Developing Classical Thinkers

Join literature teachers Ali Graziosi, an expert in Southern Gothic storytelling, and Chelsea Wagenaar, a poet with a knack for F. Scott Fitzgerald, as they tackle the quest for the 'Great American Novel.' They explore works from Faulkner's fragmented narratives to Gatsby's disillusionment with the American Dream. The conversation dives into the defining characteristics of this elusive title, touching on iconic authors like Twain and Hemingway, while also considering the ongoing significance of the past in shaping American literature.

The keynote address from the Fall Classical Summit, 2024. In this talk, Dr. Ryan Olson examines the value of classical education and the role the study of great books and great ideas contributes to the formation of great character. to resist the sweep of impoverished influences by nurturing your personal and professional soul in the moral sources of the rich Classical tradition we have inherited.Dr. Ryan Olson is the Director of the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture at the University of Virginia. A classicist, Olson’s scholarship has focused on the literary, historical, religious, and cultural context of the Levant from the Roman era through Late Antiquity.This lecture was delivered live at the Fall Classical Summit, a regional classical conference held at Thales Academy Rolesville Junior High-High School on October 4, 2024. Interested in teaching at Thales Academy?Please check out our website if you are interested in pursuing a career at Thales Academy and learning about needs across our network. Find out more at https://www.thalesacademy.org/contact/careers.

In 1845, Congress passed a law designating the first Tuesday in November as election day. Henceforth, the nation would vote every four years for a Presidential candidate, members of the House of Representatives, and, depending on the year, a suite of Senate candidates, with elections for other offices occurring in by-years depending on the state and the locality. The act of voting each year is often seen as the bare minimum of a citizen’s political participation. Voting is indeed an important, sacred trust that American citizens from age 18 upwards should not take for granted, for the vast majority of people across the world do not get a say in their “elected" officials or the policies that their leaders carry out.Voting is neither the floor nor the ceiling of our political participation. Indeed, it is just one more thing we do to “keep” our republic, to quote an oft-told story from Benjamin Franklin at the close of the Constitutional Convention.At the end of the convention, a local Philadelphia resident asked Benjamin Franklin: “Well Doctor, what have we got? A republic or a monarchy? She asked. At this, Franklin quipped, “A republic!...If you can keep it!”Franklin’s reply is a reminder: a republican government (like that of the United States) needs its citizens to have virtue, those “habits of moral excellence” if we are to keep our republic--and virtue lies at the heart of classical education and of our responsibility as citizens in the greatest country in the world. Let us not take this responsibility lightly but do our duty to keep the freedoms we have been entrusted with.

Why do we dedicate one night of the year to wearing costumes and asking for candy? How did such an odd holiday become an established part of the American calendar? Should students at a classical school be celebrating such a holiday? Is Halloween classical?In this episode, Winston Brady and Josh Herring talk through the ways Halloween may or may not be classical. Halloween largely derives from the Catholic feast day of All Saints’ Day and All Hallow’s Eve, celebrated on a day that the ancient, pagan Irish used to celebrate a holiday called Samhain (pronounced, saa-wn).In one sense, perhaps, Halloween is classical. Herein, we have a pagan holiday absorbed by a Christian feast day so that the occasion for gathering together and celebrating still remains–even if its dark undertones are obscured. Much of what we call classical education focuses on the relationship between Jerusalem and Athens (and Rome, for that matter). Think of the city of Rome, full of obelisks taken from pagan Egypt which the Catholic Church crowned with Christian crosses, symbolizing the Christian world’s triumph over the forces of paganism.But of course today, those Christian overtones are largely missing from Halloween. Now, the night is a chance to escape one’s identity, eat gobs of candy, and perhaps engage in mischief–elements that are most likely, not classical, in the sense of classical education’s emphasis on virtue. Good character is what you do when no one is looking over your shoulder, a voluntary act of the will to pursue what is good, true, and beautiful. After all, classical education emphasizes human dignity and gratitude for the way that God created you. Classical education emphasizes self-control and personal responsibility, so one should never eat too much candy in one sitting, regardless of the day.Also, classical education emphasizes traditional morality and love of neighbor, so we would never encourage, tolerate, or promote the toilet papering of trees or the smashing of pumpkins. The mischievous elements of Halloween are in that way, uniquely unclassical. So, this Halloween, if you go out and get candy, be safe. If you wear a costume, put some thought into it so that it’s clever and whole, both ingenious and ingenuous at the same time–not merely a costume you bought online. Be safe, and resist the temptation to engage in those Halloween pranks that do nothing to cultivate what is good, true, and beautiful.And be aware of the background of some of the elements of Halloween–the spooky, ghostly elements–that might make for an interesting discussion with friends. Indeed, they may be the best argument for staying inside on Halloween and just reading a good ghost story.We can acknowledge some reasonable, healthy religious impulses in existing pagan traditions and in the way described in the episode, “baptize” them. All the while though, we should, of course, recognize the ghastly, unnatural, and evil impulses and reject those elements of the holiday. A classical education should equip us to choose what is good and persuade others to choose what is good, too–and such things aren’t thrown out just because it’s Halloween.

In this webinar, Winston Brady, Kellie Scripter, Chris Scripter, and Matt Ogle conducted a model seminar for teachers over the opening chapters of Quintilian's "On the Education of an Orator." They presented and modeled best practices for seminar teaching and the kinds of habits, disposition, and overall love of learning teachers need to encourage in their students. That way, students and teachers can get the most out of reading these significant texts.Quintilian lived from 35 to 100 AD and wrote an influential treatise on education, the aptly-titled "On the Education of an Orator." The work is one of a precious few on education and teaching from the ancient world and covers a wide variety of topics to equip a Roman boy to become an orator, a student "not (merely) blameless in morals only" but also equipped with "every excellence of mind."The work is subsequently ideal for classical educators to read to remind ourselves of the goals of classical education and how we can bring out the very best in our students.

History, as the name implies, is a story, and history, at its best, is the most engaging and exhilarating story. As a story told about the past, the study of history contains meaningful insights about the present; insights that, if properly presented, should inspire students to make better choices in the future.Thus, the study of history holds a particularly important role in classical education, for history class offers the very best examples of human achievement for students to study and to help form their character for the better. Classical education takes students through the great books, so those great students can take on the whole world. We designed The Thales Canon with this goal in mind for Junior High and High School students.In this episode, Keller Moore talks to Winston Brady about this new history series and examines some strategies for teaching middle school history.

Today's episode is from a short training video produced by Thales Press for classical educators.Classical educators use conversation in the classroom as a teaching method. By asking questions, we can determine if a student is off task and not listening, and we can help students understand a difficult concept.And thoughtful, meaningful engagement in a good discussion is one of the simplest ways to measure a students' depth of understanding and attentiveness.Matt Ogle is the Head of Classical Education at Thales Academy. He has taught both the humanities and the sciences and has served in a variety of leadership roles over his long career in education.Interested in teaching at Thales Academy? Please check out our website if you are interested in pursuing a career at Thales Academy and learning about needs across our network. Find out more at https://www.thalesacademy.org/contact.

Today's episode is from a short training video produced by Thales Press for classical educators.In this recording, Winston Brady covers three helpful, simple rules (although they are more like “hypothetical scenarios") gleaned from years he taught middle school. Classroom management for classical educators requires a unique mix of leadership principles.Teachers should be patient and kind; they should model the same love of learning they hope to see in their students; and they should have high expectations for student behavior that teachers positively reinforce each day. In general, the best practice is to have relatively few rules–maybe 3 to 6–so they are easier for the teacher to enforce fairly, and for students to know what are the appropriate consequences if they break said rule. Winston Brady is the Director of Curriculum & Thales Press, an in-house publishing firm that produces textbooks, readings, and videos for Thales Academy and like-minded classical schools. He lives in Wake Forest with his wife and children.Interested in teaching at Thales Academy? Please check out our website if you are interested in pursuing a career at Thales Academy and learning about needs across our network. Find out more at https://www.thalesacademy.org/contact.

In a sense, grades shouldn't matter. Learning should be a joyful activity undertaken for its own sake. Grading and assessing can do much to stifle a student's appreciation, curiosity, and wonder. Yet, at the same time, a contemporary school with large classes has few other means to encourage students to do the work and provide feedback on their behavior. After all, grades communicate valuable feedback as far as student effort and achievement. So how can we make grades really work for the student and teacher and help keep the classroom moving in a positive direction? In this episode, Winston Brady and Matt Ogle discuss grades and a teacher's grade book. Among the topics they cover are the number of grades, the value of completion grades, the superiority of accuracy grades, and the benefits of keeping a well-managed grade book that accurately reflects what was covered in class and how it was assessed. Note: Please excuse the sound quality, given that Matt and Winston recorded en route to visiting a Thales campus. Interested in teaching at Thales Academy? Be sure to check us out at www.thalesacademy.org.

Dorothy Sayers presented a paper entitled The Lost Tools of Learning at a summer conference at Oxford in 1947. In the paper, she makes a rather astute observation about “end-of-term reports” which should “combine a deep veneration for truth with a tender respect for the feelings of all concerned.” Ms. Sayers’ description of comments is profound. The task of writing report card comments seems very burdensome and weighty, but is a task that the teacher should value. Such comments are the last opportunity in the quarter to offer encouragement and advice to students while giving a seal of approval on their progress over the course of the quarter. In light of this advice on writing report card comments, here are the best tips from Matt and Winston on writing report card comments:Deliver compliment sandwiches: Present one piece of encouragement with one meaningful, courteous way the students can (or should) improve for the next quarter. Write comments throughout the quarter: Make a roster at the beginning of the quarter and add to that roster great things students did in class–good comments, meaningful insights, a great diorama here or there–these specific pieces of feedback go a long way in encouraging students. When in doubt, email: If the comment gets too specific, includes too many action items, or seems like it could be misinterpreted, email or call parents and let them know what you’re seeing.