Teacher Summary

Theoretical Basis

There is a difference between statements that represent what can be observed and those that represent what is only inferred. A speaker should be aware of the difference between speaking inferentially and speaking factually.

Resource Readings

Irving Lee teaches his students that structurally and grammatically there is no difference between a factual and an inferential statement. But these differences can be noted:

	A FACTUAL STATEMENT	AN INFERENTIAL STATEMENT
1.	Can be made after some observation	Can be made any time
2.	Stays within what can be observed	Goes beyond what can be observed
3.	Can be made in limited number	Can be made in unlimited number
4.	Provides closest approach to certainty	Shows some degree of probability

“An inference, as we shall use the term, is a statement about the unknown made on the basis of the known. We may infer from the handsomeness of a woman’s clothes her wealth or social position; we may infer from the character of the ruins the origin of the fire that destroyed the building; we may infer from a man’s calloused hands the nature of his occupation; we may infer from a senator’s vote on an armaments bill his attitude toward Russia; ... Inferences may be carelessly or carefully made. They may be made on the basis of a great background of previous experience with the subject-matter, or no experience at all. For example, the inferences a good mechanic can make about the internal condition of a motor by listening to it are often startlingly accurate, while the inferences made by an amateur (if he tries to make any) may be entirely wrong. But the common characteristic of inferences is that they are statements about matters which are not directly known, made on the basis of what has been observed. “—Hayakawa, Language in Thought and Action, p. 41.

Examples of Misevaluations in This Area

When people are not aware of the difference between factual and inferential statements, we are likely to have problems such as the following:

1. Lawyers sometimes have trouble holding witnesses to factual testimony.

2. Housing programs are often blocked by inferences that races will fight.

3. Diabetics are often arrested for drunkenness.

4. Labor and management problems often remain unsolved when they are discussed in inferential rather than factual terms.

The following examples show how going beyond facts to inferences and then to judgments may lead to some common misevaluations.

Fact — Johnny is late for school this morning.

Inference — I suppose he overslept.

Judgment — He thinks he can get away with anything. He is careless and so is his whole family.

An investigation might reveal that Johnny had stopped to assist a patrol boy or was sent on an errand by a teacher.

Fact — There is quite a bit of whispering going on in this class.

Inference — They are bored and don’t have enough work.

Judgment — They need more drill and busy work.

This actually happened. The pupils were whispering about a program they had prepared as a surprise for their teacher.

Fact — Jerry wouldn’t take a dare at recess time to hitch a ride on a truck.

Inference — He is afraid to do things.

Judgment — We don’t want a sissy on our team.

Jerry isn’t afraid to be a patrol boy standing out in heavy traffic in all kinds of weather to help younger children.

Attitudes and Habits We Desire Pupils to Develop

1. Recognition that factual statements differ from inferential statements.

2. A sense of the difficulty involved in making an accurate statement.

3. Awareness of the danger of leaping from facts to inferences.

Pupils who apply their training in this area should be aware when they make inferences and consequently have fewer confusions and misunderstandings.

Presentation to Pupils

LESSON 7

NOTE: In this lesson the pupils perform a number of experiments before the theory is stated.

Experiments

1. Ask the pupils to volunteer statements about the school, office, or library using only factual statements. After each statement, ask, “Is that a fact?” until the pupils begin to challenge inferential statements. Point out to the class how small a number of statements they accepted as fact. Ask why they accepted certain statements as factual and rejected others. Point out that they were able to verify by observation the factual statements and to reach an agreement on them.

2. Which is bigger?

Cut out large cardboard cards according to the pattern above. Place these cards side-by-side. Ask the pupils to make a statement about the size of these cards. Change the position of the cards, placing the right-hand card to the left. Ask which is larger. Allow the pupils to place one card on top of the other to compare size. Point out to the pupils that there are many examples of optical illusions (blades of fan in motion, size of people in perspective).

3. Ask to borrow a pupil’s wristwatch. Then ask the pupil how long he has had it and about how many times he thinks he has looked at it. Has he looked at it during the last hour? Ask the pupil to sketch it on the board and to show whether the numerals are Roman or Arabic or just lines. “How are the hands placed? Is there a second hand?”

If his classmates are amused at his uncertainty, ask the entire class to answer questions about the room clock without looking at it. “Can we always say something is a fact because we have seen it?”

Theory

If we state our inferences as if we were making statements of fact, we are likely to have trouble.

Example.—Frequently a child’s pet dog will follow his owner to school. After the dog has played with many of the children on the playground, but has not found his master, he will become excited, tearing around, barking, and leaping on small children. The children scream and run, which disturbs the dog still more. Usually someone comes into the office and reports “mad dog” and asks for a policeman. Sometimes pupils who know about the Anti-Cruelty Society coax the dog into an empty room and wait until the Society sends an expert to care for the dog, but one time we saw a policeman shoot a dog that had been reported “mad.”

“We can make a statement of fact about how the dog acted, but can we make a statement of fact about why he acted as he did? Can we make an inference? When we talk about a person’s behavior, can we make a statement of fact about why he does something?”

“Can we make statements of fact about the following?”

1. “The fire bell rings. Can we say whether it is for a fire drill or for a real fire?”

2. “The teacher is not in the classroom. Will our statements about why she is not there involve guesses, opinions, inferences, assumptions, and beliefs?”

3. “Parents have to spend a great deal of time with a new baby. Can we say that they love the baby more than the older child? What are the facts?” Discuss this fully. It is important to many children.

“Since we find it so difficult to make a statement of fact about familiar things, how can we be so ready to make statements about Labor, the President, capitalists, or people of another country?”

Evidence

1. “What. is the purpose of organizations such as Consumers’ Research?”

2. “What is the purpose of the Pure Food and Drug Laws?”

3. Ask a pupil to make statements about the percent of the class that was tardy or is absent. Then figure the percentage and determine how close the statements are to fact.

Example. —Fifty per cent of our pupils are tardy.” Then count the day’s tardiness and find the percent of the total membership. How close to fact was the statement?

Conclusion

We should know the difference between a statement of fact and a statement of inference.

Applications

1. Dramatize a quarrel at home over the use of the telephone, using statements of opinion. Change your dialogue so that statements of fact are used.

Example.—Brother: “She has been on the phone all evening.”

Brother: “She has been talking twenty minutes.”

“If the family limits itself to factual statements, what happens to the quarrel?”

2. “Why do pupils accuse others of cheating?”

3. Ask the pupils to look through a newspaper and then report on how they would classify various features as factual or inferential (opinion).

4. “We can point out that we know that we are making inferences or stating opinions by adding the words ‘it seems to me,’ or ‘it appears to me.”‘ Try adding such qualifying words to the following statements:

a) Spanish is the best elective for high school.

b) Our class is the smartest in the grade.

c) Our student council is not representing us.

5. “Do you think you might have fewer arguments if you were not so positive in stating your opinion?”

“Do you think this lesson means that we should not believe anything we hear, or that we should not repeat anything we have heard?”

No. We must listen to reports in order to learn about people and our environment, and we must pass on our information to others; but we must be prepared to distinguish between fact and inference.