Curriculum Overview

curriculum_overview

Thales Academy's academic curriculum is designed to encourage students to achieve excellence. Our course of study provides a firm and balanced foundation for future studies, career success, and fulfillment in life, covering a broad range of content knowledge, real world skills, and character development. At Thales Academy, we:

  • Teach how to think and seek the truth
  • Cultivate excellent thinkers through the pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness
  • Teach proven concepts free of government influence
  • Foster character development, forming individuals of integrity
  • Encourage students to rise to their fullest potential daily
  • Help students develop the real world skills needed to contribute in meaningful ways to their communities
  • Invite families to join us in creating a supportive and positive school community
  • Develop work ethic and discipline that will lead to true freedom

The Thales Academy tagline, "Developing Classical Thinkers," is at the heart of our curriculum and guides everything we teach. At Thales Academy, we embrace classical education, a systematic, rigorous program that develops a student's ability to think critically and deeply about a subject. Classical education is rooted in the pursuit of objective truth and the process of connecting varying types of information to come to a higher understanding. We appreciate the importance of dialogue and discussion in the classroom ensuring students actively engage with the curriculum. Ultimately, it develops the skills needed for analytical problem solving and a lifetime of self-learning. Classical education consists of three distinct chronological phases:

  • The Grammar Phase: The first stage of learning, in grades Pre-K–5, in which basic facts are mastered. This stage includes learning the foundational structure of a subject, observation, and memory. Direct Instruction ensures that learning is maximized to the highest and most effective level.
  • The Logic Phase: The second stage of learning, in grades 6–8, in which students begin to discover why certain facts exist as certainties. Students begin asking questions, hypothesizing, and debating to determine cause and effect relationships and the deeper meaning of realities. The Socratic Method of discussion is introduced here and continues through grades 9–12.
  • The Rhetoric Phase: The final stage of learning, in grades 9–12, in which self-expression and high level communication skills are developed. Basic facts from the Grammar Phase and logical reasoning from the Logic Phase are combined to critically analyze a topic and develop original conclusions. Students practice the art of articulating their thoughts in meaningful and effective ways in order to confidently communicate their message to others. The Thales Academy Senior Thesis is the capstone project of this stage.

At Thales Academy, we are passionate about helping our students attain an excellent foundation that will guide them for years to come. For more information about classical education, see our Resources page.

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