It is not on bread alone that man lives, but also on every word that he receives. And just as one's diet shapes his bodily growth, so too does one’s verbal digest contribute to his interior development. Of course, not every sort of bodily growth is good; and, likewise, not every slogan that one receives is in itself spiritually salutary.
In this week's episode, Mr. Kyle Blackmer considers the ways in which phrases, lyrics, mantras, slogans—in a word, the words we hear repeatedly—shape the imagination, at times for good and, at other times, for ill.
In the context of education and parenting, it is particularly important that we attend to the ways in which these oft-repeated lines may subtly influence our children. Even more, it is crucial that we help our children think actively for themselves about what they consume; for without the engagement of one's own mind, a child remains deprived of that precious fruit, from which a liberal arts education derives its name: freedom.
Surrounding our children with words both wise and witty, not only will their minds be directed to what is true, their hearts will not be far from what is good.
Show Highlights:
Also on The Forum
This week on HeightsCast, we bring to you a lecture from the 2022 Teaching Vocation Conference. In this lecture, Head of Lower School, Mr. Colin Gleason, offers advice on how to prepare for the teaching profession. Although the ultimate preparation for teaching is teaching itself, he nevertheless offers us six verbs—actions—that great teachers do well and that aspiring teachers would do well to work on.
There are many mediocre teachers in the world, so if you are going to be a teacher, become a great one. This, of course, does not mean perfection, but rather continual improvement. To be a great teacher is not to have made it, but to be continually on the way. In Mr. Gleason’s words, a teacher is like the guide on a white water rafting expedition. Indeed, we are all in the same boat and, not only are we learning, we are laughing.
Also on The Forum
Guidance for Aspiring Teachers with Alvaro de Vicente
Seneca on the Teacher’s Job by Tom Cox
The Teacher as Liberal Artist with Dr. Matthew Mehan and Mr. Tom Longano
Cultivating Friendship in the Classroom by Austin Hatch
Aristotle on the Student’s Job by Tom Cox
Further Reading
The Art of Teaching by Gilbert Highet
Only the Lover Sings by Josef Pieper
Ben Hogan’s Five Lessons: The Modern Fundamentals of Golf by Ben Hogan
A teacher is one who leads while walking backward. Even more, he is one who leads with the humble hope that he will one day be surpassed by those who are following him; for while a teacher may have traveled down the proverbial path a time or two before, he must nevertheless rediscover it with each new student.
In this week’s episode we sit down with Mr. Joe Bissex to discuss the importance of humility in the classroom. In the episode, we consider the following questions:
As you’ll hear, if a teacher remains humble and sincerely elicits his students’ contributions, it does not infrequently happen that what he had missed on his first ten treks, he may—with the fresh insight of a new student—discover on the eleventh. And in this discovery, both teacher and student will have the joy of knowing that both are disciples of the one Teacher, who is the Truth itself, and whose way makes all things new.
Show Highlights
Also on The Forum
Guidance for Aspiring Teachers with Alvaro de Vicente
Seneca on the Teacher’s Job by Tom Cox
The Teacher as Liberal Artist with Dr. Matthew Mehan and Mr. Tom Longano
Cultivating Friendship in the Classroom by Austin Hatch
Aristotle on the Student’s Job by Tom Cox