

StudentsusuallycompleteAAwithabout4–6weeksremainingattheendoftheyear.Duringthattime,webegintheprocessoflearninghowtoidentifyfallaciesinnewsreports,speeches,andopinionessays.Westartbyprovidingcurrenteventsamples,whichweanalyzeinclasstogether.Studentslearnhowtoengagetheexamplesandfindbiasesandfallacies.Duringtheseclassdiscussions,theymusttakenotesduringclassandthenwritesampleoutlinesasiftheyweregoingtowriteapaper.Wepracticecraftingthesisstatements,gatheringevidenceoffallaciousargumentation,andoutlininghowtheywouldwriteanalyticalessays,buttheydonotactuallywritetheirfinalpaperyet.

Thelastthreeweeksofclass,theyarerequiredtoselectoneofthreesamplesprovidedtothem—usuallyexcerptsfrompresidentialspeechesorWSJopinionessays.Theythenarerequiredto(A)dissectthemontheirown;(B)writetheiroutlinesandsubmitthemforagrade;(C)writearoughdraft,whichwillalsobegraded;andfinally(D)writeafinalpaperthatisalsograded.Theobjectivehereisforthemtoengageinreal-worldexamples(some-thingmoresignificantthanTVcommercials)andidentifyauthorbiases(underlyingassumptions)andotherfallacies.

Earlyintheyear,welearnbasicMLAformattingguidelinesthattheymustincorporateforeveryessaysubmission.Theypracticeapplyingtheseguidelinesforthefirstsevenessaysandarealsorequiredtoapplythemfortheirfinalthree-pageessay.Formatting,grammar,spelling,wordchoice,clearlyexpressedthoughts—theseareallgraded.

Afinalprojectpacket(includingduedates,projectstagesanddescriptions,andagradingrubric)willbeprovidedtothestudents.

TheArtofArgumentisgeareddirectlytowardstudentsasyoungas7thgrade,whilestillengagingforstudentsinseniorhigh.Thecourseandtextemphasizethepracticalandreal-worldapplicationofsoundlystructuredinductivelogic.UsingmethodssuchasSocraticdialogue,amplediscussion,integrationofothersubjects,andapplicationtocurrentevents,thebookisessentialfordialecticandrhetoricstudents.WerecommendTheDiscoveryofDeductionafterastudyofinformalfallacies.

STUDENTEXPECTATIONS:EXECUTIVEFUNCTIONSKILLS

StudentsenrollinginScholeAcademy’sLogicProgramwillbeexpectedtoshowdevelopmentofExecutiveFunctionSkillsthroughouttheyear.ExecutiveFunctionSkillsspeaktoasetofqualitiesandskillsetsstudentscandevelopandhonetobetterapproachthecourses,lectures,readings,andteacherstheywillfaceintheirfutureacademiccoursework.

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Eachteacherwillinvariablyhavehisownsetofrequirementsandskillsherequiresstudentstobringtotheirstudies.Generallyspeaking,Ibelievetherearefivesuchqualitiesthatarenecessaryformystudentsinvarioussubjects;andIbelievetheywouldbeacceptedas“good”bymanyotherteachersaswell.

1.AnEngagedStudent:Onewhoiswillingtostepintothearenaofclassdiscussion,askquestions,supplyanswers,andgeneratetheinternaldialoguenecessarytodeter-mineifwhat'sbeingdiscussedisimportantandnecessarytohimself.

2.NoteTaking:Astudentwho,bothduringandafterbeingengagedwiththeclass,hasbeentrainedtonoteimportantandrelevantcontentinanorganizedfashion(CornellNoteswouldbeagreatoption).Hisnoteswouldthenbeconsulted,independently,forapplicationinassignmentsandassessments.

3.AttentiontoDetail&Preparedness:Astudentwhoconsistentlyadherestodead-lines,submissionrequirements,andstyleguidesandcodes;confirmstechnologyisworkingpriortothestartofclass;andisresponsibletodeterminehowtoproceedafteranabsence,consultingthecoursesyllabusandadjustingastheclassproceeds,etc.

4.EmployCritiques:Onewhoreceivesfeedbackonasubmissionandthenissuretoapplythatfeedbacktofutureassignmentsratherthanrepeatingmistakes.Suchastudentalsogleansinformationfromtheliveclasscritiquesoffellowstudentsandnotesmistakestoavoidbylearningfromothers.

5.Initiative/Maturity:Thisstudentwouldheartheteacher’scommentsandbeabletoassesswhetherornottheteacherwasdescribinghiswork,andthentaketheinitiativetoscheduleofficehourswithhisteacherifnecessary.

STUDENTEXPECTATIONSINACTION

StudentswillbefollowingthesequenceofstudycontainedinTheArtofArgument.Theultimategoalforthestudentswillbetoengagewiththistypeoflogicoutsidetheclassroomandapplytheskillstheylearninclassastheyengagewiththeworldaroundthem.There-fore,somestudentworkandassessmentswillbecompletedinthetext,usingonlinetoolsandassignments,throughregularclassroomparticipation,andthroughatleastseventypedessays.Studentswillbeaskedtoreviewnewsarticlesinpreparationforclass—meaningtheywillneedaccesstoeitheralocalnewspaperoranonlinenewssource.

Duringclassdiscussion,studentswillreviewanswers,posequestions,andexplainandjus-tifytheiranswersandsolution.Eachweektheteacherwillleaddiscussionsinformedbyis-suesandproblemsraisedbystudents,aswellasissuesintroducedbytheteacher.

Inthisclass,studentswillbeexpectedtolistenattentivelyandparticipateactivelyinclassdiscussionsandpractices.Studentsareexpectedtoarrivetoclassontimeandwithallas-signedmaterialcompleted.Theinstructorwillfacilitatelearningforthestudent,butthe

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responsibilityforstayingup-to-datewithclassworkandassignmentsultimatelyfallstothestudent.

StudentswhohavenotsubmittedtheirhomeworktotheappropriateSchoologyassignmentfolderpriortothestartofclasswillnotbepermittedtojointheliveclasssession.ThosestudentswillbeinvitedintoaseparateZoombreakoutroomtoworkprivatelyuntiltheyhavecompletedtheday’sassignment.Aftertheyhavecompletedtheirhomeworksub-mission,theywillbepermittedtorejointheclassinsession.Adayspentinabreakoutroomwillconstituteanabsencefromclass.

AllassignmentswillbedueintotheappropriateSchoologyAssignmentfolderpriortothestartofclasseachday.Studentsturninginlateworkwillearna10%penaltyforeachdaytheassignmentislate.StudentswillsubmittheirworkbyscanningtheirhomeworkpagesanduploadingthemintotheSchoologyAssignmentwindow.Photographsofcompletedassignmentswillnotbeacceptedastheyareincrediblydifficulttoread.

STUDENTEVALUATION:GRADING

WhilepursingTheArtofArgumentthroughScholeAcademywillbe“restful”(I’dalsoliketosayit’sgoingtobealotoffun),wealsorecognizetheneedtoprovidegradesforstudentswhowillbeusingthiscourseaspartoftheirpreparedcollegetranscript.It’sadelicatebalancetoachievebothrestfullearningandexcellentacademicperformance.Earningaspecificgradeshouldnotovershadowachievementgoalsformasteryofthisdiscipline.Logic,likethestudiesofGrammarandRhetoric,isa“core”disciplineinclassicaleducationandlearningtoowntheconceptsintroducedinthisclasswillbeanecessaryandsignificantcomponentoffuturesuccessinupper-levelclassicaleducation.Inthatsensethen,attainingamasteryofLogicisitsownreward.Astheteacher,Icanassignthefollowinggradestoyourstudent’slevelofachievement:magnacumlaude(withgreatpraise),cumlaude(withpraise),satis(sufficient,satisfactory),andnonsatis(notsufficient).

Ideally,everyaveragestudentworkingdiligentlyshoulddopraiseworthywork(cumlaude).Thosewhoexcelbeyondthisexpectationwillbethemagnacumlaudestudents.Stu-dentswhodoadequatebutnotpraiseworthyworkwillbedesignatedsatis.Nonsatismeanslackingsufficiencyoradequacy.

Inasmuchasyoumightbefullyonboardwiththisgradingmethodintheory,therewillundoubtedlybetheneedtocompleteacollegetranscriptwitheitheranumericortraditionallettergrade.TraditionalpercentagegradeswillbeprovidedandreadilyaccessedontheArtofArgumentSchoologypage.Additionally,Iwillprovideatranscriptofthatgradetothere-questingparentattheendofeachsemester.

STUDENTEVALUATION:MASTERYPORTRAIT

Masteryportrait:Studentswhoarepreparedtotakethisclassaretypicallyearlytolateteens,adolescentsapproachingyoungadulthood.Thisdevelopmentalstageisan

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interestingone,brimmingwithlotsofnewcharacteristics.It’simperative,then,thatthiscoursenotonlyprovidetheacademiccomponentsnecessarytoachievemasteryofthecontentoftheclass(knowledge)andskillsassociatedwithanalyticalthought;butalsohelpengagethestudentindevelopmentoftheirmoralvirtues.Thesethreeaspectsofthecoursewouldcomprisethe“learningtarget.”

• Atthecompletionofthiscourse,cumlaudestudentswillbeabletoname,define,andcategorizethe28informalfallacieslistedinTheArtofArgument.

• Additionally,theywillhaveattainedtheskillsnecessarytoidentifythosefallaciesbothfromtextexamplesandfromexternalsourceseitherpresentedtothembytheirteacher,oridentifiedindependentlyandpresentedtotheclass.Similarly,studentsshouldalsobecultivatingtheabilitytocraftargumentswithoutemployingtheuseoftheseinformalfallacies.

• StudentswillalsobeguidedindevelopmentofthevirtuesofTruth,Goodness,andWisdom.Ideally,studentswillemploywisdomingoverningself,refrainingfromunnecessaryandpettyargumentationandinsteaddevelopingdiscernmentinconflictandresolution.

Bytheendofthecourse,studentsshouldunderstandthatknowledge,rationalargumentation,andreasonarenotcompletewithoutahumble,teachablespirit—onethatisresponsibletoappropriatelyengageskillsandtoolswithgenerosityandrespectforothers,eventheiropponents(andtheirteacher).

STUDENTEVALUATION:ASSIGNMENTS,TYPES&WEIGHTS

Mr.SchambachwillcommunicatewithstudentsregardingassignmentfeedbackandgradingthroughthefreeonlinegradingsystemSchoology.TheteacherwillprovidestudentswithmoredetailedinformationandaccesstotheArtofArgumentcoursepage.

Student’sgradeswillbecomprisedof:

1. Exams:30%ofthegrade2. ClassParticipation:25%ofthegrade3. Homework&ResponsePapers:25%ofthegrade.4. FinalPaper(includingdrafts):20%ofthegrade

STUDENTEVALUATION:ACADEMICDISHONESTY

Studentswilloftentakeassessmenttestsand/orquizzesprivatelyathome.StudentsareontheirhonortoabidebyScholeAcademy’sLearningPhilosophy,whichassumesthepersonalcultivationofStudentVirtuesdescribedintheStudent-ParentHandbook.

Additionally,plagiarismisaseriousandpunishableoffense.Propercitationofallsourcesisessentialtotheacademicendeavor.Remembertociteanysourceiftheinformationisnotcommonknowledgeorisanopinionobtainedthroughanysource.Aplagiarized

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assignmentwillresultinafailinggrade.Studentsshouldconsulttheirchosenstylemanual(seeStudentExpectationsabove)forspecificdirectiononobtaining,quoting,andparaphrasingsources.

THEVIRTUALCLASSROOM

Wewillbeusingthefreeonline“virtualclassroom”softwareprovidedbyZoom,oneoftheleadingcompaniesthatofferssuchsoftware.Thevirtualclassroomwillprovidestudentswithinteractiveaudio,textchat,andaninteractivewhiteboardinwhichtexts,diagrams,video,andothermediacanbedisplayedandanalyzed.Wewille-mailstudentsalinkthatwillenablethemtojointhevirtualclassroom.

SpecificinformationregardingthetechnologyusedbyScholeAcademy(includingrequiredtechnology)canbefoundbyvisitingtheTechnologyintheClassroomsectionoftheStu-dent-ParentHandbook.

Studentswillsubmitdocumentsbyscanninganduploadingthemtotheirpersonalcomputer,thenattachingthosefilesas.pdfstoanemail.TheywillsubmittheirworktotheArtofArgumentSchoologyassignmentpage(accessgrantedafterenrollmentissecured).

ABOUTTHEINSTRUCTOR

JimmySchambachholdsaMasterofDivinityfromRegentUniversity,andaBAinTheologyandPhilosophyfromEvangelUniversity.Currently,heworksastheExecutiveDirectorofafaith-based,non-profitorganizationcalledM28Ministry,whichoperatesoutofHarrisburg,PA.Inhispast,JimmyworkedasaYouthandYoungAdultPastoratalargechurchinIndianapolis,IN.Sincehistimeincollege,JimmyhasgrowninhisloveforPhilosophy,Logic,andTheology.HehastaughtinmanysettingsovertheyearsandlooksforwardtoteachingaspartofScholéAcademy.Jimmyandhiswife,Tristin,liveinCampHill,PA,wheretheyhaveayoungdaughternamedAvianaandadognamedPanda.