Our Mission
The Heights Forum is a department of The Heights School. We assist parents, school leaders, and teachers in their own efforts to educate boys into men fully alive. Through in-person and digital resources we share our experience in forming the hearts and minds of boys, and invite you to join the conversation.


Professional Development on the Road
Andrew Reed, Middle School Head and Leaders Initiative Director, recently led a day-long workshop for teachers at Summit Academy, focusing on the vocation and mission of teachers. In his first session, Andy outlined three levels of a teacher’s vocation: forming the mind in the context of a single class, forming the person in the context of a school, and forming the whole person in the context of a family. He encouraged teachers to widen the scope of how they see their work, to understand that they are called to not...
Listening to Our Boys
It’s true: we talk too much. And we know that just one more brilliant lecture from us will not solve our boys’ every problem—but we can’t seem to help ourselves. This week on HeightsCast, lower school head Colin Gleason takes an intentional look at how we as parents and educators engage our boys, and how we might do better. The conversation reminds us that parenting is relational, not a delivery system, and that ultimately we want to keep the lines of communication open. Chapters: 2:30 Talk less, engage more 8:31...
Edward Thomas: Poet and Servant of the Real
By Michael Ortiz
The world is not just a set of separately existing localized objects, externally related only by space and time…Something deeper, and more mysterious, knits together the fabric of the world. —Tim Maudlin, professor of philosophy and physics at NYU. The poetry of Edward Thomas (1878-1917) teaches us how to look into a moment and see the world. William Blake, who saw eternity in a flower, would get Thomas’ poetry, though his own work is so vastly different it may as well have been written on another planet. The vision’s the...
Discipline vs. Punishment
In this episode of the Forum Faculty Podcast, Tom Cox hosts a discussion on the nuances of discipline versus punishment in educational settings with guests Jeff Thompson, Elias Naegele, and Joel Sellier. They share personal anecdotes and insights from their extensive teaching experience, emphasizing the importance of individualized approaches and the need for empathy in effective discipline. The conversation also highlights the role of parental involvement and administrative support in creating a balanced and supportive environment for students. 00:00 Introduction and Guest Introductions 02:19 Defining Discipline vs. Punishment 03:23 First-Year Teaching Experiences 06:35 Classroom...