HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive

This fall marks the 25th anniversary of the institution of the Heights Clans. These competitive bodies engage in festivity six days a year, including two full Clan Days every All Saints Day and Feast of the Annunciation. This participates in the rich liturgical and intellectual traditions of authentic feasting, using the building blocks of worship, arts, food, and games.

Today on HeightsCast, middle school teacher and clans gamemaster/meister Kyle Blackmer explores why a school—or any community—should consider a commitment to these rituals of festival.

4:28 Pieper's definition of festival 7:33 Each festival unique to its place 9:01 Heights Clan Days 15:03 Why feasting is important 20:43 Connecting a student body 22:19 A liturgical basis 24:28 Preparation: the fast before the feast 28:21 Practical challenges to festival

The Heights Student Life: Clans, containing more information about our four clans and clan festival days

In Tune with the World: A Theory of Festivity by Josef Pieper

"The Immortal Power of Astonishment and Laughter" by G. K. Chesterton

Around the Year with the von Trapp Family by Maria von Trapp

The Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen

In Defense of Victory by Kyle Blackmer

Headmaster's Lecture at The Heights School (October 3, 2026)

Fall Open House at The Heights School (October 24, 2026)

Fatherhood Conference at The Heights School (November 7, 2026)

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)

At The Heights, every teacher functions as a mentor for students. This is more than a figure of speech; it's the character of certain student-teacher relationships with routine check-ins oriented toward holistic personal growth. This week on HeightsCast, Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente considers the scope of different kinds of advisory, and outlines his vision for what makes real, effective mentorship.

4:36 Whether all teachers are mentors 9:07 All advisory: goals, agency, and disposition 12:40 Spiritual direction and coaching 16:29 The scope of our mentoring program 20:20 Primary relationships for growth 23:17 Secondary supports for growth 26:49 A holistic mentor 28:23 Mentees of another faith 31:06 Handling big questions

The Heights School Mentoring Program, including links to the mentoring handbook and topics by age

Mother Teresa, Come Be My Light: The Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta by St. Teresa of Calcutta

The Mentoring Playlist on The Heights Forum, containing essays and podcasts on the topic

Headmaster's Lecture at The Heights School (October 3, 2026)

Fall Open House at The Heights School (October 24, 2026)

Fatherhood Conference at The Heights School (November 7, 2026)

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)

There's a sea of online math supplements, from drills to games to whole courses, all promising advancement for your struggling student (or your stellar student who has outpaced his cohort). What kind of program, if any, is right for your student? Under what conditions are digital tools most effective?

Heights math teacher David Maxham gives us an extremely practical guide to the best digital resources out there and how to use them effectively. He also shares the failure modes you may not see coming when "hiring" a digital tutor for your child.

2:19 Digital tools at a liberal arts school 3:47 For students at both ends of the spectrum 11:41 Online drills: assisting academic virtue 14:12 Parent guidance still needed 18:56 Benefits of in-person lessons 23:32 How digital data can help teachers 27:08 Getting student buy-in, gaining confidence 32:22 Whole online courses: Math Academy over Khan 41:44 Remediation without embarrassment 46:46 Common pitfalls to outside help

Math Facts Lab drills, broadly recommended by Mr. Maxham

Rocket Math drills, also mentioned

Math Academy courses, recommended by Mr. Maxham

Khan Academy courses, Mr. Maxham says best as a supplement, not as a class

Matific, gamified math practice

Beast Academy

The Digital Delusion: How Classroom Technology Harms Our Kids' Learning—and

How to Help Them Thrive Again by Jared Cooney Horvath

Automaticity and Creativity by David Maxham

Automaticity: Where 'Rote' Fits into the Liberal Arts featuring David Maxham

How to Help Your Son When He Struggles Academically: Part I by Michael Moynihan

How to Help Your Son When He Struggles Academically: Part II by Michael Moynihan

Headmaster's Lecture at The Heights School (October 3, 2026) – link coming soon

Fall Open House at The Heights School (October 24, 2026)

Fatherhood Conference at The Heights School (early November 2026) – link coming soon

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)

How do we know whether we know something? How do we know whether our son or student has apprehended a lesson?

Sometimes we hear the liberal arts discussed as a "beholding of great things." But Catholic University professor Dr. Jonathan Buttaci reminds us they are liberal arts—implying a craft or adept handling of knowledge. In other words, coming to know something is not passive at all. It's an act. And that act does not primarily belong to the teacher.

This week on HeightsCast, Dr. Buttaci talks epistemology and what the role of the teacher really is in bringing young people to knowledge.

3:59 Knowledge: active, not passive

12:56 Practical ends of knowledge

18:02 Contemplation: Buttaci v. Pieper

24:04 Liberal arts

30:16 Knowing bestows freedom

35:29 Where truth and creativity meet

42:27 The power of the teacher

43:52 How teachers can preserve the joy of discovery

57:59 Teaching rote, grindstone skills

01:05:08 A teacher's job is joyful

Education Is Not about Content Transmission by Dr. Andrew Abela, notes on a presentation by Dr. Jonathan ButtaciMagnifica Humanitas, papal encyclical by Pope Leo XIV Leisure: The Basis of Culture by Josef Pieper The Idea of a University by John Henry Newman

Automaticity and Creativity by David Maxham Automaticity: Where 'Rote' Fits into the Liberal Arts featuring David Maxham The Teacher's Voice featuring Tom Steenson Teaching Sovereign Knowers Series by Michael Moynihan

Headmaster's Lecture at The Heights School (October 3, 2026) – link coming soon

Fall Open House at The Heights School (October 24, 2026)

Fatherhood Conference at The Heights School (early November 2026) – link coming soon

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)

The most famous work of our newest Doctor of the Church is, of course, The Idea of a University—a collection that explores the essence of a Catholic university education. But fewer people know about St. John Henry Newman's extensive efforts in primary and secondary education:

Newman's part was not just as an educational theorist, but a school founder, who played every nitty-gritty role from fundraising to parent relations, from essay grading to student mentoring, even processing repair orders and playing second violin to fill out the little school's orchestra.

Dr. Paul Shrimpton has spent decades studying Newman's interest in education, from theory to practice. Today on HeightsCast, he invites us into Newman's vision for younger students, their teachers, and grammar schools as places of "grounding" and "a really liberal education."

00:05:18 Co-patron of the Church's educational mission 00:07:50 Timeline of Newman as educator 00:20:25 Different models of student freedom 00:27:39 Methods of study for young people 00:34:11 Newman: a personal, hands-on educator 00:39:26 The role of a teacher 00:48:23 Partnership with parents 00:57:39 Forthcoming book on Newman: education and practice

"Drawing New Maps of Hope" apostolic letter by Pope Leo XIV The Idea of a University by John Henry Newman Historical Sketches, especially vol. 3, by John Henry Newman "Personal Influence: The Means of Propagating Truth" by John Henry Newman The Adeodatus Series on Catholic Education & Culture by The Catholic University of America Press (publisher for Dr. Shrimpton's forthcoming book, St. John Henry Newman and his Idea of a School, spring 2027)

A Catholic Eton?: Newman's Oratory School by Paul Shrimpton The Making of Men: Idea and Reality of Newman's University in Oxford and Dublin by Paul Shrimpton The Most Dangerous Man in England: Newman and the Laity by Paul Shrimpton

A Whole Education: Teaching Persons, Not Just Subjects featuring Michael Moynihan

The Idea of a Catholic University featuring Dr. Peter Kilpatrick

Fall Open House at The Heights School (October 24, 2026)

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)

Statistics show that young people today are spending significantly less time socializing in face-to-face mixed company, across genders, than previous generations. This week on HeightsCast, Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente looks at how we might assess and address boy-girl socialization for our sons, helping the modern boy to develop healthy relationships in the right context.

2:46 "Normal" is not necessarily the measure

5:53 Healthy group dynamics

7:30 Growth comes in stages

12:12 The role of schools

19:25 The role of families

26:43 Manners and the virtue of charity

32:56 When to make a correction

On Home as Social Hub: The Importance of Hosting Our Sons and Their Friends featuring Tom Royals

Why Boys Need Dating Coaches and How to Be One by Alvaro de Vicente

Guidelines for Dating featuring Alvaro de Vicente

The Role of Parents in the Conspiracy for the Good featuring Alvaro de Vicente

Headmaster's Lecture at The Heights School (October 3, 2026) – link coming soon

Fall Open House at The Heights School (October 24, 2026)

Fatherhood Conference at The Heights School (early November 2026) – link coming soon

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)

"Friendship is one of the most indispensable requirements of life," says Aristotle in the Nicomachean Ethics. But, adds Alasdair MacInytre, it's also "difficult and often enough impossible—especially under the conditions characteristic of contemporary modernity."

Today on HeightsCast, long-time colleagues (and friends!) Austin Hatch and Tom Steenson reflect on the nature of friendship, and why it was chosen as the theme for the 2026 Convivium Conference for Teaching Men, hosted by The Heights Forum this November.

What is the value of friendships among fellow faculty? What are the ingredients of that friendship? How should individual teachers seek it? How can school leaders foster it? And how might the students benefit?

Mr. Hatch and Mr. Steenson begin to scratch the surface of these questions in preparation for the deep-dive at this year's Convivium. If you'd like to join us, registrations, essays for the conference companion, and proposals for breakout sessions are now being accepted.

7:42 Aristotle and Cicero on friendship

12:46 Teaching: a shared life

16:09 Friendship: shared work, shared mission

20:31 Time constraints to friendship

24:50 Faculty friendship's effect on students

32:41 Maintaining culture as the school grows

38:34 Education: a raising of friends

44:24 Best practices for school leaders, individual teachers

De Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture Keynote: Is Friendship Possible? featuring Alasdair MacInytre

"Economy and Pleasure" in The Art of the Commonplace by Wendell Berry

Faculty of Friends: Making Schools into Communities featuring Tom Cox

Friendship for Fathers: John Cuddeback on Living and Teaching the Art featuring Dr. John Cuddeback

On Hiring Teachers: Drafting a Faculty of Friends featuring Alvaro de Vicente

In the charged "Achievement Culture" we live in today, both parent and student anxiety have skyrocketed. There are the usual culprits, from a changing economic landscape to social media and comparison culture.

But ultimately, Michael Moynihan believes our professional and academic anxieties come from a crisis of meaning for the term 'work.'

Drawing on his experience as a math teacher, head of the upper school at The Heights, and father of a large family, Mr. Moynihan suggests that we can reduce anxiety by understanding 'work' not as a means of self-optimization or self-advancement, but primarily self-gift. Sanctifying our work tempers both extremes of anxiety and avoidance.

5:43 A results-based system meets parental pressure

8:16 Modern crisis of meaning for work

12:03 Helping young people see beyond the immediate, material

14:46 Sanctifying work for anxious students

20:57 Sanctifying work for avoidant students

25:12 Meaningful chores: an antidote to disordered work

28:02 Mastery over grades

Answering Anxiety by Michael Moynihan

The Father and His Family: A Guidebook for Aspiring, New, and Experienced Fathers by Michael Moynihan

Decisive Parenting: Forming Authentic Freedom in Your Children by Michael Moynihan

The Talk and Beyond: Raising Children in a Confused Culture by Michael Moynihan

The Anxious Generation: How the Great Rewiring of Children Is Causing an Epidemic of Mental Illness by Jonathan Haidt

How to Not Be Anxious as a Parent by Alvaro de Vicente

Automaticity: Where 'Rote' Fits into the Liberal Arts featuring David Maxham

Automaticity and Creativity by David Maxham

Hopeful Parents, Hopeful Sons by Alvaro de Vicente

His Anxiety and Ours: Confessions of an Anxious Parent who Happens to Be a Therapist featuring Alex Berthé

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)

Leaders Initiative, a year-long mentoring partnership for school leaders

Natural History is a largely outdoor, discovery-based class for our lower school students, where they see the Valley as a textbook and the seasons as its chapters.

Eric Heil has taught Natural History to his third graders for decades now, and in this rebroadcast from 2021, he unpacks the class's lessons of close observation, pattern recognition, scientific inquiry, identification, wonder, and the foundations of philosophy—all among 8- to 11-year-olds.

3:10 Personal observation and discovery

5:35 The outdoors: an alternative textbook

9:55 Boys and nature journals

19:49 Intrinsic value in nature study

25:47 Junior philosophy: substance and accidents

31:50 "I see, I think of, I wonder"

36:23 Starting a nature study at your school

Webinar: How to Keep a Nature Journal featuring Eric Heil and Peter Vitz Fact or Opinion: On Preventing (or Unwinding) Moral Relativism by Michael Moynihan

The Laws Guide to Drawing Nature and Journaling by John Muir Laws Handbook of Nature Study by Anna Botsford Comstock A Natural History of North American Trees by Donald Culross Peattie Nature's Events: A Notebook of the Unfolding Seasons by John Serrao

Teaching Sovereign Knowers, a series on science education by Michael MoynihanEducating Boys: Nature, Risk, and the Making of Men by Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti On Nature Journals and Observant Souls featuring Eric Heil "Can I Catch It?": On Handling Wildlife featuring Eric Heil

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)

Our headmaster often uses this paradigm for the ideal Heights graduate: he's the kind of young man you'd want your daughter to marry.

In a recent article for the Forum, Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti asked: in our current culture, how does a boy grow up to be the kind of man who desires that life?

Delving into Church sources, both scriptural and magisterial, he has assembled the outline of a theology of masculinity. Responding to Pope St. John Paul II's description of the "feminine genius," Dr. Lanzilotti considers the prospect of a complementary "masculine genius," and what it means for our boys.

3:09 A man you'd want your daughter to marry 4:18 A man who wants to marry 7:40 Naturally ordered toward fatherhood 8:58 Building a culture of marriage 16:21 Stories about vocation, fidelity 18:22 Teaching vocation, fidelity 23:00 Theology and human sexuality 26:06 The human heart responds to goodness 31:01 The masculine genius 35:34 Scriptural, papal guidance on human love 37:51 Witnessing to the goodness of life

The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky Kristin Lavransdatter by Sigrid Undset Love and Responsibility by John Paul II Man and Woman He Created Them: A Theology of the Body by John Paul II "The Jeweler's Shop" by John Paul II Redemptor Hominis, encyclical by Pope St. John Paul II, 1979 Familiaris Consortio, apostolic exhortation by Pope St. John Paul II, 1981 Deus Caritas Est, encyclical by Pope Benedict XVI, 2005 "Is There a Catholic Theology of Masculinity?" dissertation by Peter Holmes

Made in the Image and Likeness: On Man and Masculinity featuring Bishop Erik Varden

Worthy and Willing: Forming Boys Who Will Want to Marry by Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti

Educating Boys: Nature, Risk, and the Making of Men by Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti

The Magisterial Case for Single-Sex Education by Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti

The Forum Faculty Podcast hosted by Tom Cox

Convivium Conference for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 11-13, 2026)