Category: HeightsCast

How have we allowed such a daring story as the American founding to become so flat? A history lesson so simple, tidy, and inevitable that it can be covered in one day’s class? Dr. Matthew Spalding, dean of Hillsdale’s Van Andel Graduate School of Government, wants to revive the living story of the American founding—and the Declaration of Independence, in particular. Calling it our nation’s “epic poem,” he sees in this document a layered poetic, philosophical, and practical work of the American Mind. This week on HeightsCast, Dr. Spalding invites…

Why tell the truth when it doesn’t always pay? It’s important to let a boy encounter this question through example, literature, and enough freedom to wrestle with his own conscience.

Dave Maxham explains why fundamentals and drills may be integral to creativity—not hindrances.

What do our children need most from us in the unsteady years of middle school? First, says Head of Middle School Andy Reed, they need our availability.

Today, we have an increasing store of research to evaluate the claims of AI and educational tech. Can it be used constructively?

Volume, pitch, pace, tone, inflection: the human voice is our primary teaching instrument, one that comes with enormous advantages.

When we join a school community, it should be to join forces—with teachers, administrators, and other families.

Does a talented person have a duty to serve others? What do leading citizens really need to live well, freely, impactfully—even greatly? How do we, parents and educators, order the educational goods?

“Charity and clarity” are the lodestars when teaching middle school boys with various faith backgrounds—and who are developing faith dispositions of their own.

The crisis of meaning among young people gets a lot of press; but a quieter crisis of calling afflicts every generation today. Dr. Arthur Brooks says the causes are the same: not knowing what our life is really and ultimately for. In his talk at The Heights Forum Convivium 2025, Dr. Brooks shares the facts about calling—where neuroscience, psychology, and theology all agree, and how he (finally) found his. He goes on to say that helping young people to discover the true Christian purpose of life and then one’s personal…