Developing Classical Thinkers

Interested in sending your student to a classical school? Want In this episode, we look at three factors that separate classical schools from other institutions: the curriculum, the teachers, and the students. This episode is based off an article written by host Winston Brady that appeared on the American Spectator on July 12, 2023. That article is available here: https://spectator.org/a-guide-for...

On today's episode, Winston speaks with Marianna Davidovich, Chief External Affairs Officer at the Foundation for Economic Education. On the program, they discuss her backstory and how it shaped her understanding and love of liberty, as featured in articles published at FEE, as well as the important role that the rule of law and entrepreneurialism play in promoting a free society and a high standa...

In this special episode, Winston Brady sits down for an interview about Research & Writing , a new writing textbook with a unique primary source-driven focus. Written by senior members of the trivium faculty at Thales Academy, namely, Winston, Elizabeth Jetton, and Josh Herring, Research & Writing integrates grammar and writing lessons with primary source texts. The goal of the Research &a...

In this presentation, Matt Ogle encouraged students and students alike to take greater responsibility for their own learning. Taking a cue from "The Law of Diffusion of Innovation" and "the tipping point," Matt urged teachers to hold their students to high expectations and positively reinforce them each day. Students will rise or fall to the expectations placed on them, and students tend to succee...

An excellent teacher inspires students to love learning, has high expectations for content and behavior, and invests in students beyond the classroom. Dr. Josh Herring of Thales College describes three excellent teachers from his own education as a way of encouraging teachers to pursue excellence in their craft as they consider the beginning of a new school year. Josh Herring (PhD, Humanities) ser...

Winston Brady explains how parents and teachers work together for the mutual upbuilding of students. This relationship is a unique, collaborative partnership between teachers and parents for the time teachers have these students in their classes. Winston presents three ways parents can join in the work of classical education: asking, challenging, and encouraging. By asking students questions about...

In this presentation from the Conference of Miletus, Bob Luddy offers his vision for virtuous leadership. Bob argues that leaders, particularly in the field of education, have a responsibility to cultivate good character and personal integrity if they are to be effective leaders who educate students to their highest potential. Robert "Bob" Luddy is the Founder and Chairman of Thales Academy, Thale...

In this episode, Winston speaks with Kon Bouzikos, President of ACES ( Australian Classical Education Society) about the growing movement of classical education in Australia. ACES is a group of teachers and parents across Australia interested in promoting classical education through various means. The mission of ACES is to create classical schools, train teachers and parents, and allow all student...

In this episode, Winston Brady speaks with Crystal Joy Campbell, a classical education consultant based in Alberta, Canada. They speak about the educational landscape in Canada, as well as the growing number of classical schools and programs in Canada that are helping students to appreciate beauty, recognize truth, and live out the nature of the good life. Find more about Crystal Joy Campbell and...

In this episode, Winston Brady speaks with a group of seniors from Thales Academy Rolesville about their time in high school. To these seniors and everyone graduating this year, especially those seniors who have been classically educated , congratulations! As evidenced by this episode, this group of seniors has accomplished many great things already and, during their time in high school, has studi...

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 this webinar, Mrs. Warfield presented practical tips for teaching students how to annotate texts and how annotating can help students develop better reading habits. Topics included the habits of active reading, good questioning, and annotating, as well as ways to encourage whole-group class discussions over texts that matter. A Knightdale native, Mrs. Warfield is a graduate of Pennsylvania Stat...

Since ancient times, classical educators regarded math as a subject to make one wise. Math demonstrates the order, beauty, and harmony in the world around us in a way language cannot always do, and classical education roots the teaching of math in the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness. In this episode, host Winston Brady speaks with Phillip Johnson, Professor of Engineering and Sciences at Th...

On this episode, host Winston Brady speaks with CiRCE-certified educator Kristen Rudd on the value of classical education in general and on Dante's Divine Comedy in particular—why students should read it and the insights they'll gain for life by finishing Inferno , Purgatorio, and Paradiso . Kristen has homeschooled her two children for 15 years, and she is in the final year of her homeschooling j...

Elizabeth Jetton, a long-time teacher of 6th through 8th grade trivium, will share her insights for teaching middle school students how to write. Her workshop will introduce the steps of the writing process, revising their writing and adding sentence dress-ups, and paragraph structure in and alongside how to introduce these concepts to students. Mrs. Jetton earned a B.A. in English with a minor in...

ChatGPT is an AI-powered chatbot, capable of producing short and long form written communication. Unlike previous iterations of AI-powered chatbots, ChatGPT produces essays, blog posts, and other forms of written communication that are almost indistinguishable from those written by a human being. When the service was launched in November of 2022, educators and parents immediately recognized the ch...

John Henry Crosby, the president and founder of the Hildebrand Project, joins Bob Luddy in a discussion on "The Dethronement of Truth" by Dietrich von Hildebrand. Hildebrand (1889–1977) was a major personalist philosopher, heralded as "one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century" by Pope John Paul II. Amongst his numerous books and publications, Hildebrand was a prolific essayist, includin...

Classical education cultivates people of excellence through the contemplation of truth, beauty, and goodness–and a Spanish classroom should do the same, albeit in Spanish! The art and literature of Spain provide a worthy vehicle to discuss beautiful things, providing that one has the resources to focus on Spain’s artistic and cultural treasures, read beautiful poetry in Spanish, or talk about such...

Each year, Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky releases a report entitled the “Festivus’ Report on Government Waste.” He catalogs different projects that the federal government has used taxpayer dollars on that, in Paul’s estimation, is not a wise use of tax payer funds. Many of these projects are funded through various scientific laboratories and, upon reading the list, looks eerily similar to the adve...

To celebrate and explain St. Patrick’s Day, today’s episode features a brief biography of St. Patrick. Roman-British missionary St. Patrick lived from 385 to 461 and is famous for bringing Christianity to the people of Ireland. Learn the full story and how Patrick’s life shows the value of being classically educated. The quote from St. Patrick’s Confessio is available from https://www.confessio.ie...

Socrates described himself as the "gadfly" of Athens, someone who continually bothered Athenian citizens with his incessant questioning. Socrates' goal with these questions was to spur people onto greater understanding and self-reflection--and this is ultimately the goal of the teacher imitating Socrates in the classroom through Socratic questioning. In this episode, Isaac Jennings and Winston Bra...

In this webinar geared for middle school teachers, Heather Brame and Winston Brady will present best teaching practices for teachers with large classes. Heather Brame will present an overview of direct instruction and strategies for implementing DI into their lessons. That way, teachers will have more tools to facilitate student engagement and aid in student understanding. Winston, meanwhile, will...

On this special President's Day episode, host Winston Brady interviews Amity Shlaes, author of four New York Times -bestsellers and Chairman of the Board of the Calvin Coolidge Foundation, to celebrate the life and example of President Calvin Coolidge. On President's Day, we focus on those presidents who accomplished great deeds for their country: men like George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, and...

Happy Valentine's Day! In this reposted episode, Winston Brady speaks with longtime DCT contributor Will Begley about the life of St. Valentine. St. Valentine is a holiday that many people celebrate but few people know why we do so. When did we start celebrating Valentine's Day? Who was St. Valentine? Why hearts? Was this holiday cooked up to sell cards and chocolate, or was there something real,...

In this episode, host Winston Brady speaks with Jarrid Looney, humanities teacher and Upper School Director at Millennium Charter Academy in Mount Airy, NC. On the episode, they discuss the joys of teaching at a classical school, what makes the charter schools unique in the educational space, and their favorite books. Millennium Charter Academy is an independent, public school whose classroom is t...