The Logic Stage
Students entering middle school move into the logic stage of learning, which is particularly appropriate to children in this age range as they begin to assert themselves and establish independence. Form is an important emphasis at this stage, giving students the structure necessary to express themselves coherently, develop a broad set of interests integrated within their person, and build more sophisticated relationships with those around them. In the Middle School, students bring their minds into harmony in various ways, for example by learning the form of a persuasive essay or by appropriately applying a series of arithmetic operations to solve a mathematical problem. At this stage, students are learning the reasoning skills necessary to determine the validity of an argument, to understand connections between facts and ideas by making comparisons, and to understand causal relationships, all of which will help them to navigate and enjoy the complexities of life. |