HeightsCast: Forming Men Fully Alive

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Humility and Teaching: On Leading While Walking Backward Mar 16, 2022

Show notes

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:

What is humility? What is it not?
What are some markers of humility?
What is the role of a teacher in the classroom?
What does it mean for a teacher to point the way?
As a teacher, how do you admit failure? Why is it important to do so?
What is the connection between generosity and humility in the classroom?

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

What is the role of the teacher in the classroom?
How does a teacher lead?
Why a teacher should hope his student will one day surpass him
Humility as rejoicing in the ways one's students will–or already have–surpassed you
Why it is important for a teacher to humbly recognize his failures
How sincere questions can lead to the greatest of discoveries
The need to petition for student's help
Why a teacher should be open to the changing his mind
Teaching and the unexpected
Teaching is modeling a way of thinking, not the mere conveyance of facts
Why a teacher does not need to have all the answers ahead of time
Humility in testing: how to assess students in a way that goes beyond fact checking alone
Joy as the fruit of humility
The importance of having the generosity to pray for one's students, and the humility to ask one's student's for prayers.

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

"Learn to Turn": Tom Royals on Parental Prudence Feb 25, 2022

Show notes

While we often speak of the virtues we wish to see in our children, it is perhaps less common that we reflect on the particular virtues that we need to foster in ourselves. In this episode Mr. Tom Royals, 40+ year teaching veteran and Assistant Headmaster of The Heights, discusses the importance of parental prudence and its progeny: meekness, patience, and humility.

In this week's episode, we sit down with long-time Heights father and Assistant Headmaster, Mr. Tom Royals, to speak about the virtues of parenting. From his wealth experience, Mr. Royals shares with us practical advice on the habits to make the home bright and cheerful schools of virtue. Beyond mere theorizing about virtue, Tom's anecdotal approach in this episode gives us concrete insights into how each moment in the home, whether a setback or a success, can be an occasion for growing in virtue.

Parenting may at times be a messy affair, but as we hear from Mr. Royals it is also a joyful one. In his own words, it is a dance. If we want to help our children mature into men and women of character, then we ourselves need to learn to be childlike, which means always beginning again no matter how old we may—always finding new ways to grow in those virtues which make us not only into mature adults, but also keep us young at heart.

Show Highlights

The virtues that parents of older need to live
Often talk about virtues needed in keds, but can forget about virtues that we need to foster in ourselves
The family is the first school: parents cannot abdicate their call to be educators
It is a journey and a messy affair; no thornless roses here.
How we can learn to turn all circumstances into occasions for loving God
Parents cannot hide: kids seeing everything
The adventure of the evening and the importance of leaving one's anxieties at the door
Handling the little things of the day
Kids model our manner and our conduct
Need to keep resetting the button with children
The importance of being present and accompanying our children
The art of fatherhood in three movements: be there, show love and interest to your wife and each child, you're gonna make mistakes: laugh at them.
Prudence requires you to know your children in their particularity
Parenting is often preparing for the future; we are parenting future forty year olds
Prayer and self-knowledge are indispensable
How do you get children out of themselves?
The romance of daily life in the home
Need to be attentive to the time and place of corrections
Propose, don't impose.

Also on The Forum

Our Little Protectors: How do WE See our Boys? Jan 19, 2022

Show notes

Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente helps us examine our own perception, a parents and teachers, of our boys. If we view them as budding protectors, we'll treat them one way; if we see them as future "compliers," it will be another. But what happens when we want to see them as protectors but treat them as compliers subconsciously? Alvaro helps parents and teachers form a vision of boys befitting their nature, and offers a road map to make that vision a reality in the lives and identities of the boys now in the process of becoming the men we need.

Why Teach? An Introduction to the Teaching Vocation Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

In the first talk of the 2022 Teaching Vocation Conference, Rich Moss describes some of the joys and travails of teaching, as he seeks to answer the question, "why teach?" In short, because we are called to it, because we love reality, because we love teaching, and because we love our students.

On Christianity and the Classical Education: Lionel Yaceczko on Ausonius Grammaticus Dec 17, 2021

Show notes

This week, we sit down with Dr. Lionel Yaceczko to discuss his new book on the fourth century Roman grammarian, Ausonius of Bordeaux. In looking at his life, we dive deeper into various aspects of classical education. As Ausonius lived through an important period of religious, political, and cultural change, considering his life also affords us the opportunity to think about how the advent of Christianity affected (and continues to affect) classical education.

With Christmas fast approaching, perhaps this discussion may serve to remind us that teaching is pointing and that its ultimate purpose is to point us to the Teacher.

Show Highlights

Who is Ausonius and why should educators study him?
The life and times of a Roman teacher, beaurocrat, and Christian convert
What Ausonius's life can teach about classical education
What is a Quaestor?
What is a grammaticus? A rhetor?
Education in Late Antiquity
The most egalitarian form of elitism? How the liberal arts can liberate
The importance of memorization in education
How the advent of Christianity changed classical education
A new canon for education: introducing Sacred Scripture to the liberal arts
May I be so bold? Rhetoric and persuasion in Late Antiquity
What is a litterator? On the stages of education before the grammaticus: Abecedarium, elementa, and the road to the masterpieces
On the importance of study for teachers, and teaching for researchers
Augustine and the vir perfectus as vir sapiens in the service of the Word
From philologoi to theologoi: how Revelation changes everything

Suggested Reading

Ausonius Grammaticus: The Christening of Philology in the Late Roman West by Lionel Yaceczko

Power and Persuasion in Late Antiquity: Towards a Christian Empire by Peter Brown

The World of Late Antiquity by Peter Brown

The Regensburg Address by Pope Benedict XVI

Also on the Forum

Defining the Liberal Arts

What's in a Name? Shedding Light on the Dark Ages

History the Way it Was… and the Way It Should Be

Foundations for Mentoring Struggling Students: On Fighting the Right Fires Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

Continuing with the theme of mentoring, this week Mr. David Maxham discusses how we, as parents and teachers, can better mentor struggling students by taking a step back and focusing on the basics. He offers three practical guideposts for these wonderful guys to strive for as they take steps toward becoming the man they were made to be. We remain, as always, optimistic.

After establishing a relationship of trust with your mentees, Mr. Maxham recommends helping our boys structure their days around the following three key moments:

Waking up in the morning
Midday break
Going to sleep at night

Anchoring resolutions to these three moments, Mr. Maxham explains, helps the boys to achieve their goals. As half the battle in achieving a goal lies in being mindful of it, attaching them to parts of the day that occur without fail can be a strategy for success.

A good place to start when building the foundation could be: a morning offering after waking up, a brief moment of recollection at midday, and an examination of conscience before going to bed at night. As the boys develop more goals, having this framework in place will be a helpful support.

Moreover, as parents, we can help our sons develop these habits by practicing them both ourselves and together as a family. A quick morning offering at breakfast or a brief moment of family prayer in the evening are excellent ideas. And asking our children to pray for us is a great way to not only help them pray, but also to help each of us, who, as we all know, need all the grace we can get. Although there are many things that a six year old boy may not be able to help his parents with, he can pray for them; and that is worth the whole world.

Show Highlights

Where to begin with a mentee who is struggling
The dangers of overwhelming mentees with too much
How to help your mentee develop goals
The importance of framing questions with the right language
How you son can put a structure in place to get to the root of problems
Why parents and educators need to have long-term vision
Habits are not things that you just turn on and off
Keep it simple: the three key moments in the day and how to anchor resolutions to them
How many goals should a mentee work on at once?
How parents can coach their sons in the foundations
Ask your children to pray for you

Also on The Forum

Respectful Dominion: Colin Gleason on Discipline Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

What's your approach to discipline? This week we feature a lecture delivered at The Heights by Mr. Colin Gleason, Lower School Head offering his thoughts on this question. He can't answer for us as parents, but he can share his own philosophy as a teacher and school head. Regardless of whether you are thinking classroom or kitchen, Mr. Gleason encourages us to foster a culture of respectful dominion. And this respect relates to our son's disposition towards us. But it also has import for our respect toward them--towards their dignity and their nature, both as humans and as human boys.

Please include links to books: To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee Orthodoxy, G.K. Chesterton

Finding Mentors After Graduation: Pat Kilner on Find Your Six Nov 10, 2021

Show notes

In this week's episode, we sit down with Pat Kilner, a graduate of The Heights, former Heights teacher, Heights dad, and now Chairman of the Board of Directors to discuss his new book, Find Your Six: Stop Lead Generating and Start Building Influence. Whether you are in college or high school, a young professional or a seasoned veteran, this week's conversation centers on something that is crucial for everyone: mentorship.

This mentorship is something that we sometimes take for granted as Heights students, but what happens after The Heights, when your mentor is no longer hunting you down after 3rd period for a check in? How do you find good counsel then, on foreign turf and starting from ground zero?

Drawing on both his personal experience and formal research for the book, Pat encourages us to find and foster relationships with influencers. As the conversation continues, Pat explains that influencers are really nothing other than great mentors and that perhaps more than anything else, it is finding good mentors that will help one be successful both in his professional career and in his personal life. To this end, he offers advice to college students and young professionals about how to find possible mentors, secure meetings, and approach that first conversation with sincere curiosity and a desire to learn from the wisdom that the other has to offer.

In the end, Pat shares that these relationships should grow into life-long friendships of mutual benefit. The aim is not to pull mere facts and data points, as one does from google, but to develop an authentic relationship with someone who is a living source of wisdom and to whom one can turn throughout the course of his life. Moreover, once we have benefitted from this wisdom, it's our turn to pass it on. Way leads on to way and the tradition continues.

Show Highlights

The importance of mentoring both at the Heights and beyond
Is it necessary to be excited about what you are doing on a daily basis?
Why treating people as commodities is not only bad ethics, but also bad business
How to find mentors and influencers
Three characteristics to look for in a mentor: longevity, implicit trust, ownership mentality
What is needed in a mentor is wisdom, not mere data points
Reframing the college years: what would look like if by the end of college, you had acquired 4-6 deep mentorship relationships?
What are good ways for college students to find mentors?
How mentors can help you find mentors in new places.
Why students should ask their professors out to lunch or coffee
What is means to form your own "personal board of directors"
How to find mentors, even if you are unsure of your professional path
Why parents ought to let their children take ownership of their school work early on
How to approach the art of the meeting
What can parents get from the book?
How do influencers and mentors relate to vocation?

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