HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive
Welcome to HeightsCast, the podcast of The Heights School. With over 200 episodes, HeightsCast discusses the education of young men fully alive in the liberal arts tradition. The program engages teachers and thought-leaders in the educational/cultural space to support our community of listeners: parents, teachers, and school leaders seeking to educate the young men in their care. Instead of downloads, HeightsCast's most important metric for success is the unknown number of thoughtful discussions it prompts in homes, faculty lunchrooms, and communities around the country and the world. Thank you for listening; thank you for continuing the conversation.
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Dr. Matthew Mehan on Imagination: The Raw Material for Thinking
08/21/2025
Dr. Matthew Mehan on Imagination: The Raw Material for Thinking
Properly understood, the imagination is not something you escape to; it’s something you draw upon every day to make decisions, understand events, and communicate. This week on HeightsCast, Dr. Matthew Mehan explores the purposes of the imagination and the habits of wit and wisdom that help us insightfully process our world. We may think of the imagination at odds with reality. But, he says, cultivating the imagination actually makes us more capable, “wittier” thinkers about reality. Chapters: 00:03:05 Defining the imagination 00:05:31 “Good mother wit” 00:08:25 How LLMs undermine the wit 00:11:05 Beyond the “moral imagination” 00:15:33 Imagination of the Founding Fathers 00:20:03 Aesop and governing your animal spirits 00:24:28 The mistakes of Naturalism 00:27:57 18th century ABCs 00:32:13 Role models for the civic imagination 00:40:38 Who chooses what goes in 00:43:26 Reality educates us 00:46:39 Recommendations for parents 00:52:24 Metaphor control: guarding your hope 01:02:33 Humor and joy Links: , Matthew Mehan’s website by Matthew Mehan by Matthew Mehan by Matthew Mehan by Tom Cox by Aesop, with an introduction by G. K. Chesterton by James Cook by The Merry Beggars by Tom Longano Also on the Forum: by Matthew Mehan by Alvaro de Vicente featuring Alvaro de Vicente by Kyle Blackmer Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Colin Gleason on Discipline: Giving Room for Good Things
08/07/2025
Colin Gleason on Discipline: Giving Room for Good Things
by Terrence O. Moore by Harper Lee by G. K. Chesterton Also on the Forum: by Alvaro de Vicente featuring Colin Gleason by Andrew Reed Featured Opportunities: at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Chris Vander Woude on Ordinary and Heroic Virtue
07/24/2025
Chris Vander Woude on Ordinary and Heroic Virtue
In 2008, Tom Vander Woude died saving the life of his youngest son. But this radical self-gift was really the culmination of a quiet life of daily virtue with a heart of faith. Chris Vander Woude, the fifth of Tom and Mary Ellen’s seven sons, now carries the story of his father’s life and death across the country, as well as sharing the process towards canonization that began this year with the assignment of a postulator in Rome. Chris joins us today to speak about fatherhood and the extraordinary man who exemplified it for him. Chris invites you to reach out to him at or . Chapters: 00:04:50 The life of Tom Vander Woude 00:07:34 His sacrificial death 00:17:17 His character 00:23:23 Physical strength: one’s readiness for action 00:28:52 Faith: one’s trust and mission 00:39:18 Fatherhood and Down syndrome 00:50:52 Father of seven sons: tandem work 01:00:10 Tom’s discipline: priorities and good humor 01:04:39 Hosting and friend culture 01:07:44 Tom as a husband 01:13:03 Balancing family and community 01:17:22 Towards canonization 01:28:44 “Man fully alive” Links: , website , video interviews with the Vander Woude family by Fr. Mark-Mary Ames, featuring Tom Vander Woude’s story , National Catholic Register, 3 July 2025 Also on the Forum: featuring Fr. Carter Griffin by Mark Grannis Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Alvaro de Vicente on Enjoying Our Children and Why It’s Important
07/10/2025
Alvaro de Vicente on Enjoying Our Children and Why It’s Important
They know we love them; but do our children sense that we like them? And how does that relate to their formation? In the intense season of togetherness that is summer break, headmaster Alvaro de Vicente recommends four practices to help us live more in the present and enjoy our children—even when the anxieties of life come knocking. Chapters: 00:02:17 Distinction between loving and liking 00:06:49 Four tools for cultivating “like”: 00:08:02 1. Express triple-gratitude 00:10:45 2. Spend unnecessary time 00:15:25 3. Find the humor 00:17:15 4. Pray for the grace 00:18:38 Why liking them matters 00:22:59 Living in the present: an antidote to anxiety 00:29:12 The “four tools” for teachers 00:35:42 Whether humor belongs in bad situations 00:41:14 Don’t take the bad too personally 00:46:03 Emotional stabilizers: marriage, friendship, prayer Links: by Fr. Jean C. J. D’Elbée by Leif Enger by Douglas Brunt Also on the Forum: featuring Alvaro de Vicente featuring Tom Royals Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Dr. Joseph Lazilotti on the Sex Difference in Education
06/26/2025
Dr. Joseph Lazilotti on the Sex Difference in Education
Months ago, Heights teacher Joe Lanzilotti took up a prodigious project: reviewing the body of popular literature on boys’ education. Partway through his journey, Dr. Lanzilotti catches us up on the diversity of scientific, biological, psychological, and moral perspectives—and how they cohere into a bigger picture of boys and where their developmental needs differ from those of girls. Framing the evidence with papal guidance from the last century gives us a solid starting-point to consider the education of boys according to their nature. Chapters: 00:04:09 The timeline of research on boys 00:08:26 Why attend to the sex difference 00:10:36 Definition of a man: fatherhood, sonship 00:15:06 Sex differences manifest early 00:21:05 The secular evidence supports natural law 00:28:51 The importance of role models 00:32:10 Single-sex education 00:34:55 Athletic trials 00:36:10 Male friendship 00:42:11 The collaboration of men and women 00:50:25 Parents, teachers: be not afraid 00:59:40 Educate boys according to their nature Links: by Louann Brizendine by Anthony Esolen by Anthony Esolen by Jonathan Haidt by Christina Hoff Sommers by Eleanor Maccoby by Leonard Sax by Michael Reichert, which Dr. Lanzilotti critiques by Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger by Pope John Paul II by Pope John Paul II , training programs on boys’ and girls’ academic development , advocates for evidence-based policy solutions Also on the Forum: by Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti by Dr. Joseph Lazilotti Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025) January Workshop at The Heights School (January 7-9, 2026) link coming soon May Workshop at The Heights School (May 6-8, 2026) link coming soon
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Clare Morell on the Tech Exit: How Smartphones Undermine Our Parenting—and How to Reverse Course
06/12/2025
Clare Morell on the Tech Exit: How Smartphones Undermine Our Parenting—and How to Reverse Course
The ever-changing tech landscape and the ever-growing research on interactive screens means that the topic must come up anew year after year. For parents trying to keep pace, Clare Morell has compiled the most up-to-date research into her recent release, The Tech Exit. Armed with the facts and interviews with dozens of Tech Exit families, she encourages parents that it’s never too late to reverse course on smartphones. United with other families trying to do the same, we can replace the new “smartphone milestone” with real milestones that emphasize the goods of the real world. Chapters: 00:03:56 Getting the metaphor right 00:08:32 The myth of time limits, parental controls 00:11:24 Boys and online extortion 00:14:23 A culture inherent to smartphone use 00:17:51 A parent’s willpower vs. Big Tech 00:22:30 The alternatives: feature phones, landlines 00:31:25 Not your mama’s internet 00:34:43 Brain drain: new research on attention, making memories 00:39:41 How to reverse course with teens 00:43:01 The 30-day digital fast 00:47:17 A new digital paradigm: F.E.A.S.T. 00:56:13 Digital accountability in the home 01:00:30 Morell’s personal tech use 01:05:22 The father’s role 01:09:56 Encouragement to start Links: by Clare Morell by Clare Morell by Victoria Dunckley by Anna Lembke by Jonathan Haidt , 7 June 2025, WSJ , 5 June 2024, WSJ , April 2017, UChicago Press Also on the Forum: featuring Alvaro de Vicente by Michael Moynihan by George Martin featuring Alvaro de Vicente featuring Joe Cardenas Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Dr. Matthew Tapie and Dr. Lionel Yaceczko on Parental Authority and Thomas Aquinas
06/05/2025
Dr. Matthew Tapie and Dr. Lionel Yaceczko on Parental Authority and Thomas Aquinas
In 1858, six-year-old Edgardo Mortara is forcibly removed from his family’s home in accordance with civil and canon law. His Jewish family’s legal appeal invokes, to great effect, the theology of St. Thomas Aquinas. Dr. Matthew Tapie and former Heights teacher Dr. Lionel Yaceczko join us this week to pull apart this difficult case with the assistance of St. Thomas, who gives a theological basis for parental authority in accordance with natural law—a useful perspective for our culture today. Chapters: 00:04:06 The Mortara Case (1858) 00:11:12 The personality of an original document 00:15:23 The Mortaras’ appeal to Thomas Aquinas 00:17:13 Handling difficult history 00:21:36 Thomas Aquinas: natural law and parental duties 00:33:39 Parallel roles of educator, translator 00:39:07 Gradual handoff of parental authority to the child 00:46:06 Why the Mortara Case resurfaces today Links: by Dr. Matthew Tapie by Alasdair MacIntyre movie (2023) Also on the Forum: by Mark Grannis Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Christopher Scalia on Finding Your Next Novel
05/29/2025
Christopher Scalia on Finding Your Next Novel
In a world competing for our attention, our guest this week admits: “It’s probably harder to read novels now than it ever was.” But their value cannot be overstated. The novel’s unique humanity, its careful and open treatment of the human experience, helps us to develop a sympathetic imagination, tuning our hearts and minds in a way that non-fiction argument simply cannot. Christopher Scalia, author of 13 Novels Conservatives Will Love (but Probably Haven’t Read), makes the case that it is a distinctly conservative interest to explore the Western tradition through fiction. Recommendations in hand, he invites adults to refresh their reading list with novels—from the very inception of the form up to the present. Chapters: 1:47 The great book rut 4:11 Novels: the medium of recent Western tradition 5:30 The 18th-century bildungsroman 9:47 “Conservative” themes 16:18 The American dream in My Ántonia 22:39 Miraculous realism in Peace Like a River 29:02 Acknowledging the existence of evil 31:44 Wonder and encounter over strict interpretation 37:03 Revisiting works from your school years 38:47 Why narrative works 42:01 Books that nearly made the cut Links: by Christopher Scalia at American Enterprise Institute by Samuel Johnson (1759) by Frances Burney (1778) by Sir Walter Scott (1814) by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1852) by George Eliot (1876) by Willa Cather (1918) by Zora Neale Hurston (1937) by Muriel Spark (1963) by P. D. James (1992) by Leif Enger (2001) by Marilynne Robinson (2004) by Cormac McCarthy (2006) by Julius Taranto (2023) Also on the Forum: by Joseph Bissex by Tom Cox featuring Mike Ortiz featuring Joe Breslin and Lionel Yaceczko Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Joe Cardenas on A Change of Soul: Reimagining the Purpose of Vacation
05/22/2025
Joe Cardenas on A Change of Soul: Reimagining the Purpose of Vacation
As we conclude the school year, parents are turning their sights to summer and the much-anticipated family vacation. We bear such hope for rest and connection on these trips—but we can too easily end up chasing a bucket-list. Head of Mentoring Joe Cardenas offers a timely intervention for our vacation planning, reminding us to plan for people before places. Bringing his own family traditions and Crescite Week experiences to the question, he offers a new set of questions to help us plan and enjoy a truly transformative, restorative vacation for all members of the family. Chapters: 00:02:57 The anti-bucket list approach 00:08:23 “You need a change of soul” 00:10:11 Rest 00:13:46 Linger at table 00:15:18 Soak in a limited itinerary 00:17:10 Build in time for reflection 00:19:53 Better vacation planning questions 00:23:27 See it as a pilgrimage 00:28:33 Plan for people before places 00:34:55 Naturally layer in meaning, traditions 00:42:08 Share the highs and lows 00:45:12 The key: to plan ahead of time Also on the Forum: featuring Colin Gleason by Elias Naegele by Nate Gadiano featuring Joe Cardenas by Tom Steenson Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Alvaro de Vicente on Choosing a College—Or Not
05/15/2025
Alvaro de Vicente on Choosing a College—Or Not
As more families scrutinize their post-high school options for virtue and value, the field has perhaps never been wider. Choosing a path carefully, with the right balance of priorities, should be the goal for every high school graduate. Before serving as our headmaster, Mr. Alvaro de Vicente was the Heights college counselor. Over the last few decades, he’s witnessed an exciting shift in the way students and their parents can evaluate, prioritize, and choose a path after graduation that serves the whole person well. And while colleges are responding more and more to these good demands, Mr. de Vicente also explores how high schools and employers could keep pace with the changes. Chapters: 2:32 Am I on the education treadmill? 4:16 Purposes of college: personal growth, financial growth 8:32 Keeping the two purposes in proper proportion 12:20 The wider field of alternatives 15:42 How high schools must respond 19:35 Peer groups on the alternative path 24:22 If virtue and value aren’t in balance 27:33 The future graduate’s options 29:54 The future of hiring Also on the Forum: by Alvaro de Vicente 4/25 featuring Alvaro de Vicente 8/24 featuring Dr. Peter Kilpatrick 5/24 featuring Dr. Jonathan Sanford featuring Arthur Brooks 7/2021 Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Fr. Gregory Pine on Human Reason: An Attentiveness to Reality
05/08/2025
Fr. Gregory Pine on Human Reason: An Attentiveness to Reality
Human reason: what is it? How does it cooperate with faith and the will? How can we distinguish between authentic reason and its counterfeits—particularly in an age of relativism, pluralism, scientism, and artificial intelligence? Here to unpack a heavy topic is Fr. Gregory Pine, a Dominican friar, instructor at Dominican House of Studies in Washington, DC. You may recognize his voice as a frequent contributor to podcasts like Godsplaining and Pints with Aquinas. Following a talk with our juniors, Fr. Pine graciously joined us in the studio to offer a wealth of ideas on this natural capacity and inclination to understand God’s world. Chapters: 00:05:19 Defining human reason 00:08:23 Modern preference for practical reason 00:12:17 Modern preference for relativism 00:17:18 Faith, reason, and the will assist each other 00:24:05 Teaching apologetics today 00:28:26 Finding truth in a pluralist world 00:34:59 AI: a counterfeit of intellect 00:41:30 AI: an anthropology 00:44:36 Closing thoughts from Arthur Brooks, Thomas Aquinas, and Aristotle Links: by Fr. Gregory Pine , home of the Pontifical Faculty and The Thomistic Institute hosted by the Dominican friars of the Dominican House of Studies by Stratford Caldecott by Arthur Brooks Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)
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Colin Gleason on Teaching Our Sons to Pray: Opportunities and Options
05/01/2025
Colin Gleason on Teaching Our Sons to Pray: Opportunities and Options
Prayer is not prescriptive. So how could we hope to teach our children a practice that St. Thérèse called “a surge of the heart”? Lower school head Colin Gleason suggests that it’s about creating opportunities and options, so that our sons can naturally make a life of prayer their own. In his talk from our Parenting Conference in April, Mr. Gleason lays out ten very practical ways to sow the seeds of prayer into our family’s daily routines—in formal and spontaneous ways. He ends by reminding us that prayer is not a program. It is an orientation. And whatever we parents approach with consistency and sincerity, “the house will be filled with the fragrance of it” (cf. John 12:3). Chapters: 00:05:28 Prayer as a relationship 00:09:53 A family plan for daily prayer 00:12:30 Introducing them to mental prayer 00:15:00 The Psalms: a handbook 00:20:37 Making opportunities and options 00:24:20 Asking them to pray for us 00:26:57 Stories for the prayer imagination 00:29:52 Prayer journals 00:31:07 Discussing prayer 00:32:46 Prayer in our daily activities 00:35:27 Making a prayer spot 00:37:32 Clearing obstacles, preparing the ground Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025) Also on the Forum: by Alvaro de Vicente featuring Fr. Carter Griffin
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Alvaro de Vicente on Reframing Our Desire to Be Liked
04/17/2025
Alvaro de Vicente on Reframing Our Desire to Be Liked
We often speak of a pedagogical friendship between teacher and student: the earnest desire for the student’s good, the collaborative adventure through difficult material, and the trust built thereby. But we shouldn’t oversimplify this friendship: it’s not merely to be liked by our students. From rookie teachers to decades-long veterans, we can all feel that pull to be the “favorite teacher.” But what kind of frameworks should we keep in mind as we serve our students well? This week, Heights Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente unpacks the very human desire to be liked, the perils of seeking popularity, and what our students really need from us. Chapters: 00:03:16 The student is not for your gain 00:05:18 Including social-emotional gains 00:11:10 Practical pitfalls of seeking popularity 00:15:31 Why we want to be liked 00:19:21 Give the respect you want 00:21:46 Like your students 00:26:03 Where to find stable satisfaction Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) Also on the Forum: featuring Colin Gleason featuring Lionel Yaceczko
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Tom Royals on Offering It Up: A Lenten Reflection
04/10/2025
Tom Royals on Offering It Up: A Lenten Reflection
“Offer it up!” Do we receive that invitation with a wince or a nod? Heights Assistant Headmaster Tom Royals invites us to examine our approach to Lent and “offering it up”—with an emphasis on offering. Mr. Royals reflects on the “happy obligation” that is the habit of sacrifice, and he considers the liturgical seasons of Lent, Passiontide, Eastertide, and ordinary time as gifts from the Church. Chapters: 4:21 “Offer it up” 8:37 Look to the cross 10:59 Offering it up as a pattern and practice 12:47 Keeping the Lord company 16:22 Our reactions to setbacks 20:57 History of Lent: an ecclesial framework 23:22 Our Lent so far 25:44 Lent in the family culture 28:24 Easter: the feast of feasts 32:02 These next ten days Links: by Josemaria Escriva Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025) Also on the Forum: featuring Tom Royals
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Tom Steenson’s Parent-Teacher Conference for the Everyman
04/03/2025
Tom Steenson’s Parent-Teacher Conference for the Everyman
As a Valley veteran, Tom Steenson has seen patterns emerge from his two decades of parent-teacher conferences. He invites us to sit down for a not-so-hypothetical conference featuring the recurring advice he offers to the parents of his lower school students. In short, Mr. Steenson hopes to encourage parents in their parental authority and to help them identify (or sometimes even invent) opportunities for growth in their young men. Chapters: 3:25 Encourage parental instincts 7:03 Trust in the long game 9:02 “Better late than early”TM 11:38 Exercise his accountability 20:05 Let him help others 22:48 Don’t eliminate friction 24:05 Beware the schedule 26:36 Help him want to read Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) Also on the Forum: by Kyle Blackmer by Michael Moynihan by Kyle Blackmer featuring Alvaro de Vicente
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Adam Taylor on Boys’ Education and the ‘Medieval Model’
03/27/2025
Adam Taylor on Boys’ Education and the ‘Medieval Model’
“Are you a classical school?” It’s a question many parents and educators will have to answer at some point. St. Martin’s Academy in Fort Scott, Kansas, likes to say they’re not exactly classical—more like medieval. At St. Martin’s, a boys’ boarding school and working farm for grades 9-12, Adam Taylor and a team of educators seek to nurture authentic masculinity, awaken wonder, and heal the imagination. This week on HeightsCast, Mr. Taylor talks with us about the vision of St. Martin’s, and gives us ideas we can take into our own understanding of boys’ education. Chapters: 3:35 The medieval model 7:12 The path to “Dean of Magistri” 14:38 Nurturing authentic masculinity 19:14 Healing the imagination 25:00 Boys need reality and heroes 33:49 Soulcraft: the role of work at St. Martin’s 36:54 Forms of manly friendship 40:57 Time management for teachers 45:35 Recommended reading Links: in Fort Scott, Kansas by C. S. Lewis by Robert Frost by Fr. Francis Bethel by James S. Taylor by Stratford Caldecott by Stratford Caledcott Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) Also on the Forum: featuring Jason Baxter featuring Alvaro de Vicente featuring Alvaro de Vicente
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Fr. Carter Griffin on Forming Families, Forming Saints
03/20/2025
Fr. Carter Griffin on Forming Families, Forming Saints
Pope St. John Paul II outlined the four pillars of formation for seminarians back in 1992 with his apostolic exhortation Pastores dabo vobis. For years, Fr. Carter Griffin has used this framework to walk with seminarians through a program of human, spiritual, intellectual, and pastoral formation at St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, DC. With his recent book, Forming Families, Forming Saints, Fr. Griffin brings that rich framework into the context of parenting. In this episode, he provides parents with an overview of the four pillars of formation, and offers encouragement and practical wisdom about what it means for the family to be a “domestic church.” Chapters: 5:43 Family: the domestic church 8:38 Similarities to seminary formation 10:45 Not just self-optimization 15:03 The four pillars of formation 18:30 Sincerity: the truth is never a problem 25:50 Parental expectations 30:29 A childlike relationship with God 33:48 What faith is 37:41 Introducing our children to prayer 43:42 Struggles with prayer 46:41 An apostolic approach for families 48:34 Comfortable with being different 52:52 Awareness of vocations: 11 and 11th 56:31 An outlook of hope Links: by Fr. Carter Griffin by Dr. Kevin Majeres Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) Also on the Forum: featuring Fr. Carter Griffin featuring Fr. Carter Griffin
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Austin Hatch on Adler’s Modes of Teaching
03/13/2025
Austin Hatch on Adler’s Modes of Teaching
A great learning experience comes at the material using different practices—listening, reading, memorizing, interrogating, doing, speaking, and/or writing about the idea until it crystallizes in the student’s mind. And a great teacher facilitates those practices in his class plan. For his talk at the 2024 Forum Teaching Conference, upper school teacher Austin Hatch borrowed the “three modes of teaching” proposed by author and educator Mortimer Adler. These are: didactic instruction, supervised practice, and active participation. Mr. Hatch explains why they are each needed in good proportion, and what each can look like in the classroom. Chapters: 00:04:25 The beginning and end is friendship 00:09:57 Didactic instruction: be brief and clear 00:12:23 Supervised practice: make the time 00:20:54 Active participation: host a seminar or performance 00:31:27 Beholding a man in performance 00:33:21 Q1: preparing students for a seminar 00:35:07 Q2: escaping the grade game Links: by Mortimer Adler by Cicero Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025)
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Tom Cox on Telling a Great Story in History Class
03/06/2025
Tom Cox on Telling a Great Story in History Class
Mr. Tom Cox’s approach to telling great stories in the classroom starts with a self-limiting 3×5 notecard. The challenge when telling any story from history is that all such stories run together, are infinitely entangled, and lack the defined clarity of exposition, crisis, climax, and denouement. Mr. Cox provides a practical framework and examples for “putting flesh on dry bones” in an effective, compelling way that students will remember. This talk was delivered at the Forum Teaching Conference in the fall of 2024. Featured opportunities: at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025) Also on the Forum: featuring Tom Cox and Bill Dardis by Mark Grannis 9/22 by Kyle Blackmer 2/22 by Bill Dardis
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Alvaro de Vicente on Dumb Phones, Feature Phones, and the New Tech Landscape
02/27/2025
Alvaro de Vicente on Dumb Phones, Feature Phones, and the New Tech Landscape
If we’ve decided against smart phones for our kids, can dumb phones come to the rescue? New options for families have hit the tech market, offering few or select features, and giving parents new things to consider when it comes to kids and phones in 2025. Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente offers a framework for thinking about smart phones, dumb phones, and feature phones in a culture still weighed down by anxiety and distraction. Chapters: 4:04 Deciding when 5:17 Phones as tools 10:05 The dumb phone: what problem is it solving? 16:11 The feature phone: constant connection 17:30 Healthy friendship 22:03 An age of distraction, even offline 23:44 The need for silence 26:29 School policies 27:14 Family policies Links: , The Guardian, February 5, 2025 , The Atlantic, September 14, 2016 by Jonathan Haidt by Josef Pieper Featured opportunities: Parents’ Conference: Passing the Faith On to the Next Generation at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) link coming soon Also on the Forum: by Michael Moynihan featuring Alvaro de Vicente featuring Alvaro de Vicente featuring Joe Cardenas featuring Alvaro de Vicente featuring Alvaro de Vicente
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Dr. Benjamin Storey on American Restlessness
02/20/2025
Dr. Benjamin Storey on American Restlessness
“It is an atmosphere we breathe in, rather than an argument we consider.” Thus wrote T. S. Eliot about the very idea of happiness Americans have adopted for their own. When raising sons in modern America, we should understand what cultural air they—and we—are breathing. Is that “pursuit of happiness” keeping our hearts and minds restless? In their book, Why We Are Restless, Dr. Benjamin Storey and his wife Dr. Jenna Silber Storey explore the inheritance of American-style happiness: where did it come from? Who has wrestled with it before? And how should we really engage with it? Ben Storey sits down with us to discuss this week on HeightsCast. Chapters: 00:08:44 Montaigne’s recipe for happiness 00:15:16 “Immanent contentment”: now is enough 00:17:19 Pascal’s reach for God 00:20:11 Rousseau’s earthly transcendence 00:29:09 The American Dream 00:33:45 Democracy and restlessness 00:39:38 The highs and lows of infinite possibility 00:45:02 Advice for high school seniors 00:49:30 Advice for parents Links: by Benjamin Storey and Jenna Silber Storey Also on the Forum: by Mark Grannis featuring Dr. Matthew Spalding
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John Cuddeback on Teaching Men
02/13/2025
John Cuddeback on Teaching Men
At our 2024 Teaching Conference, Dr. John Cuddeback of Christendom College unpacked what boys need from their fathers and teachers in order to grow into the men they truly desire to be. And what boys desire, he argues, comes from their God-given nature: one that resonates with fatherhood, moral character, and the ability to speak truth. Chapters: 6:21 Today’s rejection of masculinity 10:11 Education: formation of right appetites 15:33 What they enjoy and what pains them 18:52 What boys should desire 21:26 To be fathers 29:15 To be men of character 31:33 To articulate the truth 33:32 How we educate: by example 36:16 By curating influences 37:57 By great art 42:49 By direct articulation, in friendship Links: , John Cuddeback’s website featuring free courses, videos, and articles by John Cuddeback hosted by John and Sofia Cuddeback Also on the Forum: featuring Bishop Erik Varden featuring John Cuddeback featuring Alvaro de Vicente
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Colin Gleason on Listening to Our Boys
01/30/2025
Colin Gleason on Listening to Our Boys
It’s true: we talk too much. And we know that just one more brilliant lecture from us will not solve our boys’ every problem—but we can’t seem to help ourselves. This week on HeightsCast, lower school head Colin Gleason takes an intentional look at how we as parents and educators engage our boys, and how we might do better. The conversation reminds us that parenting is relational, not a delivery system, and that ultimately we want to keep the lines of communication open. Chapters: 2:30 Talk less, engage more 8:31 Over-supervision leads to acting, not being 15:11 Strategies for listening 17:23 Recon: trying to draw something out 21:12 Showing unanxious interest 25:38 Response: when they come to you 28:13 Keep them coming to you 31:01 Let the emotions breathe 37:32 Disrespect and complaints 43:38 The impact of listening Featured opportunities: Parents’ Conference: Freedom and Addiction at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) link coming soon Teaching Men’s Conference at The Heights School (October 2025) link coming soon Also on the Forum: featuring Alvaro de Vicente featuring Tom Royals featuring Alvaro de Vicente
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Jimmy Callahan on the Man Your History Class Is Missing
01/23/2025
Jimmy Callahan on the Man Your History Class Is Missing
In this episode, our guest (an AP U.S. History teacher) and our host (an AP Government teacher) delve into the worthy American most likely missing from your U.S. history or government class. Orestes Brownson was a nineteenth-century political thinker who wrote about the American project through his unique lens as a post-Civil War American-Catholic. He was well known in his time but is often only featured in the footnotes for the Election of 1840, the Transcendental Movement, and the Emancipation Proclamation. Brownson’s essays, though, belong in the classroom. They seek to answer with optimism and insightful reflection: what is this country all about? For what did our sons die in this great Civil War? Chapters: 4:20 Why read Brownson? 10:11 A religious and political wanderer 14:01 Arrives at the Catholic Church 17:00 Magnus opus: The American Republic 21:57 “Territorial democracy” 27:44 History as human experience 28:51 Territorial democracy and American Union 32:31 Missteps of democracy 36:54 Brownson’s vision: “Freedom of each with advantage to the other” 37:41 Yet history repeats itself 41:47 America’s role in the story of history 44:55 “Unwritten constitution” 49:36 The task of the modern teacher 54:24 One’s development of ideas over time Links: by Orestes Brownson by Orestes Brownson hosted by the American Family Project on Controversies in Church History Featured opportunities: talk by Joe Cardenas at The Heights School (February 1, 2025) at The Heights School (Thursdays in February 2025) Parents’ Conference: Freedom and Addiction at The Heights School (April 12, 2025) link coming soon Teaching Men’s Conference at The Heights School (October 2025) link coming soon Also on the Forum: by Mark Grannis by Mark Grannis by Mark Grannis by Kyle Blackmer featuring Matthew Mehan
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Dr. Peter Kilpatrick on the Idea of a Catholic University
01/16/2025
Dr. Peter Kilpatrick on the Idea of a Catholic University
All the first universities were—St. Thomas Aquinas would tell us—Catholic ones. But in this modern day, it takes intentionality to maintain the rich tradition of Catholic education. In a talk recorded for HeightsCast, Dr. Peter Kilpatrick, president of The Catholic University of America, spoke to families at The Heights about what it means to be a Catholic university. He first consults the experts: Thomas Aquinas, John Henry Newman, John Paul the Great, and Pope Benedict XVI. He then offers examples from his own career in school leadership, and how to put the exhortations of popes and saints into action on campus. Chapters: 6:14 Universities: a Catholic inheritance 8:06 Newman and Aquinas on universities 11:58 Papal directives for Catholic universities 15:56 Theodrama vs. egodrama 19:16 Getting these ideas on campus 19:36 Mission-enthusiastic faculty 21:26 Mission-integrated curricula 24:12 Counseling with a Christian anthropology 25:01 Teaching a professional call to holiness 26:21 Campus ministry 28:15 The distinctive value of Catholic education 31:10 Q1: Technology and the next 50 years 36:13 Q2: College affordability and value Links: by St. John Henry Newman by Pope St. John Paul II by Pope Benedict XVI by Jamie Merisotis by Andrew Abela by Catherine Pakaluk Also on the Forum: featuring Dr. George Harne featuring Dr. Peter Kilpatrick featuring Dr. Thomas Hibbs featuring Arthur Brooks
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Joe Cardenas and Nate Gadiano on Living Simplicity
12/20/2024
Joe Cardenas and Nate Gadiano on Living Simplicity
Advent invites us to reflect on our Christian disposition, oriented towards peace, hope, joy, and love. St. Josemaría Escrivá was known to summarize that disposition by calling it, simply… “simple.” In The Way, he praises the apostles and St. Joseph for imitating Jesus himself in being simple. And then he exhorts us: “May you not lack simplicity.” Heights faculty Joe Cardenas and Nate Gadiano join us this week to explore the Christian meaning of “simplicity,” beginning with the ways that God is simple: unified, sincere, essential, and wholly true. As we strive to reflect his example, how do we find that interior disposition of simplicity? And how can we help our boys find it too? Chapters: 3:07 A Catholic sense of simplicity 10:13 Moving beyond “minimalism” 18:38 Simplicity in Scripture 20:43 Social simplicity 24:12 As opposed to duplicity 26:08 How spiritual direction simplifies you 30:36 A unity of purpose 32:39 Distinct from feelings-based “honesty” 39:02 Helping our boys as parents, mentors 41:41 A boy’s insecurity, overcome by trust 47:38 Secure in divine filiation Links: by St. Josemaría Escrivá Also on the Forum: on The Heights Forum
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Jason Baxter on Loving Modernity as a Medievalist
12/12/2024
Jason Baxter on Loving Modernity as a Medievalist
“The air of Narnia had been working upon him … and all his old battles came back to him, and his arms and fingers remembered their old skill. He was King Edmund once more.” In this week’s wide-ranging discussion, Dr. Jason Baxter talks about fellow Medievalist C. S. Lewis’s ideas of story and history—and how those ideas matter for the education and formation of a thoroughly modern people. What can today’s “classical revival movements” learn from Lewis? Chapters: 3:56 C. S. Lewis’s library 6:31 His theory of stories: mining ancient jewels 14:49 His theory of history: a post-Christian world 17:14 Modern man’s trouble with pre-modern texts 20:09 Embracing modernity and tradition 25:45 Making virtue attractive 33:49 How to “teach” a passion 42:45 Why a new translation of Dante 49:51 Wounded by beauty Links: featuring articles and lectures , Substack for Jason Baxter by Jason Baxter translated by Jason Baxter Also on the Forum: , episode two of Heights Forum Faculty Podcast featuring Joe Breslin featuring Jason Baxter
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Colin Gleason on Unanxious Leadership
12/03/2024
Colin Gleason on Unanxious Leadership
In this episode we feature a lecture from Heights Lower School Head, Colin Gleason, at the last Art of Teaching conference. In the talk, Colin explores the concept of “unanxious leadership” in the classroom, emphasizing the importance of teachers maintaining a calm, grounded presence. He explains that anxiety often arises when teachers feel they are in constant conflict with students or struggling to control the classroom. Colin encourages teachers to adopt a mindset of humility and vulnerability, rather than relying on rigid authority or defensiveness, which fosters trust and respect. By focusing on building genuine relationships and being a “storyteller” rather than an “actor,” teachers can create a classroom where students feel seen, valued, and understood. Colin also stresses the importance of fairness in discipline. He warns against using authority as a tool for domination and suggests a “double correction” strategy—addressing conflicts with two students by fairly acknowledging the role each one played in the dispute. He emphasizes that fairness, empathy, and thoughtful reflection can help reduce anxiety for both teachers and students. Colin believes that teachers must trust that students are genuinely trying to do their best, even in difficult moments, and that recognizing this effort is key to fostering a positive classroom environment. Finally, Colin highlights the value of informal, outside-the-classroom interactions in building strong teacher-student relationships. By spending time with students outside of lessons—whether through casual conversations or attending their extracurricular activities—teachers show that they care about their students as individuals. This personal investment creates a sense of connection that enhances both academic and personal growth. Ultimately, Colin argues that an “unanxious classroom” is shaped by teachers who lead with humility, compassion, and a focus on positive relationships, transforming both the teaching experience and the overall learning environment.
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Joe Breslin on What Fiction Is For
11/21/2024
Joe Breslin on What Fiction Is For
How do we justify reading? Do we justify reading? Heights fifth grade teacher and published fiction author Joe Breslin chases away such questions. Though fiction can have utility, even moral impact—fiction at its best is an art created and received with wonder. In this fascinating conversation, Mr. Breslin reflects on writing, reading, and gets us to the heart of what it actually means to do something “for its own sake.” Chapters: 3:50 Do we read for utility? 7:49 Fiction: pursued for its own sake 11:43 Whether fiction has a moral purpose 18:57 Fiction writing is not essay writing 23:03 Good art ends up reflecting God 26:09 Defining “good for its own sake” 28:23 The tension between education and encounter 34:04 A parent’s role in sharing fiction 38:07 The human impulse for literature Links: by Joe Breslin by Joe Breslin Joe Breslin’s author website by G. K. Chesterton Josef Pieper by Walker Percy , Alvaro de Vicente’s substack featuring original articles Featured Opportunities: at The Heights School (December 7, 2024) Also on the Forum: , many written by Joe Breslin
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Dale Ahlquist on G. K. Chesterton
11/14/2024
Dale Ahlquist on G. K. Chesterton
A surprising number of Catholic conversions in the last hundred years begin with one man: G. K. Chesterton. A modern Catholic favorite, Chesterton looms large in subjects as diverse as theology, satire, marginalia, philosophy, politics, and mystery fiction. Our guest today is Dale Ahlquist, founder and president of the Society of Gilbert Keith Chesterton. His own journey of conversion started with Chesterton’s The Everlasting Man. In our conversation, we visit many of Chesterton’s ideas, concluding with the much misunderstood “distributism”—a Chestertonian practical philosophy and the subject of Ahlquist’s co-edited book of essays titled Localism: Coming Home to Catholic Social Teaching. Chapters: 1:53 Conversion by way of Chesterton 6:17 Chesterton: a “complete thinker” 8:16 Reading recommendations 12:05 The opening of Everlasting Man 13:56 The ending of Man Who Was Thursday 17:16 Fairy tales and fundamental truths 19:18 “The twitch upon the thread” 22:27 Defining distributism, or localism 30:13 Localism for D.C. (sub)urbanites 33:44 Founding schools: localism in action 39:11 Family enterprises 42:19 The contributors to Localism 45:31 Creating a life of localism where you are Links: edited by Dale Ahlquist and Michael Warren Davis by G. K. Chesterton by Dale Ahlquist by Dale Ahlquist by G. K. Chesterton by G. K. Chesterton by G. K. Chesterton by G. K. Chesterton by G. K. Chesterton by G. K. Chesterton , Alvaro de Vicente’s substack featuring original articles Featured Opportunities: at The Heights School (December 7, 2024) Also on the Forum: , newly launched Forum Faculty Podcast hosted by Tom Cox featuring round-table discussions with veteran teachers
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