Adorning our school’s main hallway is a sort of charter for the Heights graduate which designates him as a man who is “optimistic toward life’s challenges,” as one who “sees freedom as an opportunity to choose the good.” Fostering these ideals in each student is a central aspect of the school’s mission. But, in a world that is increasingly filled with children suffering from anxiety, how—in very practical terms—can we help our students develop such an outlook on life? Last month, we heard from Mr. Alex Berthé on how...

We have all experienced moments in which we are so immersed in a task that we lose track of time and performance feels effortless. For some, this may occur on the sports field; for others, in the classroom; and still, for others, in the performance hall. Yet, we have likely also experienced the opposite. For many children, the struggle for concentration is probably more prevalent.  Last week, we began a three-part series with Dr. Kevin Majeres. We discussed what anxiety is and how parents can help their sons—and themselves—turn occasions...

In this week’s episode, we continue our conversation with Dr. Kevin Majeres, turning our attention to the importance of setting challenges and the way actions shape emotions. Drawing on these two topics, Dr. Majeres helps us think through how parents can best help a son that is struggling with an addiction of any sort.   In particular, Dr. Majeres responds to the following questions:  What is addiction?   What is the neuroscience behind addiction?  How does the particular addiction of pornography tie into this general understanding of addiction?  How can we—or our...

Psychologists and social commentators are decrying the high levels of stress experienced by the typical American teen. By most reports, more than half of teens are suffering from excessive stress, and many of those young people are prone to slip further down this path into anxiety and depression. Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente draws on his decades of experience as a teacher and mentor to unpack some of the reasons why boys nationwide are “stressed-out.” Turns out many of the factors are well within our parental control.

In this episode, Head of Mentoring, Joe Cardenas, explains the importance of training the emotions of our aspiring “men fully alive.” Often we see education as a matter of the head; but as teachers, we must be just as concerned with forming the heart. We base much of this interview on this article from OpusDei.org.

Head of Mentoring, Joe Cardenas, continues his discussion of forming our sons’ emotions. Training in virtue requires attention not only to intellect and will, but to emotions as well. Complete virtue requires not only a knowledge of, and decision towards the good, but also the desire for that good. How do we foster this wholistic capacity for virtue in our sons? Joe provides three areas to consider: Example: The way we speak to, and speak about, others, is a key element of our children’s emotional formation. We must showcase, for...

This week on HeightsCast, we re-explore an interview with Eric Heil on “greentime,” and “nature deficit disorder.”