Developing Classical Thinkers Developing Classical Thinkers

In this episode, Winston Brady speaks with Lauren Spier about the Fort Raleigh historical site, better known as the "Lost Colony." They discuss the history of the site--who founded the colony and how the site became "lost"--as well as suggestions for parking and food options for teachers and parents planning a field trip to visit the site. 

The park is located at 1401 National Park Dr, Manteo, NC 27954 and they can be reached at (252) 473-2111. More information can be found at https://www.nps.gov/fora/index.htm

In this episode, Winston Brady speaks with Dr. Gary Hartenburg, director of the Honors College at Houston Christian University and an Associate Professor of Philosophy. In the episode, they discuss the dialogues of Plato, the questioning habits of Socrates, and the very nature of truth, goodness, and reality itself--a can't miss episode, to be sure! 

For more information on Dr. Hartenburg's work, check out his faculty profile at Houston Christian University: https://hc.edu/contact/gary-hartenburg/

This week, we are reposting this 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.

Thank you to everyone who serves or has served in our military for your time, support, and sacrifice for the freedoms we enjoy each day.

In this webinar, Dr. Anthony Esolen examined three seminal works art: Raphael's "The School of Athens" and two paintings from John Singer Sargent's "The Triumph of Religion" with "The Israelites Oppressed" and "The Messianic Era." The beauty we see, hear, or touch has the power to enter our minds and memories more powerfully than do philosophical or political abstractions expressed in words.

As teachers, we must remember this, especially when we want to introduce our students to ways of life embodied in another culture. A painting--even the decorated hilt of a sword--can work wonders. 

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 author or translator of more than 30 books, which include a range of English translations, analyses of culture, literary and Biblical criticisms, meditations on modern education, meditations on the Christian life, and original poetry.

Dr. Esolen is a senior editor and regular writer at Touchstone magazine and has published well over 1000 articles in a wide variety of journals. With his wife, Debra, he writes a daily a web magazine, Word & Song, dedicated to language, music, poetry, and classic film.

In this episode, Winston Brady speaks with Heather Bakogiannias, Brittney Massey, and Katherine Greco-Fortney about their recent trip to the National Symposium for Classical Education held in March of 2024 in Phoenix Arizona. 

The National Symposium for Classical Education is hosted by the Great Hearts Institute and this year, focused on the theme of "Renewing the Great Conversation." For these classical educators, their highlights from the trip included leadership insights from former prime minister of Australia Tony Abbott, the need for more Socrates and more classical wisdom from Roosevelt Montás, and wisdom on how to deal with (or avoid) social media usage from Jane Austen. 

For classical educators, stay tuned to the Great Hearts Institute for more information about next year's conference: https://classicaleducationsymposium.org/

In November of 2022, OpenAI launched ChatGPT, a chatbot capable of answering simple questions from users to writing papers, essays, blogs, and other forms of longform communication–sometimes so well that people cannot tell that the difference between a paper written by a student and one written by a machine.

Since then, educators have been divided in their response to ChatGPT: do we embrace this new form of technology and teach students how to use it effectively, or do we encourage students to refrain from using it, even as more and more professionals in a wide number of fields are using chatbots to do their work for them–marketing, insurance, finance, healthcare, and more. But in the field of education, will this form of technology actually deliver on its promises to students. Or, will it be as earlier innovations, like devices in classrooms, that underdelivered on its promises and may have actually impeded student progress?

In this panel, classical education leaders Joe Davison (Thales College), Chelsea Wagenaar (Ph.D., Thales Academy Rolesville), Winston Brady (Thales Press), and Matthew Ogle (Thales Academy Rolesville) on the background of ChatGPT, hy students should not use these products, and what these AI-empowered technologies mean for students and educators going forward. In short, this panel of teachers and leaders explained why students should refrain from using artificial intelligence chatbots students in their writing because such programs shortcircuit the valuable process of writing, researching, and ultimately thinking for oneself.

This panel was held on April 25, 2024 at the Thales Academy Rolesville campus.