“Charity and clarity” are the lodestars when teaching middle school boys with various faith backgrounds—and who are developing faith dispositions of their own.
Bill Dardis teaches middle school religion and eighth grade core at The Heights. In his sixteen years of experience, he’s navigated many tricky waters with the boys, with the ultimate goal to bring them into a deeper and more engaged relationship with faith.
Chapters:
3:19 Inviting boys deeper into their faith
8:17 A religion teacher has to pray
9:16 Following student questions
11:27 Charity: respecting parents’ moral authority
12:32 Clarity: commitment to the truth
13:28 Avoiding relativism
17:17 Emphasizing essential questions
18:37 Persuasive common ground
25:21 Seeing the familiar as if for the first time
27:30 One, holy, catholic, and apostolic
31:45 When a student’s life situation conflicts with the Catechism
37:59 Loving the job
Links:
The Everlasting Man by G. K. Chesterton (seeing something familiar as if for the first time)
Becoming Greece, textbook by Bill Dardis and Tom Cox
Becoming Rome, textbook by Bill Dardis and Tom Cox
Also on the Forum:
Forming Men of Faith by Alvaro de Vicente
Pope Benedict XVI and Catholic Education: On the Adventure of Truth featuring Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti
Leaving Room for the Holy Spirit by Mark Grannis
“The Talk”: On the Role of Schools and Fathers featuring Michael Moynihan
Featured Opportunities:
Fathers Series for Fathers of Current Students at The Heights School (February 2026)
The Art of Teaching Boys Conference at The Heights School (May 6-8, 2026)