Schoolhouse Review Crew: Classical Academic Press - Discovery of Deduction

I was given the opportunity to review the course The Discovery of Deduction by Classical Academic Press. Though we've long joked about Maestro being our little "lawyer", the truth is that some of his arguments fall a little... flat. In taking this review, my hope is that he will learn how to better form his thoughts and come to a stronger expression of his position.










The book is aimed for "kids as young as eighth grade" and uses socratic discussion methods to get the points across. I like that model because it helps me keep open communication with my children. The Socratic method is very discussion-oriented, and studying in this way has been beneficial on a number of occasions.

I liked that the book begins simply enough by explaining why we even need to learn about logic and deduction. If you have a "Why is the sky blue, Mom?" kind of child, you appreciate when the question is answered before you even get started!

I was excited to get the package in the mail - it's like Christmas to get a package of goodies to open and try out! Well, in the box were two rather large books, one was the student's edition, the other was the teachers copy, with all of the answers to the various end-of-chapter questions filled in already. Okay, so far it was not looking like what I had envisioned.

But as we moved into the early chapters I came to see some positive aspects. The chapters are fairly short and take only around 30 minutes or so to look over together. After reading the chapter independently, I had Maestro work the questions at the end of the chapter, and from there, we would compare notes and talk over what we'd read.

Maestro is a reader but not a "workbook guy". He didn't jump at the chance to do another workbook, but he took it on like a trooper. We have done about three chapters a week for the last couple of weeks.  Maestro enjoyed the course so far; for my part, I've appreciated the additional chat time with my growing "boy".

The down-side is that it is another work book. My older children are at an age where I frequently assign a topic (say, Math, for instance) and the kids decide how to fulfill that requirement of the hour. Sometimes they are given a subject to work together, other times it's okay that they split into their separate corners - either way, I get a little break from everyone's mom-"needs."

Discovery of Deduction is not that hands-off book. This book invites, and requires, more discussion with your child, more oversight, and more hands-on interaction from the parent.


All-in-all though, we are enjoying working through the books together and will keep at it until they're finished. Maestro is in another class in which he is required to write on an assigned topic each week. I am excited about doing this course concurrently with the other class because I really want to see if his writing skills improve and if he makes a better presentation of his argument.

The book retail for $26.95, and the teacher's edition retails for $29.95 - I recommend using both if you can, or the parent can simply work through the student edition of the book at the same time as the student.

If you'd like to read what other Schoolhouse Review Crew bloggers thought of this series, please click through this link.