HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive

This week on HeightsCast we feature a recording of our most recent Heights Lecture Series featuring Colin Gleason, who discusses the formation of conscience in the young boy. Though we focus, among other things, on the formation of the will at The Heights, the formation of a boy's moral compass–his conscience–is equally important. The forming of a child's conscience begins at a very early age. The peer group, school, and culture will all be factors in our children's moral growth, but no environment will affect the bearings of conscience more than the that of the home. So how can we best train our young sons to have the knack of interpreting right from wrong, especially in today's seemingly amoral climate? Tune in to hear Colin Gleason approach this important theme.

Lower School Head, Colin Gleason, addresses "bullying" in today's podcast.  All across our fair land, schools feature "Say No to Bullying" posters in the same way that our public transit systems caution riders to "see something, say something." Our children have grown up on high alert that there is a troubled class of individuals out there--BULLIES--that is out to get them.  That may be true in some sense, but Colin pushes back on the idea that every instance of aggression or lack of charity is "bullying."  He offers advice for parents and schools working through tough social situations.  Through out the conversation, our Lower School Head grounds his guidance in the goal of raising boys into protectors.  Rather than telling young lads not to use their strength, we must channel that strength towards good, noble, and manly purposes.

Fr. Carter Griffin, Rector of the St. John Paul II Seminary in Washington, DC, shares his thoughts on vocation. Where are vocations coming from? What are the characteristics of homes that are conducive to our sons hearing the Lord's call? How has his approach to formation changed with the arrival of young men raised in a digital age? Fr. Griffin discusses all of this and more in today's podcast.

Our headmaster, Alvaro de Vicente, offers a lecture on how to build a solid relationship of trust with your son. This relationship matters because it is the context within which you will form your boy's character.

Brad Soderberg, Assistant Coach for the UVA Men's Basketball Team, shares his thoughts on coaching and parenting character through athletics at a very high level.

Hear our Headmaster, Alvaro de Vicente, explain the mission and vision of The Heights. For 50 years, we have partnered with parents to form "men fully alive" by tending to the intellectual, moral, physical, and spiritual well-being of every boy.

In this episode, Mr. Kyle Blackmer explores the virtue of order and how we, as parents partnering with teachers, can share it with our middle school boys. It is entirely possible for a young man of 13 to appreciate an ordered life and an ordered mind. It is also possible to teach a young man lacking order to embrace a new virtue. Listen in to learn how.

Are manners stodgy vestiges of a bygone aristocratic age? At The Heights, we'd offer a resounding "no." Manners matter, and as parents and teachers, these "rules of civility" offer a great opportunity for teaching our boys virtue. Listen in to hear more.

Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente offers advice to individuals interested in stepping to the front of the classroom. What sort of temperament best suits a teacher? What ought one to study in order to prepare? Listen in to learn more about what Heights Headmasters, from Bob Jackson to Alvaro de Vicente, have looked for in their faculty for 50 years.