Learn to out-think, out-argue, and out-reason anyone in the room. Hello from Jonathon!
Sharp Minds Academy gives high schoolers a step-by-step system — from spotting logical fallacies in real headlines to mapping full debates and mastering the Socratic method — so clear thinking becomes their sharpest academic tool.
"I don't teach students what to think — I teach them how to think, and then I get out of the way."— Jonathon Kendall
What you'll learn
What you'll be able to do
- Identify and name the most common logical fallacies in real-world arguments, from ads to political speeches
- Construct valid deductive and inductive arguments in written and spoken form
- Evaluate the credibility of sources and evidence using a structured fact-checking framework
- Map complex debates into clear premise-and-conclusion diagrams to expose hidden assumptions
- Apply Socratic questioning techniques to challenge ideas respectfully in class discussions and essays
- Build a personal reasoning toolkit to make better decisions under pressure in academics and everyday life
How it works
A school that adapts to you
This isn't a set of static videos. Every lesson is generated live and tuned to where you actually are.
We learn your level
A quick placement check tailors your starting point so you're never bored or lost.
Lessons adapt as you go
Each lesson is written for your pace and your goal, adjusting as your skills grow.
Your AI coach keeps you moving
Checkpoints, feedback, and gentle nudges turn progress into a real result.
The curriculum
What's inside your school
6 modules · 27 lessons
The Thinker's Foundation: What Is Logic?
Introduces the core vocabulary and mindset of logical thinking so students have a shared language for every lesson ahead.
- 1.1Why Clear Thinking MattersIncluded
- 1.2Statements, Truth, and ValidityIncluded
- 1.3Arguments vs. Opinions: Knowing the DifferenceIncluded
- 1.4Premises and Conclusions: The Building Blocks of Any ArgumentIncluded
Deductive and Inductive Reasoning
Teaches students the two major forms of logical argument so they can construct and evaluate airtight reasoning in writing and speech.
- 2.1Deductive Reasoning and SyllogismsIncluded
- 2.2Inductive Reasoning and ProbabilityIncluded
- 2.3Constructing Your Own ArgumentsIncluded
- 2.4Argument Mapping: Diagramming Premises and ConclusionsIncluded
- 2.5Mapping a Real Debate from Start to FinishIncluded
Logical Fallacies: Recognizing Faulty Reasoning
Equips students to identify and name the most common logical fallacies in ads, speeches, social media, and everyday conversation.
- 3.1What Is a Fallacy and Why Do They Work?Included
- 3.2Fallacies of Relevance: Ad Hominem, Straw Man, and Red HerringIncluded
- 3.3Fallacies of Evidence: False Cause, Slippery Slope, and Hasty GeneralizationIncluded
- 3.4Fallacies of Assumption: Begging the Question, False Dichotomy, and Appeal to AuthorityIncluded
- 3.5Fallacy Hunt: Analyzing Ads, Speeches, and HeadlinesIncluded
Evaluating Evidence and Fact-Checking
Builds a structured framework for assessing source credibility and separating solid evidence from misinformation.
- 4.1What Counts as Good Evidence?Included
- 4.2Source Credibility: How to Vet What You ReadIncluded
- 4.3Bias, Perspective, and Hidden AgendasIncluded
- 4.4A Fact-Checking Framework: SIFT and BeyondIncluded
- 4.5Misinformation Case Study: Tracing a Viral ClaimIncluded
Socratic Questioning and Respectful Dialogue
Trains students to use Socratic questioning techniques to deepen discussions, challenge ideas respectfully, and write more probing essays.
- 5.1The Socratic Method: Questions That Unlock Deeper ThinkingIncluded
- 5.2Challenging Ideas Without Attacking PeopleIncluded
- 5.3Socratic Seminars: Live Discussion PracticeIncluded
- 5.4Applying Socratic Questions to Essay WritingIncluded
Your Personal Reasoning Toolkit
Consolidates every skill into a practical, personalized decision-making toolkit students can use under pressure in academics and life.
- 6.1Decision-Making Under Pressure: Thinking Clearly When It's HardIncluded
- 6.2Building Your Reasoning ChecklistIncluded
- 6.3Critical Thinking Across Subjects: Science, History, and LiteratureIncluded
- 6.4Capstone Debate and ReflectionIncluded
Who it's for
Is this you?
The Ambitious Essay Writer
She writes hard but her arguments often wander — argument mapping and premise-conclusion structure will give her essays a spine of steel.
The Debate Team Recruit
He can talk fast but hasn't yet learned to build airtight deductive arguments or anticipate logical fallacies in his opponent's case.
The Skeptical Scrolller
She questions everything she reads online but lacks a structured framework — SIFT and source-credibility lessons will make her instincts unbeatable.
The Homeschool Parent
He needs a rigorous, modular critical-thinking curriculum he can weave into their family's learning — this school is exactly that, ready to go.
The Classroom Teacher
She wants structured Socratic seminar and fallacy-analysis activities she can actually use with her students on Monday morning.
The College-Prep Junior
With applications looming, he needs to write sharper personal essays, hold his own in interviews, and think clearly under pressure — all covered here.
Questions
Frequently asked
Your teacher
A note from your teacher
Jonathon Kendall
Here's something most schools won't admit: you can spend thirteen years in education and never once be taught how an argument actually works.
Not the shouting kind of argument — the reasoning kind. The kind that decides whether your essay earns an A or a B. The kind that determines whether you can hold your ground in a class discussion, evaluate a news story without being misled, or make a clear-headed decision when the stakes feel high and time feels short. These skills are rarely taught explicitly, and yet they're the engine underneath every subject you study and every important choice you'll ever make.
That's exactly the gap Sharp Minds Academy was built to close. This curriculum starts where almost every critical thinking course skips — the very foundation. What makes a statement true? What separates an argument from an opinion? What does it actually mean for a conclusion to follow from its premises? From there, we move into deductive and inductive reasoning, argument mapping, the most common logical fallacies (yes, including the ones hiding in the ads you scrolled past this morning), a structured fact-checking framework for the age of misinformation, and the Socratic questioning techniques that make great thinkers — and great essays — genuinely different.
I want to be honest with you about something: this school is not a shortcuts course. You won't find "five hacks to win any argument." What you will find is a rigorous, structured, genuinely engaging path to thinking more clearly — with real examples drawn from social media, sports calls, political speeches, and viral headlines, because the best place to learn logic is in the wild, not in a vacuum. Every concept is immediately applied. Every lesson is designed so you walk away seeing the world around you a little differently.
If you're a student, this is the toolkit your teachers assumed someone else was giving you. If you're a parent or educator looking for a structured critical-thinking curriculum, this is what that looks like in practice — not as an abstract subject, but as a living, usable skill set. I built Sharp Minds Academy because I believe every young person deserves the chance to think with real clarity and confidence. Come sharpen your mind. The questions are waiting for you.
— Jonathon Kendall
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- 6 modules, 27 lessons
- AI-adaptive lessons tuned to your level
- Quizzes & checkpoints to lock in progress
- Your own AI learning coach
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