Traditional Logic I - Martin Cothran - Thoughts?

[Kate CA]

I am seriously considering this for my "thinks a lot" oldest dd13. Thoughts? This looks good to me, but I don't know much about this program other than what Rainbow says and what MP says on their own website. I see Christine Miller really recommends it too and that is a nice endorsement.

Thoughts? Comments? How did it work with your family?

TIA!

Warmly,
Kate

[Michelle in MO]

and both of my girls had used it. SWB recommends starting TLI in 9th grade, but I think that depends on the maturity level of your kids. Not that mine were so mature, but my older two were able to start it in 7th grade. However, TLII is more challenging, plus it involves some writing as well. My oldest did it in 8th grade, and my middle daughter is using it now (she's currently in 8th grade), but it's been a "start and stop" year with it because we've been doing some other things off and on. Somehow logic always gets bumped. However, I foresee no further interruptions this year (:D) and hope we can finish it off!

My recommendation is that you try to do TLI with your dc; they may be able to do all their exercises on their own, but you will at least understand the concepts if they get stuck. And, since TLII is more difficult, try to do that with them as well. My oldest did start having some difficulties with some of the concepts, so I had to start reading the chapters, at least. I try to keep up with their curriculum, but honestly, my youngest still requires a fair amount of my time, so I have to juggle things the best that I can (which is often very imperfectly!) Oh---I would also recommend the DVDs to go with TL I and TL II. They do help to solidify the concepts!

HTH!

[Kate CA]

Thank you so much for such a thoughtful comment. It was very helpful to me. :)

Warmly,
Kate

[Cedarmom]

My son did it when he was 14. I found it a very easy to use program. I had tried another logic program and was very confused, and almost gave up on doing logic. But I did Traditional Logic along with my son, and we both understood it!
We are now doing Traditional Logic II. It covers more, but is very interesting. It has famous quotes in it, and the student reads the quotes to determine the validity of the argument. It is fun, because you are learning how to use what you learned in book one.

Cedarmom

[Michelle in MO]

My son did it when he was 14. I found it a very easy to use program. I had tried another logic program and was very confused, and almost gave up on doing logic. But I did Traditional Logic along with my son, and we both understood it!
We are now doing Traditional Logic II. It covers more, but is very interesting. It has famous quotes in it, and the student reads the quotes to determine the validity of the argument. It is fun, because you are learning how to use what you learned in book one.

Cedarmom

Cedarmom is right; TL II is more difficult (in my opinion) and requires writing, but one of the main points of the book is applying and implementing what you've learned in Book I (and Book II). I just wish I could personally attend Highlands Latin School and sit in on Martin Cothran's class!

[LunaLee]

So would those of you who have used this say that the DVD's would be worth getting. DD is heavily auditory, so I was hoping the DVD's would help. Are they like a lecture?

[Kate CA]

So would those of you who have used this say that the DVD's would be worth getting. DD is heavily auditory, so I was hoping the DVD's would help. Are they like a lecture?

I am interested in this too though I had already decided to get them if we get the program. It is not that much more and I would really like the help! :)

Kate

[Phyllis in Canada]

Ds and two other 7-8 graders I'm teaching are doing very well with TL 1 and I'm eager to move into TL 2 in a couple weeks. We started out watching the DVD's but we were very disappointed. He doesn't add anything to the information in the book and they are very boring. We finally gave up on them and are doing just fine on our own.

[cajun.classical]

Ds and two other 7-8 graders I'm teaching are doing very well with TL 1 and I'm eager to move into TL 2 in a couple weeks. We started out watching the DVD's but we were very disappointed. He doesn't add anything to the information in the book and they are very boring. We finally gave up on them and are doing just fine on our own.

I remember someone posting about this before. The conclusion was that the dvds for the First Volume of Traditional Logic were not very useful, didn't contain any additional info, but that the dvds for the SEcond Volume were *very* helpful and did include new material/explanation.

[Kate CA]

I remember someone posting about this before. The conclusion was that the dvds for the First Volume of Traditional Logic were not very useful, didn't contain any additional info, but that the dvds for the SEcond Volume were *very* helpful and did include new material/explanation.

This is very helpful to me. Thank you! It will save a bunch of money! :)

Kate

[Mad Jenny Flint]

For anyone who might be interested in this tidbit: TL I was easy enough to work with in a secular environment, but I did not see how the difficult concepts in TLII could be learned by a secular student, or a non-christian student, if he/she did not agree with the arguments being presented. Part of making the arguments is being able to determine the truth value of the arguments presented, as well as whether the argument gels well. I thought trying to separate that from the course material could easily turn into the stuff of nightmares, so we are moving on to argumentation and rhetoric directly from TL I.

[MIch elle]

nt

[Leah]

Thanks for this info! I was just coming on the boards to ask something similar-I think I should just buy the DVD's... :)