Learning to Think Critically and Wisely

Founders Academy, Bangladesh

Adhita (name changed) is from a Hindu family in Bangladesh. She is in grade 11 and studies public speaking with Becky F., a TeacherBeyond member and teacher at Founders Academy (FA).

In October 2019, Becky had just finished a unit on persuasive speaking and logical fallacies. The unit focused on why and how to recognize logical fallacies and how to avoid them. Adhita, however, didn’t agree. “Why should I not use these to convince others about my opinion, if they are not as smart?” she reasoned.

The next day, Adhita ran up to Becky, and said that she had watched a video where the speaker was using a lot of hasty generalizations and other logical fallacies. “I felt really cheated that he was trying to persuade me in this way!” she exclaimed, adding that she now understands why it is important to think deeply, and be able to identify logical fallacies in what someone says.

“I was really excited on hearing this,” said Becky. “This is a big deal since ultimately we want the students to think critically about what they believe and for them to have this tool in their back pocket to pull out when they encounter generalizations and logical fallacies in things they hear and read.