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HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive

Welcome to HeightsCast, the official podcast of The Heights School. Every week, we feature interviews with teachers, educators, and experts in a variety of fields, both here at The Heights School and beyond our school's walls. Our conversations concern the education and formation of men fully alive in the liberal arts tradition. In other words, we talk about the education of the kind of man you’d want your daughter to marry. We hope that these conversations may be both delightful and insightful; and that through them, your vocation as educators may be ever renewed. Join us!
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HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive
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Now displaying: 2016
Dec 22, 2016

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
Seneca's writing and wisdom are not outdated.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

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

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

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

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.

Oct 25, 2016

Andy Reed (Middle School Head) and Colin Gleason (Lower School Head) talk about the purpose of homework, and then delve into the issue of online assignments. The Heights provides planners to students, but asks them to be the owners of their homework. Listen in to hear why. 

Oct 15, 2016

Dr. Yaceczko and Mr. Breslin discuss how we, as parents and teachers, can guide our boys through the ever expanding realm of modern children's literature-- some of it great, some of it fine, some of it pernicious.

Sep 27, 2016

Mr. Jeff Thompson speaks about his experience as a religions teacher preparing boys for confirmation.  Too often we get mired down in facts, which is especially unfortunate in the world of religious formation.  Mr. Thompson encourages us to life our eyes to a higher goal.  Also in this episode, an excerpt from Mr. de Vicente's talk on the Moral Imagination--how to shape it, protect it, and nurture it.

Aug 31, 2016
In this episode, Mr. de Vicente:
  • Introduces two new resources to be launched on September 7, our first day of School:  Heights Book Review and The Forum.  Stay tuned for details.
  • Introduces the topic of his 2016 Heights Lecture Series presentation:  The Moral Imagination.  For more information, click here.
  • Discusses the three prerequisites for a healthy young-adult relationship:  Good Intentions, Other-Centric Worldview, Self-Mastery.
  • Discuses the three requisites for a healthy relationship:  Rules, Communication, Accountability.
To learn more, or to hear Mr. de Vicente's talk on Transmitting Principles of Morality, click here.
May 31, 2016

The science behind the importance of green time.

May 16, 2016

Direct and indirect ways to promote the life of the mind at home.

Apr 19, 2016

Does your son know that you believe in him? Andy Reed on the power of optimism.

Feb 15, 2016

This week on HeightsCast, we are joined by twelfth grade AP English teacher, Mr. Michael Ortiz, who talks about the books he reads with his students. Also featured in this week's poetry segment is Mr. John Paul Lechner, who analyzes a poem by Gerard Manley Hopkins.

Jan 18, 2016

In this episode of HeightsCast, Headmaster of The Heights School, Alvaro de Vicente talks about his recent letter to parents on the culture of the home. Also, a poem by Richard Wilbur recited and analyzed by drama teacher, Mr. Joseph Bissex.

Jan 4, 2016

This episode of HeightsCast continues last episode's interview with Jackson Scholars' head, Dr. Matthew Mehan, on the Liberal Arts. We use the term almost daily, but what does it mean? And what does it mean for us? Also, we hear two of Gerard Manley Hopkins' poems, one recited and explained by lower school teacher Mr. Tom Longano, and another sung as an arrangement composed by music teacher Mr. Patrick Love. 

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