Mr. de Vicente concludes this three part series on raising iGen. Given the forces and impact of our digital world and general culture, our headmaster presents considerations and strategies for parents seeking to accompany their sons on the path to Christian Manhood.

Mr. de Vicente continues his discussion of iGen, turning from the protecting, distracting, unsettling forces that have affected our sons to the impact of those forces on their character.

Our headmaster begins a three episode series on iGen. In today's episode, Mr. de Vicente explores the influences and forces that have overprotected, distracted, and unsettled our sons.

In this week's episode Mr. Michael Moynihan discusses an exercise that allows teachers to isolate the relativistic variable in the moral minds of their students. What is relativism? What is the exercise? And why does any of this matter to those of us just trying to live the good life–however you define that?

Mr. Moynihan's article available here.

Mr. Tom Royals, Assistant Headmaster of The Heights, offers his thoughts on the importance of hosting our sons and their friends at home. Rather than being a place to be avoided, the home should be a social hub and a place of gathering for our boys. This takes work and investment, but the effort is worth the while when friendships flourish and our sons develop relationships informed by the culture of the home.

• Know your boy; know yourself; don't stress. Anxiety is the number 1 enemy of education. Don't let it creep into your homeroom.
• Protect the process–don't worry so much about the product, and trust the system you put in place.
• As far as processes and systems go: keep it simple!

• Enjoy that flexibility while enjoying your schedule! There is no "right" way for every boy;
• But do set a schedule that is informed by your boy's natural strengths and rhythms;
• In the 6 part cocktail: 3 parts reading, 1 part math, 1 part grammar, 1 part... other things (writing practice, art, etc...):
• A second grader shouldn't be doing academic work for more than 3 hours a day, ideally broken into 30 minute chunks.
• The 3 parts reading (1 part read to himself; 1 part read to you; 1 part--the most important part--YOU read aloud to him)
• The Magic Tree House series is a great benchmark for the end of Second Grade–they should be able to read these to themselves and enjoy;
• The Saxon Math approach has worked well for The Heights and for its incoming students–3rd Graders begin with Saxon 5/4, so Saxon Math 3 would work beautifully for a rising Heights boy.
• Parents should not see home schooling as a means to "get their boys ahead"–there are pedagogical reasons for this (in addition to social/logistical).
• There is no need to start cursive before starting at The Heights–by the time our 3rd graders get to Christmas, we'll get them there. Consider refining manuscript and print; cursive could be helpful, but in general there is no need to rush this.
• Note, if you have given your sons enough time for free play, then they will want to be around you AND some of the things you do in the ordinary course of your day can be teaching without teaching.

Why all the tree climbing, virtue talk, and fancy old books? It's all part of our grand conspiracy to form wise, courageous, risk-takers. Hear our Headmaster, Mr. Alvaro de Vicente, discuss how The Heights goes about teaching boys to manage risk in a virtuous, intelligent manner. The process isn't mud-free, and we can guarantee mistakes–your sons' and our own. But the end result, with prayers and God's grace, is a "man fully alive," who understands that living isn't the sole purpose of life.

Dr. Jason Baxter, Academic Dean at Wyoming Catholic College and author of The Beginners Guide to Dante's Divine Comedy offers his thoughts on how to introduce students to the Divine Comedy. By forcing the Divine Comedy (and many other "Great Works") on our boys without the proper groundwork, we risk cheating them of a profound encounter. But there is value, and this is an introduction worth making. How do we go about it? Listen in and follow our guide.

Today we feature an interview with Tom Longano, author of two recently published books: The Blue Book of Stories and The Red Book of Stories. A Heights graduate and former lower school teacher, Tom offers his thoughts on children's literature, reading for boys, and the importance of not just reading books aloud, but actually performing them aloud as well.

Heights Middle School Head, Mr. Andy Reed, discusses the middle school years. Drawing on his years of experience working with middle school boys and their families, Mr. Reed offers practical advice on how parents can best help their sons grow during these crucial years of formation. While we have often heard it said that parents should "cut the cord" and "let him leave the nest," in this talk Mr. Reed emphasises the importance of parents combining freedom with formation. He recommends parents keep their sons especially close during these critical years, even as they give them the genuine freedom to grow in virtue.