Thales Press exists to promote the values and virtues of classical education by publishing textbooks, seminar readings, and videos to supplement the kind of education we call Classical.
Leadership and Director of Curriculum
Winston Brady has taught at Thales Academy since 2011 and has served Thales Academy in a variety of ways. During that time, he has taught history, trivium, and literature at almost every grade level from 6th grade through 12th grade, as well as the occasional Latin class. He also hosts the Thales Academy podcast, Developing Classical Thinkers. Mr. Brady serves as the Director of 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, Rachel, and three boys, Hunter, Jack, and Samuel.
Mr. Brady received a B.A. in English from the College of William and Mary, a M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, and a MBA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Mr Brady serves as the Director of Curriculum and Thales Press.
The Thales Way
In 2007, Thales Academy was born with a simple vision: Provide a high quality, affordable education. Daily, we strive to improve our methods and raise the bar of excellence, while simultaneously streamlining efficiencies in order to keep costs low. We are committed to providing the best opportunities for as many students as possible.
The mission of Thales Academy is to provide an excellent and affordable education for students in Pre-K to 12th grades through the use of Direct Instruction and a Classical Curriculum that embodies traditional American values.
Thales provides a rigorous academic environment that fosters ethical behavior, critical thinking, virtuous leadership, lifelong learning, and truth seeking with a firm foundation in cognitive, non-cognitive, and technical skills. As a result, Thales Academy students are well prepared to succeed in higher education, career, and life while positively impacting the world around them.
The purpose of The Thales Way is to elaborate on the history and mission of Thales Academy, explain the rationale for our educational approaches, and provide standards and methods for teachers, students, and families. Written by the founder of Thales Academy, Robert Luddy, The Thales Way examines the history of the school and the philosophy that supports the mission and vision of Thales Academy.
Socrates for Middle Schoolers
So much of Western philosophy is built upon the insights of Socrates. Preserved in the dialogues of Plato, Socrates' faithful student, Socrates' persistent questioning and investigation into what is true, good, and beautiful are some of the most influential philosophical works ever written. Socrates' insights on the nature of the good life and the contemplation of truth, beauty, and goodness are more needed today than ever before. To provide an authentic means to explore these insights, Thales Readers: Socrates for Middle Schoolers compiles selections from Plato's dialogues including Plato's Apology, The Republic, Euthyphro, and Gorgias. That way, students have the opportunity to read these seminal works and discover these significant ideas for themselves, ideas that challenge the mind, stir the heart, and can fundamentally transform a student's life for the better once they come to grasp Socrates' reasoning. Each chapter includes a short introduction, a short selection from Plato, reading comprehension questions, vocabulary, and an essay prompt.
Galileo's Thought Experiments
The readings in the Thales Builds series are meant to connect the wisdom of ancient masters with the real-world, practical engineering skills students need to take on today's challenges. This edition of Thales Builds offers selections from Galileo's Two New Sciences alongside engineering projects to test out Galileo's findings. This text includes reading comprehension questions, exercises to aid in analytical reading, and explanations on how to set up and recreate Galileo's experiments.
Statistics & Inductive Reasoning
Statistics & Inductive Reasoning examines the subject of statistics, inductive reasoning, and data analysis. This reader contains a brief history of statistics, data visualization, and then an overview of the means of statistical measurements such as average, median, mode, and standard deviation using Microsoft Excel. Then, Statistics & Inductive Reasoning provides an overview of linear regression analysis with a project on how to run such an exercise in Excel. Lastly, Statistics and Inductive Reasoning includes two primary source readings from the British economist David Ricardo (1723-1811) and Principles of Political Economy and Taxation. Each section includes reading comprehension questions and exercises to aid classroom discussion, as well as an answer key and suggested writing prompts.
Thales Readers: Western Science
Taught classically, science should help students cultivate wonder, rigor, and virtue. Such an approach begins in contemplation about the natural world and how it works, alongside a rigorous, analytical approach to understand its mysterious cause-and-effect relationship of the world and natural phenomena. To that end, Thales Readers: Western Science is a primary source reader featuring text from scientists who displayed the same sorts of habits we classical educators hope to inculcate in our students. Texts include the likes of Thales of Miletus, Aristotle, Francis Bacon, René Descartes, and Galileo Galilei. Each chapter includes a brief introduction to the text and the scientist who wrote it, alongside reading comprehension questions, an essay prompt concerning the habits of successful scientists, and exercises to aid students in reading and understanding these significant texts.
Thales Readers: Euclid and the Three Acts of the Mind
Euclid (mid-4th century) is one of the most influential mathematicians in world history. Euclid's Elements, moreover, is one the most influential mathematics textbooks ever written, and his work did much to establish the contours of mathematics, geometry, and logic. To help introduce students to Euclid's work and the significance of his ideas, this Thales Readers: Euclid and the Three Acts of the Mind contains a short introduction to Euclid, the times in which he lived, and how Euclid helped to change the trajectory of mathematics education by rooting math in transcendent, universal ideas. We have provided a selection from Book III of Euclid's Elements, with a special focus on Proposition 31, otherwise known as Thales' Theorem. Exercises (with an answer key) have been included in this reading, as well as an essay prompt.
A Primer in Economics
What is economics, and how does the study of economics fit within a classical education? This short primer offers an introduction to economics and the value of studying this social science, as well as an overview of noteworthy economists including Adam Smith, David Ricardo, and Frédéric Bastiat. Lastly, we have included a short selection from Bastiat entitled The Parable of the Broken Window to showcase the power of economic thinking. As a combination workbook and textbook, Thales Readers: A Primer in Economics includes reading comprehension questions and other work to help students and teachers engage with the material.