Logic - Or What Do They Teach in Schools These Days?

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"Logic!" said the Professor half to himself. "What do they teach in schools these days?  There are only three possibilities.  Either your sister is lying, or she is mad, or she is telling the truth.  You know that she doesn't tell lies and it is obvious that she is not mad.  For the moment then and unless any further evidence turns up, we must assume that she is telling the truth."    -  The Lion The Witch and The Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis

  This is one of my absolute favorite parts of the entire Chronicles of Narnia series.  I love how Peter and Susan, trying to be so mature in the way they handle their squabbling brother and sister, go to Professor Kirk for advice, and he stands them on their heads with logic, forcing them to think through the situation rationally.
   Until this fall, I quoted this to my kids a lot.  One of them would draw a rather nonsensical conclusion from a conversation, and I would wonder aloud, "What do they teach in schools these days?"  But as I was mulling over our curriculum for the current year, I was rather chastened to realize that as my children's teacher, I am the school and perhaps I should stop wondering why logic is not taught and teach it already!
  So why teach logic?  In short, because it doesn't seem to come naturally to many people.  Some people are really good at putting two and two together.  They can look at an argument for or against something, compare it with information they already have and reach a logical decision or conclusion.  For other people relating information they are receiving to information they already have doesn't seem to happen easily, if ever.  And I have noticed with my own children that this is something I must guide them in rather than expecting this skill to be innate. 
  Learning how to think and reason and come to rational conclusions really is the basis of all learning.  Without the skills to consider a topic and compare it with other information, memorizing facts and dates is useless.  It is learning how to apply those facts and dates to the issue at hand that is important.
  And so, as we go through our English and our Math and Science and Social Studies, I try to show my students how what they are learning builds on what they already know, and stretch their minds to further applications of the principles we are learning.  I am trying to connect the dots of all the things we discuss into a cohesive education that will prepare them to go into the world with good thinking skills.  And along the way I am trying to help them learn how to connect the dots for themselves so that even when their formal education is over they will go on adding to what they have learned.
  This year I picked a couple of books that would help me teach more formal logic. These books use examples to explain how to think about various arguments which are presented.  For example, my daughter just finished a section on "All Statements".  In an all statement, students are given a sentence which applies to an entire group (All cats are mammals) and then asked to evaluate a second sentence based on the first (This animal is not a mammal; the conclusion then is that the animal is not a cat.).  It seems very simple to spell it out like that, but learning on simple sentences helps students to identify the same structure when they are confronted with more complex arguments.
  As an added benefit, my kids really look forward to our logic lessons (it is the first thing they want to do on Friday mornings).  They enjoy looking at the words and learning how they relate to one another.  They enjoy seeing the patterns and sequences in the logic book, and I gladly apply them to our other subjects when it seems appropriate.

What about you?  Do you teach logic?