Developing Classical Thinkers

A conversation with Andrew Abela and Robert Luddy on the nature of virtue ethics, human flourishing, and the small, incremental but invaluable steps we should take each day for personal improvement and growth. Andrew Abela is the founding dean of the Busch School of Business and Ordinary Professor of Marketing at The Catholic University of America, in Washington, D.C. He holds a B.Sc. from the Uni...

In this episode, Winston Brady speaks with Tiffany Whitaker about her experience teaching elementary school at the Thales Academy Wake Forest campus. Tiffany Whitaker is a Franklinton, North Carolina resident, East Carolina University alumnus, and seventh-year teacher at Thales Academy. She holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education with a reading concentration and has had teaching...

In this lecture, Kellie Scripter addresses the virtue of justice in the context of a content-rich classical education. A classical education provides students with opportunities to understand virtues like justice by encouraging them to develop intellectual discipline, exercise their moral imagination, and thus establish the patterns by which they can strive to pursue a just life. Mrs. Scripter rec...

Winston Brady, director of Thales Press, addresses the virtue of temperance and why students should cultivate this important virtue. Temperance is the virtue of self-control and moderation, a habit people can achieve by bringing their appetites into harmony with their reason. Winston Brady delivered this presentation at the Conference of Miletus on July 14, 2025. The Conference of Miletus was a se...

Anthony Esolen, distinguished professor of the humanities at Thales College, addresses the virtue of prudence.   Dr. Anthony Esolen received his A.B. in English Literature from Princeton University and his M.A. and Ph. D. in Renaissance English Literature from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Esolen has been a professor of literature and humanities for 35 years and is the autho...

Robert Luddy, founder of Thales Academy, addresses the virtue of courage and how important it is for students to face their fears, overcome adversity, and take small, practical steps to cultivate this cardinal virtue. Robert "Bob" Luddy is the Founder and Chairman of Thales Academy, Thales College, Franklin Academy, and St. Thomas More Academy, and is the Founder and President of CaptiveAire Syste...

Eric Wearne is a Visiting Associate Professor with the Education Economics Center at Kennesaw State University. In line with his work on the intersection of statistics, school choice, and classical education, Professor Wearne conducted a survey of parents with children in a wide variety of classical schools. In this survey, Professor Wearne examined what parents want in a classical school and the...

A special episode on the history behind the celebrations of the Fourth of July, plus some of the most significant people in American history who have been born on, or departed from this Earth on, the 4th of July. 

On March 13-15, several Thales faculty members participated in the 2025 annual meeting of the Ciceronian Society in Harrisonburg, Virginia. This lecture comes from Winston Brady, director of Thales Press.  In this address, Winston examined the relationship between limits and liberty, for the purpose of understanding what it means to be human, with insights drawn from C.S. Lewis and The Abolition o...

Author David Bahnsen joins Developing Classical Thinkers to talk about the importance of work for our health and happiness, with insights drawn from his book, "Full Time: Work and the Meaning of Life." In "Full Time," Bahnsen argues that the time has come to stop tip-toeing around the issues that matter and to encourage students to look at a theology of work in its fullness to discover our meaning...

This week, we have a special episode in honor of Memorial Day, a holiday that honors those who have given their lives in service to our country and in preserving our freedom. In this episode, we look at the beginnings of Memorial Day, why we celebrate the holiday and how long we have done so. Then, we draw out the significance of the day by looking at the life and education of Abraham Lincoln. Tha...

In American history, tariffs have been one of the most controversial and divisive economic issues. Today, tariffs are back in the news as President Trump has levied massive import fees on various goods coming into the United States from around the world--but what is a tariff? How are these fees calculated? And who is really benefiting from these fees coming into America's ports? We are honored to...

A Socratic seminar is not a lecture where the teacher imparts information to students, nor is it some sort of a debate. Instead, it is a meaningful dialogue with teachers and students and the authors of the great ideas they are examining together. Join veteran educators Chelsea Wagenaar, Chris and Kellie Scripter, and Winston Brady and hear their best practices for leading engaging, rigorous, and...

In this episode, Winston Brady and Marc Fusco discuss the joys of teaching middle school and studying astronomy. Mr. Fusco currently teaches Junior High History and Trivium at Thales Academy Raleigh, where he shares his love of classical education, literature, and history with his students, and he also is an Assistant Varsity Soccer Coach at Thales Academy Rolesville JH/HS. He enjoys playing music...

At the root of classical education is a noble challenge championed by master teachers throughout the Western heritage: teaching is the process of soul-craft—by which educators cultivate virtue within other human beings so that they might live good lives. This challenge inherently elevates the role of teachers beyond mere transmitters of knowledge to shapers of innate potential— people with the pow...

What is the telos of education? In a free society, is it desirable or practical to attempt to design a single system of schooling that is ideal for everyone? Can schools hold a neutral position regarding morality and values, or is education a fundamentally ethical enterprise that inevitably adopts a new moral framework when an old one is removed? In this presentation, Patrick Halbrook considered t...

The current education system in the United States is increasingly misaligned with the needs of many Americans. This paper explores the shortcomings of our “federalist” approach to education, emphasizing how federal overreach and bureaucratic stagnation have hindered progress and outcomes. While federal involvement was intended to promote equity and accountability, it has often devolved into inflex...

In this presentation, Robert Luddy walked through Thales Academy’s mission—to offer the highest quality education at the lowest possible price—and the real, practical steps that educational entrepreneurs can take to establish similar schools and educational institutions. Robert "Bob" Luddy is the Founder and Chairman of Thales Academy, Thales College, Franklin Academy, and St. Thomas More Academy,...

If values like respecting proper parental authority and discretion, promoting awareness and admiration for American and Western culture, preparing students for constructive and knowledgeable citizenship, and conveying an accurate sense of American history in world context, once again became priorities, as there were in the past, what would K-12 education look like? In this presentation, Professor...

Winston Brady offers opening remarks at the 2025 Liberty & Literacy Forum in Wake Forest North Carolina. The word "liberal" comes from the Latin "libertas," and within the word "libertas" is the word "liber," meaning “book." The Romans never separated "liberty" from a sound, content-rich education, and neither should we.  The ways of grammar, logic, and rhetoric taught students how to think an...

Kim Tully serves as the lead for the Luddy Industrial and Vocational Arts program and the Luddy Institute of Technology at Thales Academy. These programs guide students through the fundamental skills and topics and through rigorous hands-on activities and experiments, all of which are explained in detail and with photos throughout the books Kim Tully and her team have designed. In this episode, Ki...

Social media and smartphones present unprecedented challenges for educators and parents. Parents and teachers often recognize that smartphones and social media do not help students, but they have not had data to confirm this belief. In this episode of Developing Classical Thinkers, Ashley Bahor and Olivia Holliday discuss Jonathan Haidt's 2024 book "The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring o...

In this episode, Winston Brady speaks with Joseph Wolak, assistant head of school at the Thales Academy Apex JH / HS campus. Joe is a veteran teacher with over twenty years of experience teaching mathematics, and he shares his best tips and strategies in the classroom concerning pedagogy, classroom management, preparation, and grading for math teachers.

In this video, teachers Joe Wolak and Winston Brady walk through a fun lesson plan to do with students to calculate pi using some plates, mugs, some string, and a ruler. Free download available at https://bit.ly/4gV7Cyd

January 31-February 1, the CiRCE Institute held its annual FORMA Symposium, hosted on the beautiful campus at Belmont Abbey College. The  In this speech from the FORMA Symposium, Winston Brady addresses the plight of science education in the twenty-first century. Today, much of science education is not oriented toward truth but the cultivation and consolidation of power, with the objectivity of sc...