HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive
The Heights School
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.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Oct 26, 2018 • 41min
Parenting: Patience or Optimism
Does your son know that you believe in him? Andy Reed on the power of optimism.
Oct 18, 2018 • 31min
On Recess: The Benefits of Free Play
Heights boys enjoy three recesses daily in the Lower School. It's not just a chance to stretch their legs. To the contrary, recess is viewed as a class here. Our boys learn toughness, prudence, and how to evaluate risks. Listen in to learn more about the benefits of unstructured free play, and how you can bring this practice to your home or school... ideally both, because what we do at home affects our son's experience at school.
Oct 12, 2018 • 35min
Think Bigger
In this episode, Rich encourages 8th grade boys and their parents to think differently and bigger about the High School decision. "Differently" because primary educators should be the primary decision makers. "Bigger" because boys should not ask "what's in it for me?" when choosing a school; rather, they should ask "where can I best prepare to give?" The high school decision matters–it's a choice of worldview, friendship, faculty, faith. Listen in to hear Rich's thoughts on how best to approach the decision, no matter where your son wants to go, or where you will ultimately enroll him.
Sep 24, 2018 • 54min
Preparing for Bad News: Raising Men Who Can Handle It
Bad news is all around us. It always has been. It always will be. As if personal and family challenges weren't enough, we have an attention economy that seems dead set on giving a generation of young people chronic anxiety about seemingly cataclysmic events. How can we prepare our children to handle bad news? Quite simply, by handling it well ourselves, remaining saintly and cool under fire. How do we do that? Listen in to learn more.
Sep 17, 2018 • 38min
Sarah Mackenzie on the Read Aloud Family
This week on HeightsCast we feature Sarah Mackenzie, an author and mother who is leading a movement to bring reading aloud back into our homes. When was the last time you read aloud to your children? Many of us really lost steam when our boys started reading to themselves. As Sarah explains in The Read Aloud Family, reading aloud has both academic and formational benefits for children of all ages. Moreover, it draws us closer together as families! To kick-start the revival, give this episode a listen. Additional Resources: The Read Aloud Revival The Read Aloud Family Tom Longano on Teaching Reading here and here.
Sep 10, 2018 • 41min
Teaching Magnanimous Dress: On the Virtue of Polish
Heights students are given the freedom to choose their outfits, so long as they adhere to the dress code. What are the virtues that our boys can build by dressing well, and how can we as teachers bring that growth about, one half-widsor and tucked in shirt at at time? Listen in to hear Mr. Joel Sellier address all of these questions in this episode of HeightsCast.
Aug 27, 2018 • 40min
On Freedom and Phones
Headmaster, Alvaro de Vicente addresses freedom and smart phones. These devices can be incredible tools, but only if used with a proper sense of self-mastery. Is there an age when boys are ready? No hard and fast answers to that question, but our headmaster is able to offer some helpful factors to consider.
Aug 20, 2018 • 27min
On Nature Journals and Observant Souls with Eric Heil
Last episode we addressed the importance of properly and prudently handling wildlife. Once your boy has the prudence and courage needed to fully experience the wild, a nature journal is a great next step for our budding naturalists. Join Mr. Eric Heil for a conversation about how to keep a nature journal. Of course, this is only an introduction to what is covered in more detail here. Happy journaling to all youngsters of adventurous good will during these, the last two weeks of summer!
Aug 6, 2018 • 27min
"Can I catch it?": Eric Heil on Handling Wildlife
We've all been there. A boy in your care looks earnestly into your eyes, rabid with excitement; he's found a critter and he wants to catch it. What do you do? Eric Heil, Lower School Natural History teacher, offers his thoughts on how to guide our sons to both handle and appreciate the creatures they encounter in the wild.
Aug 3, 2018 • 42min
Mike Ortiz on Modern Literature: On Curating the Contemporary
We are a liberal arts school, but we embrace contemporary literature that leads our students to the good, the true, and the beautiful. Not all of it does, though. And, even those moderns that are positively formational often accomplish by leaning, in some way, on the older great authors of the older great books. Contrary to the notion that we are hiding great moderns from our students, we are, instead, curating a selection of books that liberates the mind in the tradition of the liberal arts. How do we pick our moderns? Why do we still favor the classics? Listen in to learn why from a man with over 30 years of experience teaching at The Heights.
