Thinking Toolbox

I wasn't quite sure how I would like a book that's all about sharpening your reasoning skills and that used the term LOGIC. Would it be boring? Would it make me feel dumb in the end? Anyhow, I had heard great things about this book by Nathaniel Bluedorn and Hans Bluedorn (as well as their other book The Fallacy Detective)...so I dove right in...and was not disappointed! Why couldn't they have had books like this in high school and college??? The Bluedorns did a fabulous job of walking you through various thinking tasks (such as When is it Dumb to Argue?, Using the Scientific Method, Who has a reason to Lie?, etc) in an easy-to-read, easy-to-understand and quite entertaining way. The scenarios and conversations they include will help you apply your new-found skills into real life situations. After all, what good is a tool if you don't know when or how to use it? I loved how each lesson was short and to-the-point. Quite necessary for those of us with demanding toddlers or anyone with a short attention span. Each lesson also had exercises at the end (don't worry, no crunches or push-ups required!); and each exercise builds on previous exercises which helps to further drive the point home. Ahem...and for those of you who still worry about tackling logic, there IS an answer key at the end! Initially, I was quite skeptical of being able to recommend a book about logic, but The Thinking Toolbox is one of the BEST books I have ever read on the subject! It is self-teaching and offers a Christian view of logic. It is written for ages 13 through adult and is a very useful way to introduce critical and systematic thinking/reasoning to students. I think it would be a perfect read for your student before they tackle their next science project or experiment, make a speech, write a research paper, or just any time. It would also prove quite useful for any mom or dad to get their thinking-ducks in a row as well...so check it out!

Have you ever stopped to think about how much money is spent in advertising aimed at your kids? Did you ever listen to a political debate with your kids and have them express their views regarding the debate? Were they able to solidly defend their views? Can your children differentiate between factual and false claims as they wade through ads promising to be "scientifically" or "medically" proven to cause weight loss, restore lost hair, or return aging skin to it's former dewey youthful complexion? Are your children able to defend their faith, their world view, their political persuasion with substantive thought and clarity? If you've pondered any or all of those questions and wanted a resource to aid your children in discerning truth and being able to share truth clearly, then you'll want to introduce them to The Thinking Toolbox. While this book is self-teaching, you would miss some great opportunities for lively discussions if you didn't share the journey through The Thinking Toolbox with them. I would be remiss to not mention the Bible being our main foundation when it comes to seeking and finding truth. The Thinking Toolbox builds upon that foundation and the book's effectiveness is in its bringing the principles of that foundation into everyday situations. It teaches your kids ways to discern between truth and lie amidst the daily bombardment of information in sales pitches, "scientific" and "medical" claims, political debates, daily news, and much more. Even in the book's examples, exercises, and answers, you will probably find that you don't agree with the authors one hundred percent of the time. Therein lies the beauty of the book: you no longer allow your brain to sluggishly swallow everything it's being fed. You are challenged to think through your acceptance or rejection of what's being offered. Additionally you learn how to defend your choice of acceptance or rejection. The Thinking Toolbox is not a quick read. It's something to be shared one bite-sized chapter at a time. And each "bit" provides plenty to chew on. Prepare to be stretched mentally. Prepare to find yourself thinking about and looking for the truth while sorting through the morass of information that daily assails you and your family. Prepare to be better able to live truth and to share truth with others in confidence. After all, isn't that really our purpose in life?

When I said I would read and review The Thinking Toolbox by Nathaniel & Hans Bluedorn, I did not know that it was a textbook for homeschoolers. I don't homeschool my children and probably would not have asked for this particular book had I realized. I wouldn't have thought that it would have been something I would be interested in. I am glad that I didn't know. The book says that it is for children 13 through adult. Well, my children are 7, 10, and 12 (in August) and they loved it. We sat down for our first lesson and they didn't want to stop even after our fourth! They really enjoyed the formatting and the "thinking" was fun to them. They couldn't wait until we sat down the next day to start on lesson five. The book is set up as a toolbox full of thinking tools. Each lesson teaches you a thinking tool and how that thinking tool can help you with different thinking tasks. It teaches you when it is dumb to argue, how to analyze the arguments of someone who disagrees with you, what the difference between an argument and a fight are, how to list reasons why you believe the things you believe, and much more. It even has a chapter on projects and games. While the book states that it is based on a Christian view of logic, I honestly feel that even non-Christians can use this book and enjoy it. The biblical references are not overly done and what is there is done very well and fits in with the lesson. Also, parents of public school children will find this book valuable to their children. It will definitely help them with everyday situations that they face.

It's not often that I get excited about reviewing a book, but I was excited about this one. We live in a world filled with knowledge, but knowledge is all but useless without critical thinking skills. As important as this is for adults, it's even more important for teens - because it is our teen years that we are solidifying how we see the world and who we are. The ability to think critically impacts every aspect of our children's daily lives. Everything from how to handle disagreement between friends, to dealing with peer pressure, to reasoning out problems in school. As adults, we bring those skills into our marriages, our families, our jobs, and finances. But teaching those skills is a daunting task. How do you teaching someone how to think? I was surprised to see how easily The Thinking Toolbox does just that. Each short explanation is paired with a series of fun, relevant exercises to help teens use the skills they learn. How to defend what you believe. How to tell the difference between fact, inference, and opinion. How to use corroborating evidence. How and why sometimes you should learn to defeat your own argument. How to analyze data and to brainstorm. Even situations - such as when someone is in emotional distress - when using logic is not appropriate. But this book goes beyond teens. These are pithy and powerful tools. In reading the book, I couldn't help but think how many situations we, as adults, face every day when such skills could be put to use. From analyzing the trustworthiness of a news report to resolving personal differences at work. The section on the difference between a discussion, a disagreement, and a fight has powerful relevance in nearly every one of our lives today. The design is teen-friendly, designed to be easy to read and eye-catching. One minor criticism. The exercises run together, in a list, and sometimes aren't well differentiated. When the type of exercise changes from one to the other, this can get confusing, especially in the front of the book until you get used to the format. But a little guidance on how to use the book takes care of that problem easily. I do hope, however, that in future versions, the layout of the exercises is tweaked to make them easier to follow. I would have also liked to see the authors spend time up front talking about why reasoning skills are so important. We all have busy lives - especially teens - and there is so much we are expected to learn. Knowing how this learning will help us motivates us to study. I remember a movie back from the 80s called "Summer School," with Mark Harmon. Assigned to teach summer school English, a physical education teacher had to figure out how to get a bunch of decidedly unmotivated students to pay attention to him teaching English. So when one student complained about broken sunglasses, Harmon took that opportunity to show the students how they could use good English skills to get free stuff. The class wrote a letter to the manufacturer,

I loved The Thinking Toolbox, and I'm 43 years old! The Bluedorns have done it again, with this follow up to their book, The Fallacy Detective. The lessons featured in The Thinking Toolbox are directed towards homeschool students, but are actually applicable and valuable for 'students' of all ages. In this day and age of news reports that are questionable, at best, and flimsy-flip-flop values and moral relativism, the Thinking Toolbox should be on everyone's shelf. I found the illustrations by Richard LaPierre to be especially charming, appealing and fun. This is no dry textbook. Mr. LaPierre's talent is refreshing. A great accompaniment to the Bluedorn's commentary. Be sure to pick up a copy for your teenager, and for yourself.