Logos: The Power of Grounding Logic and Expectations in Our Communications

According to Wikipedia, LOGOS was

Greek spelling from Wikipedia

Originally a (Greek) word meaning "a ground," "a plea," "an opinion," "an expectation," "word," "speech," '"account," [and] "reason"...it became a technical term in philosophy, beginning with Heraclitus (535-475 BCE), who used the term for a principle of order and knowledge.

In English, logos is the root of the "-logy" suffix (e.g., geology).

Interestingly, we now use the term "logo" to relate visual or graphic representations of a product, enterprise, organization or slogan -as a means of promoting instant public recognition. Logo is also a multi-paradigm computer programming language designed as a tool for learning.  It is used to develop simulations and to create multimedia presentations.

From what I could find, both modern-day usages of the word incorpororate its earlier meanings - grounding words or images in a certain meaning or using it to create expectations.

With our increased use of short text bursts and visual icons - both modern adaptations of LOGOS are essential elements of communication and learning. In this post, I focus on how Aristotle's use of logos is STILL a vital part of communication used today.  Whether we use logos to relay vital arguments in public speaking,  classrooms, group discussions  - or whether we use it in advertising and politics to convince a target audience of the merits or our "product" - we must learn how to present compelling arguments in a way that seems 'logical,'  familiar  and meaningful to our audiences. This means that not only must we be familiar with our intrinsic arguments, we have to understand which arguments are most effective for any given audience.  NOT an easy feat.  Hopefully the information below will help.

From: logorhythms.blogspot.com

ARISTOTLE'S "LOGOS" AND ART OF RHETORIC: A GUIDELINE FOR CONSTRUCTING AND ANALYZING MEANINGFUL MESSAGES:

Aristotle (in his study of rhetoric) believed that a convincing argument must contain three basic elements: Ethos (incorporating/addressing credibility or 'ethical appeal'), Logos (logic - persuading through the use of reason)  and Pathos (appealing on a personal/emotional level). What makes the study of Aristotle so interesting (at least to me) is that these techniques are still vital for communication today and are routinely incorporated in speeches, printed materials and advertisements.  They are therefore essential for public speaking, advertising, class/work projects, even persuading spouses or kids.  Basically these three components are vital when constructing any verbal or visual message.

In this post I want to focus on logos (future posts will address ethos and pathos). Logos or the logical appeal consists of clearly relating a message and using meaningful examples (facts, data, research, deductive and/or inductive reasoning). The supporting evidence, however, must be information/data your audience can relate to.

Here is a Youtube video showing the use of ethos, logos and pathos in advertising. What is so important for parents and teachers today, is teaching our kids how to 'read' and recognize the persuasive tools (and their use of color, image and text) used in the ads they see and rhetoric they hear all the time that constantly try to persuade them.

From: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BpTb2RjbMn4https://sites.google.com/site/msvancuren/english-9-page/logos-ethos-and-pathos---oh-my

 

For further study, you may want to visit the following sites:

• https://sites.google.com/site/msvancuren/english-9-page/logos-ethos-and-pathos---oh-my
• http://courses.durhamtech.edu/perkins/aris.html

'LOGOS' AND VISUAL LITERACY: BETTER UNDERSTANDING THE MESSAGES BEHIND CORPORATE, POLITICAL AND SOCIAL LOGOS:

Understanding the art of rhetoric and persuasion is important for public speaking as well as for trying to convince a child, parent, friend or spouse to do something. Conversely it is also important for us as consumers to understand that advertisements' images and text are trying to persuade us to do something and are by their very nature biased.  This is where visual literacy comes in.  As our brains process visual images much faster and much more efficiently than text, we need to understand how and why particular images were chosen to persuade us.

A LOT of effort has gone into creating effective company logos. By creating a visual image that relays a particular and distinct message, successful logos clearly relate how a picture is worth a thousand words. Below are only a few examples of the power of successful logos.

In a recent post on color I noted how red has been found to increase heartrate and metabolism and is associated with the feeling of passion and of hunger, while blue is a calming color decreasing heartrate and metabolism, and green is used to relay 'nature' and natural elements.  For more, please see http://departingthetext.blogspot.com/2013/01/color-casts-powerful-messages-learn-how.html


Thinking about color...
Have you noticed that most fast food signs and logos contain red?

220 × 167 - en.wikipedia.org

 

 

Note that Quiznos also contains green which symbolizes nature or earth and wants to convince you of their 'natural' 'healthy' ingredients. Note also how each of these fast food logos contain red - a color proven to raise metabolism and make you hungry while ingraining a particular image of their product - be it their initials, a warm inviting face, or 'protective' structure.


How about Amazon.com's logo:  They're 'good as gold,' they will always leave you with a 'smile,' and you can find all types of products from 'a' to 'z'.


Want more? Have some fun with logos:

LOGOS QUIZ is a popular game for iphone, androids and ipads (and computer adaptations, some of which I have included below) where you have to correctly identify the logos which are presented at different levels of difficulty.. How good are you at identifying these logos... and is that a good thing :-)  ?

• http://www.logoquiz.net/
• http://www.sporcle.com/games/g/corplogos
• http://500logos.com/

In closing, look around, I am sure you can come up with your own awesome examples of effective logos and how they incorporate image, ethos, logos and pathos to convey a particular message.  Please leave your own opinions or favorite effective adds in the comments.

Thanks for your visit, and don't forget to leave your ideas, opinions, suggestions and favorite logos in the comments.

Facilitating EXCHANGES and Challenging EXPECTATIONS

Typically we think of the classroom experience as the teacher relaying information to students, and, for better and for worse, that is often the case.  And, while teachers must relay new information, in my experience the best learning comes from exchanges: exchanges between student and teacher, between student and student, and between student and given materials.  These exchanges can and should occur in the classroom, at home, and in the world around us, and are particularly effective when they challenge or extend existing expectations.

The essentials for successful exchanges:

• listening - listening for opportunities to take learning further, listening for questions regarding levels of understanding, listening for comments of challenge [challenging existing levels of understanding is often a very good thing], listening for nuances;
• motivating
• encouraging self-confidence in the ability challenge existing states of knowledge and understanding
• encouraging risk taking in your child's thinking and problems solving
• promoting respectful dialogue :
• Pose open-ended questions
• Allow your child to respond to your questions, pausing before responding yourself or, if you're a teacher, before calling on a student.  This allows them to process the question and retrieve and formulate meaningful responses.
• Encourage different perspectives to questions and comments, accepting divergent opinions (without having to necessarily agree with them).  When you hear divergent opinions, try to help direct, guide, and facilitate discussions.

Let me share some examples of positive (and negative) exchanges: 

• This Looney Toon is all about listening, risk taking, and encouraging Bugs (and Daffy) to think out of the box - something Bugs does regularly but Daffy does not....
• There is a wonderful exchange in the book Frindle by Andrew Clements.  It is the beginning of fifth grade for Nick Allen, who is convinced that he can distract his Language Arts teacher (a fanatic about dictionaries and dictionary usage) from assigning homework.  So, just as she is about to relay that night's assignment, Nick raises his hand and asks her, "What makes a word a word?"  The problem (initially at least) for Nick is that sahe throws the question right back at him, saying that is a wonderful question and in addition to the class assignment, he must 'research' his question further.  He does the research and realizes exactly what makes aword a word, and proceeds to coin his own.  He learns ALOT more about words and language than he ever expected from this simple exchange, from listening to various literary sources, and from challenging existing expectations.  

• Another exchange happened to me in the airport. I was waiting at the gate for my flight (which was delayed) and just watching the people around me.  There was a little boy "Daniel" who must have been about five years old, who had gone through his mom's stash of chips, her box of apple juice, and her patience as well.  The planes out the window were no longer a novelty and he and his mom were 'losing it.'  And, there was still the flight to take.  At some point the mom looked at me and I suggested a game to play, "I SPY."  She had never heard of it and so I explained the game:  One person privately selects an object within sight and generally describes it, "I spy with my little eye, something ...red (or big, or smelly or any other adjective you care to give it)" and the other person has to guess what it is you spy by asking questions or just by guessing.  When the item is guessed, the players switch roles.

The problem, once I explained the game was that mom kept picking small items or items Daniel could not see well.  Through their exchanges, though, she learned adjust her selections so Daniel could easily guess them.  The other problem, was when it was Daniel's turn to spy an object.  He, being a five year old, and very excited about the game would say, "I spy with my little eye something blue" and then immediately share what that object was with his mom -without her having the opportunity to play or guess. 

What was so special about this exchange was that aside from distracting and entertaining Daniel, both mother and child learned how to adjust their choices and responses to the game. Furthermore, Mom was happy Daniel was occupied, Daniel was thrilled with his new game, he was learning and practicing adjectives and vocabulary, and what was about to turn into a shouting match, turned into a productive exchange between parent and child.

• I observed another exchange between mother and child that did not work out well when riding on a train.  It was a summer Sunday afternoon and mother and son were returning from a day at the beach.  They were tired, the train was crowded, and mom had to navigate one large suitcase, a large overstuffed tote bag, and a cranky child.  She propped the suitcases against the window (a mistake) and sat her son between her and the suitcases.  He cried and fussed and she would not allow him to climb over (or simply move) the suitcase to look out the window, or allow him to walk up and down the aisle, or even read a book to him.  Instead she screamed at him to "shut up" and if others tried to help with advice she shouted "he's a two year old, they scream and cry - that's what they do...."  This woman had one expectation - her two year old cried and screamed - and she did not care or try to adjust that expectation.  She also did not care to exchange, motivate, or distract her child - she just let him scream.

With 2012 approaching, let's raise our expectations, renew and enhance exchanges and become better listeners and motivators!

Here's to a great 2012!!!! 

education vs. Education: The Difference is in Expectations

BACK TO SCHOOL: With our kids starting a new school year, it's time to evaluate just what they are getting.  Is it an  "education" or an "Education."

education involves teaching kids a curriculum set to meet state standards.  "education" is typically teacher (and test) driven and its relevance is often missed by the students. "education" involves teaching facts from a textbook and worksheets with scattered tests and projects, and studying for state/national mandated tests upon which funding is determined.  For example, as a school consultant a few years ago (in a city school I choose not to disclose), I noticed the students there were given sample state tests in math and reading every few weeks.  Those students were getting an 'education' because there was no time to 'play' with the material - no time to integrate aspects of the curriculum into their lives to make it meaningful or for it to come alive.  No time to depart the text or to take learning tangents along lines students were interested in.  There was only time to cover what was on the test and practice test taking skills.

Education involves teaching kids a given broad "liberal arts" curriculum with the expectation that they critically evaluate and incorporate that curriculum - evaluating how meaningful it is to themselves and others, and expanding upon that core curriculum.   Education involves a wide breadth of issues and sources (textbooks, original sources and texts, computer/internet sources, graphic novels and classics) that are student driven and teacher facilitated.  Classrooms are interactive, and involve critical thinking, critical reading, and creativity.  While state and national tests are a given 'reality' - they don't dictate the curriculum, classes or content. For example, when my son was in sixth grade, the teacher told them that the book they were reading was based on Milton's Paradise Lost.  My son was so taken by the book, he read Paradise Lost and the teacher asked him to make a class presentation about it.  My son was receiving an Education.

The difference is in our EXPECTATIONS - Expectations in what our kids can learn and accomplish; expectations in what should be taught.

Expectations of what our kids can learn and accomplish:  While these vary from child to child, one thing remains constant:  Set the bar low, achievements will be low; set the bar high and students will rise to those goals.  The key: making learning engaging and taking cues from your students to facilitate learning and meeting challenges and expectations. 

• IF they have NO trouble with the reading materials - increase the bar a bit.  Give them more to read; give them more to discuss; add depth and more analysis to the discussions; have them integrate more sources - using more extensive resources.
• IF they find the material challenging - first, evaluate what is the challenge and adjust accordingly.
• IF the reading material poses too great a challenge, switch it around a bit.  You may want to have them read fewer sources but notch up their critical analyses.  You may want to keep the reading material but provide resources to help them (for example: summarize what they will be reading BEFORE they read it; have appropriate graphic novels to complement the textbooks)
• IF the reading material is fine, but the lesson demands are too challenging - switch them around.  IF there is too much writing, make sure that they write a certain amount but supplement the writing with other activities (creating a video, an interview, a diorama).
• IF the class discussions are too challenging - ask the teacher to provide one or two discussion questions is advance that your student can prepare for (and be one of the first called on when the question is posed in class).  You may also want to record certain classes and review them together later.

In short, don't expect less from your kids and students - expect more, but monitor their work and their working process.  Tweak the working process - incorporating their strengths and affinities and involving multiple sources, resources and skills so ALL expectations are met.

Expectations of what should be taught: 21st Century Educational Leadership has some of the right answers.  They advocate for interactive, student driven education (that is meaningful and lessons that they can immediately relate to) with lessons that incorporate verbal, visual and technological literacies.

"Twenty-first century skills combining technology literacy, critical thinking, creativity and mastery of core subject matter are the lifeblood of a productive workforce in today's global, knowledge-based economy." - 21st Century Educational Leadership

This, however, is only part of the solution. Student driven education is essential - learning must be meaningful and relevant to students and they must play and interact with it.  However, there is something to be said about being well read... Being able to go into any social situation and join others' conversations - regardless of the topic.  Knowing classics in literature, philosophy, economics are as important as history, science and math.  Classic literature and philosophy represent where our ideas and ideals originated and are important in helping to determine and chart where we must go.  I firmly believe in integrating comics, computers, and classics. 

What do you think?  What type of education did you receive?  What type of education is your child receiving? How can we get our teachers to Educate (let me know if you want to continue this discussion)?