The Top 15 Outcomes of a Thales Academy Student
"We teach students how to think and seek the truth, and we help them form good character and integrity while maintaining high academic standards."
Bob Luddy opens his book The Thales Way with
Why Thales?
In the late 1990s, as the founder and president of CaptiveAire, a growing HVAC manufacturer, it became clear to me that our most prepared and highly motivated employees became stellar performers without much additional training. These individuals were ready to take on challenging assignments quickly since they were well-prepared professionals.
Unfortunately, these individuals were in the minority, and I watched so many others struggle due to lack of skill, discipline, knowledge, or motivation. Some of our technicians could not understand basic fractions, while others could not read well. At the professional level, they lacked both the rigor and the ability to handle new challenges, which require adaptability and a continuous learning curve. More than that, I recognized that although most individuals can learn industry practices eventually, many are reluctant to adapt to the continuous dynamics of growth and improvement. Professional development programs at workplaces are not adequate to address these key deficits.
After hearing similar stories from fellow entrepreneurs, I decided that if we want to have qualified individuals in the North Carolina workplace, we need to start at the beginning. K-12 education became my passion.
As a result Bob became deeply involved in education, starting with charter schools, then a Catholic high school and now the private, secular Thales Academy, which has expanded to four states and 15 campuses.
Why not reform public schools?
Based on my experience, it is virtually impossible to change the K-12 status quo in public schools. The highly-entrenched educational bureaucracy prevents any type of positive change. Sometimes "Exit," a disruptive organizational approach that involves exiting the current system and creating a new one, is the best solution instead of trying to reform the current model.
In my opinion, one of the best features of Thales is that it appears to offer high value at an affordable price. See chart above and table below.
One foundational component was affordability for all interested students. An excellent education should not be unattainable because the financial costs are too burdensome. As with our previous schools, I knew my team could utilize human ingenuity to reduce the cost of education and allow for students to receive what is of utmost value to their personhood: a robust education aimed toward seeking truth, goodness, and beauty.
America is spending an average of $15,000 per student annually on education. See here. Compare this to Thales Academy where tuition is approximately $6,000 per student.
Wealthy families might see high tuition as a sign of quality or status, but that high tuition comes with unintended consequences—a country club atmosphere. I prefer a lower-cost school that is accessible to families with lower incomes. Why? Wealthy kids are more likely to be complacent. I expect Thales students to have more vigilance, grit and determination. Thales seems like a good place for higher-income families to be exposed to lower-income families working hard to lift themselves up to a better life. This mixing of experiences and ideas is helpful.
What is Thales Academy and how did it start?
In 2007, Thales Academy was born. Thales would be a private, non-profit school, uninhibited by state regulation and bureaucracy. As a private school, Thales Academy has the freedom to teach the Classics in the Judeo-Christian tradition. We began to teach the first group of students in a small suite behind our corporate office. Since then, Thales Academy has expanded to become one of the largest providers of private K-12 education in the area, educating thousands of students throughout the Southeast.
This book tells the story and philosophy of Thales Academy.
The purpose of this book 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.
Thales Academy was founded with ideas that trace back to Thales of Miletus, the first individual known to have engaged in scientific philosophy. The mission of Thales Academy is to provide an excellent and affordable education for students in Pre-K to 12th grades using Direct Instruction and a Classical Curriculum that embodies traditional American values, including character formation.
We teach students how to think and seek the truth, and we help them form good character and integrity while maintaining high academic standards. We continually improve our curriculum and our school culture to best serve our students. Kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement, is an important value at Thales Academy, and we regularly review all processes and protocols to ensure we are providing the very best educational experience for our families. Across the network, our goal is to cultivate excellent students in pursuit of truth, beauty, and goodness.
Many educators believe that accreditation is a sign of legitimacy. However, at Thales, we believe that rigid processes quickly become obsolete because the world is dynamic and constantly changing. Thales Academy made the decision to reject accreditation because it is a process of legacy inputs, not outcomes. Such inputs of time and energy take teachers away from students and hinder our purpose of providing the highest quality education. Instead, Thales Academy measures success by evaluating student outcomes such as university admissions, SAT/ACT test scores, school transcripts, senior theses, and quarterly teacher evaluations. Students must be able to research, think, debate, and write clearly and concisely. We utilize parent surveys to determine needed areas of improvement and always maintain a spirit of humility, anxious to improve.
Thales Academy made the decision to reject accreditation because accreditation is a process of inputs, not outcomes. (In his book Restoring the Promise, Richard Vedder dedicates a chapter to describing the poor incentives and waste created by accreditation at the post-secondary level. I will share about that chapter in the future).
What are some downsides of not being accredited? Upsides?
Bob finishes his intro with
This book is a reference book on how Thales Academy came to be, how we operate daily, and how we form and teach our students.
My favorite part of The Thales Way is the list of Top 15 Outcomes of a Thales Academy Student
The Thales Outcomes streamline our vision of character formation into something that is motivating, memorable, and comprehensive. These are the skills, habits, and virtues we hope Thales students will have mastered by the time they complete our programs and graduate. Not only are they visible in every classroom, but also these outcomes are embedded into the school culture.
1. UNFAILING INTEGRITY compels a person to follow a strong code of ethics with honesty in all situations.
2. A VIRTUOUS LEADER WITH WELL-DEVELOPED JUDGMENT combines thinking skills and traits such as humility, generosity, and courage.
3. SELF-RELIANCE creates confidence to depend on one's own powers and resources to meet all of one's needs.
4. A TRUTH SEEKER searches for the correct, right, or accurate explanation of reality following the scientific method.
5. A CRITICAL THINKER discerns the truth of a statement or observation through questioning and examination.
6. A CONTINUOUS LEARNER takes lessons from all aspects of life and work, learns from mistakes, and adapts to change.
7. COMPETENT TECHNICAL SKILLS allow individuals to join modern technological industries and navigate modern life.
8. ASTUTE PROBLEM-SOLVING leads one to identify the solutions to a problem, evaluate likely outcomes, assess risk, and choose correctly.
9. A COOPERATIVE AND CONTRIBUTIVE TEAM MEMBER knows how to collaborate to achieve successful results.
10. A STRONG WORK ETHIC links perseverance, reliability, and honesty.
11. DREAMS AND ASPIRATIONS TO CHANGE THE WORLD help us remember that directed efforts bring us closer to our goals.
12. TRADITIONAL AMERICAN VALUES AND ENTREPRENEURIALISM drive a leader to build and sustain a thriving economy.
13. WELL-DEVELOPED PEOPLE & COMMUNICATION SKILLS promote effective sharing with a clear message.
14. GRATITUDE acknowledges the gifts one has been given and the contributions of others.
15. A HEALTHY MIND, BODY, AND SPIRIT offer the freedom to operate at an optimal level and achieve a higher sense of fulfillment.
Is there anything missing from this list? Do public schools attempt similar outcomes? In what way are these religious values?
Questions to ponder and research:
What does it mean to seek the truth?
What is truth in the context of character education?
What is truth in the context of science?
What is truth in the context of religion?
What is Direct Instruction and how does it differ from Self-Directed Education?
How are the Top 15 Outcomes of a Thales Student related to virtues taught in the Bible and other Christian doctrines such as The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints?
How do the Top 15 Outcomes compare with what students might learn in a school focusing on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)?
How is Thales Academy able to offer what appears to be a better education for half the cost of a public school?
More from The Thales Way and Bob Buddy’s other book Entrepreneurial Life: The Path From Startup to Market Leader in the weeks to come.