HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive

"It's the little details that are vital," said Coach John Wooden. "Little things make big things happen." Among the little details of school, which at times may feel more mundane than meaningful, is the dress code. To discuss the why behind our dress code, we welcome to the podcast Assistant Headmaster Tom Royals. As parents and teachers, we work together to help our boys look sharp: buttons buttoned, ties up, shoes—yes, leather shoes—laced and tied. Our Assistant Headmaster reminds us that this work is worth the effort despite the repetitive and thankless nature of our stylistic exhortations. Listen in to learn more about what motivates us to keep the lads looking sharp. Chapters 2:45 What motivates the school's attention to detail in dress? 4:30 Why a professional dress code? 8:35 Order both inward and outward 12:12 Decorum and charity 14:40 Preserving decorum and modesty 16:25 Modes of encouragement in the hallways 20:45 Teacher as the anchor point for students 22:40 Effects of COVID 25:00 The home front Also on the Forum Dressing Like a Gentleman by George Messenger Teaching Magnanimous Dress with Joel Sellier Material Order and the Middle School Boy with Kyle Blackmer Self-Mastery: On Fostering Interior Freedom in Schools with Alvaro de Vicente

What, you might ask, does cheese have to do with education? The answer is not that you may find holes in both, but rather that both require attention to the local culture to be made whole. This week on HeightsCast, Mr. Tom Steenson shares his thoughts on the tone and culture of the classroom. Leaning on nearly twenty-five years of teaching experience, Tom encourages us as teachers to see our classrooms as second homes and our role as assisting their primary families. There are, of course, important differences between being a parent and being a teacher, yet the overlap between the two vocations is striking and worth pondering. Listen to Mr. Steenson's ideas on how to shape the tone and culture of the classroom to be a place where students know they're loved, love to learn, and therefore learn to know and love all the more. Chapters 2:15 Chesterton and cheese 5:07 Like father, like teacher 9:35 How teaching is an art 11:50 What is "tone"? 15:05 Externals that affect the tone 18:10 Classrooms as expressing the teacher's personality 19:15 Differences between being a parent and a teacher 23:13 Overcoming first judgments 25:45 A key aspect of being an effective teacher 32:50 Recommended reading for teachers 35:15 On posters Also from the Forum School Tone, the Most Powerful Teacher with Alvaro de Vicente Discipline in the Classroom: On the Art of Order with Colin Gleason Artwork in Schools: On the Buildings that Build Us with Joe Cardenas Creating a Culture of Learning in the Home by Alvaro de Vicente John Paul II's "Culture-First" Approach: The Pope-Saint's Lessons for Parents, Teachers, and Leaders with George Weigel Ways to Foster a Family Culture by Alvaro de Vicente

Upper School Head Michael Moynihan encourages teachers to view their students as sovereign knowers called to exercise agency in their learning. As teachers, we lead by walking backwards, but our students should provide the forward momentum. Yet this momentum must itself be fostered by a proper approach to the art of teaching. Mr. Moynihan shares ideas here about how teachers can create an environment conducive to this sense of agency.

In this episode, Heights Headmaster, Alvaro de Vicente elaborates on his vision for our Heights Graduates as "Men Fully Alive." This vocation is a life-long pursuit. The closer we get, the farther we realize we have to travel. And yet, the calling to full and authentic manhood brings peace once embraced. This peace results from knowing who we are, thinking big, and realizing that we can pursue these ends with joy and friendship.

This week on HeightsCast we feature Tom Cox, Upper School Latin teacher and one of the architects of the Core Humanities Sequence. In the Episode, Tom explains what epic poetry is, where it fits into our curriculum, and why we teach it. Weaving together themes from Homer, Virgil, and Dante, Mr. Cox shows us how these epic poems shape the boys' moral imaginations at a time when they are first beginning to ask life's perennial questions: What is the purpose of life? What is the purpose of my life? Can I be a hero? If so, what is my quest? By way of epic poetry, as Tom explains, the boys can begin to see that some of the most epic of all journeys may be hidden in the most ordinary, quotidien activities of life.

"Have a great summer!" We hear it and say it incessantly, but what are we actually wishing for our boys? 21st Century America gives boys 3 months off--that is one quarter of the year and an enormous amount of time. Join Lower School Head, Colin Gleason, for a discussion of three ways that boys can fill their summer with healthy leisure and positive growth.

To learn more about the Summer Workshops, click here. Dr. Matthew Mehan unpacks the liberal arts. We can throw the term around to describe our school, but do we really understand what we mean? Is it more than a list of good books? Dr. Mehan explores what it means to be a student of the "arts of liberty"–a life long pursuit. For all of us. Show Notes TheGuardian.com, Our Minds can be Hijacked St. Basil the Great, Address to Young Men on the Right Use of Greek Literature De Doctrina Christiana Seneca's Letter 88 Pope Benedict's Regensburg Address Pope Pius XI, Divini Illius Magistri Sirach 6:18

Lower School Head, Colin Gleason, discusses paternal patience and anger in this week's episode. If you, like so many dads, find yourself regretting the fact that you "lost it," listen in. Mr. Gleason discusses anger and the ways that we, as fathers, can direct this emotion towards the good.

At the heart of teaching is the desire to make an impact on the lives of one's students. Beyond conveying useful information or training them in resume-building skills, great teachers wish to help their students live well—to be fully alive. Such a task, difficult as it may be, is what mentoring is all about. Yet most schools may not have a formal mentoring program. In these circumstances, how can teachers, who wish to help their students in ways that go beyond math or language arts, mentor students? To help us answer this question, we welcome back to HeightsCast our Head of Mentoring, Joe Cardenas, for a discussion on how teachers can mentor in schools without a formal mentoring program. In the episode, Joe explains what mentoring is and why it matters, offering guidance on how to be intentional, humble, and patient as teachers seek to help students not only see the good to be done but come to want to do the good they have seen. Register for Joe's Mentoring Workshop here. For lyrics, translation, and history of Regina Caeli, please visit: https://adoremus.org/2007/09/singing-the-four-seasonal-marian-anthems/ Chapters 0:35 Introduction 2:27 What is mentoring? 4:25 Who can be a mentor? 7:40 Getting started 11:26 Being intentional 12:15 Being humble 13:55 Respecting the agency of mentees 15:40 Vale la pena: it is worth it 17:40 Advice for conversations with mentees 22:00 An example of mentoring 23:50 Encouraging without increasing anxiety 28:20 Parents as mentors 30:15 Mentoring: important, though rarely urgent Also on the Forum Foundations for Mentoring Struggling Students: On Fighting the Right Fires with David Maxham Mentoring Sons to a Successful Summer with Joe Cardenas Finding Mentors After Graduation: On Find Your Six with Pat Kilner On Addressing Character Defects: Thoughts on Tough Love with Joe Cardenas Why Boys Need Mentors with Joe Cardenas and Alex Berthe

"Education," wrote G. K. Chesterton, "is simply the soul of a society as it passes from one generation to another." If Chesterton is right, then education is about transmitting a culture, for what is culture if not the embodiment of a society's soul? And what "soul" can be passed on from one human to another if it is not first embodied? To discuss the importance of culture both to society generally and education specifically, we welcome to HeightsCast George Weigel, a distinguished senior fellow at the Ethics and Public Policy Center and a New York Times bestselling author. In the episode, Mr. Weigel speaks about Pope St. John Paul II's "culture first" approach. Contrasting the late pope's view with Marx's view of economics as the primary driver of history and the Jacobin view of politics in the driver seat, Weigel explains the historical and philosophical roots of John Paul II's view of culture as the driving force in history. Along the way, he discusses what culture is and what education has to do with it. Recommended Resources Witness to Hope: The Biography of Pope John Paul II by George Weigel John Paul II and the Priority of Culture by George Weigel Also on the Forum Family Culture with Alvaro de Vicente Creating a Culture of Learning in the Home by Alvaro de Vicente