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
Feb 27, 2017 • 33min
Beginning an Uncommon Core: Part 1
Longtime Heights teacher, Mr. Gerard Babendreier, joins us in the studio to discuss the benefits to students of studying History and Literature together, specifically within the context of the Freshman Core Class. Hear how this segment of the Heights Core Humanities Sequence helps students "learn how to learn," by taking them on a journey from Ancient Rome through Napoleon, using both literature and history as their vehicle. To know where you are going, you have to know where you began; see how the Freshman Core continues this exploration for our students.
Feb 21, 2017 • 45min
WWRD? On the Roman view of Citizenship and Borders
A Liberal Arts education empowers citizens to make rational decisions about complex issues with reference to, among other things, our history. While we, as a nation, grapple with issues of national identity and citizenship, we would be remiss to ignore the experience of our ancestors, the Romans. Join Dr. Yaceczko as he explores Roman notions of nationality, citizenship, and borders, and, subsequently, how Christianity affected the literary tradition--and common ethos--of the Roman Empire.
Feb 9, 2017 • 27min
Virtuous Use of Technology: Inspiring Our Youth to Make the Most of 21st Century Tools
Mr. Joe Cardenas applies his years of experience in advisory to the tricky subject of devices. As with many things, the best way to teach good values, is to practice them ourselves.
Jan 26, 2017 • 38min
A Critique of Endo's "Silence"
Dr. Mehan looks at whether this novel is a true image of apostasy and of Christian martyrdom.
Dec 22, 2016 • 33min
An Epic Education: Tolkien in The Heights Curriculum
This week on HeightsCast, we listen to an excerpt from Tom Cox's Heights Lecture on the virtues exhibited by Samwise Gamgee from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, and how the study of this stouthearted hobbit is important in the formation of a middle school student.
Dec 14, 2016 • 37min
Seneca for Students: The Value of Time and the Cost of Rumor
Seneca's writing and wisdom are not outdated. In fact, they are relevant and helpful now more than ever. Dr. Matt Mehan explores two of Seneca's Epistles dealing with good use of time and the imprudence of fearing an unknown future. The liberal arts are not just abstract and ethereal; they are thoroughly practical, as we see here in no uncertain terms. Seneca is for our boys and for us--a great read for the Christmas vacation. Seneca's Epistle I Seneca's Epistle 13
Dec 8, 2016 • 39min
On Gifts and Devices: Reconsidering Electronics under the Tree
The well intentioned gift of electronics carries it sometimes unconsidered risks. Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente brings these out into the open, highlighting the ways that smart phones, tablets, and other devices can counteract our mission of forming strong-willed men.
Dec 1, 2016 • 24min
Celebrating Advent: On Preparing for Christmas Without Jumping the Gun
Though we hear Christmas music the day after Thanksgiving, we miss an opportunity to grow with our children when we bypass Advent. Hear Mr. Tom Steenson discuss how we, as parents and teachers, can live the liturgical season of Advent in a way that truly prepares us for December 25th.
Nov 17, 2016 • 34min
The Strategic Enterprise of Upper School Study, a.k.a. "Homework"
Join two Freshman Core teachers, Gerard Babendreier and Joe Cardenas, for a discussion about how high schoolers should approach their study. To simply call this homework is an unfortunate oversimplification.
Nov 3, 2016 • 32min
The Teacher as Liberal Artist
We are a Liberal Arts School. What does that mean for our students, and what does that mean for our teachers? Hear Mr. de Vicente at the Open House, and Mr. Tom Longano at the recent Heights Lecture address these important questions.
