Continuing last week’s lecture on the Moral Imagination, in this episode Mr. de Vicente turns his attention to the ways in which parents and educators can cultivate the moral imagination of their sons and students. Neither beasts nor boulders of marble, he explains how a proper approach to education must be rooted in an understanding of man’s freedom; that is, it ought to be neither mere training nor external sculpting.
As the Japanese proverb goes, vision without action is a daydream; action without vision, a nightmare. If last week’s segment focused on the vision, this second part of Alvaro’s lecture considers the actions we can take to help this vision take root in our children’s lives.
Chapters
- 1:22 The Start
- 2:41 Why Our Boys Need Rights of Passage
- 4:10 The Wimp or the Don Juan
- 4:24 The Wimpy Kid: A Man with no Backbone
- 5:49 The Don Juan: A Barbarian with the Veneer of Sophistication
- 8:50 How to Cultivate the Moral Imagination
- 10:21 Building the House of the Mind
- 11:50 Four Ways to Form the Moral Imagination
- 12:08 Protect
- 14:11 Promote
- 18:25 Shape
- 24:45 Deepen
- 27:21 The Idea of an Artisan
- 29:20 Conclusion: The Failure of Frodo and our own Felix Culpa
Also on The Forum
Who am I?: The Question of Persona with Mr. Alvaro de Vicente
Our Little Protectors: How do WE See our Boys with Mr. Alvaro de Vicente
Forming your Young Son’s Conscience with Mr. Colin Gleason
Fostering Vocations in a Digital Age with Fr. Carter Griffin
Grounding Boys in Reality with Mr. Joe Cardenas
The Issue of Identity: Who does your son think he is? By Mr. Rich Moss
About the guest:
Alvaro de Vicente
Alvaro de Vicente has served as Headmaster of The Heights School in Potomac, Maryland since July 2002. Originally from Santander, Spain, Alvaro received some of his secondary education at The Heights and graduated from there in 1983. In 1987 he graduated cum laude from Georgetown University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Philosophy and received his J.D. from Georgetown University School of Law in 1991. As Executive Director of the Tenley Study Center from 1989 to 2002, he organized and managed supplemental development programs to several hundred students and professionals per year. Several of the Center’s programs were replicated and became standard programs for other supplemental education centers in the United States and abroad. While employed full-time by the Tenley Study Center, Mr. de Vicente offered his services on a part-time basis to The Heights School. Between 1992 and 2002, Mr. de Vicente assisted the School in various positions; coaching, establishing and running its college counseling office, school administrator overseeing contracts with vendors, and student advisor. From 1995 to 2001, Mr. de Vicente served on The Heights School’s Board of Directors, the last four years as its vice-president. In addition, Mr. de Vicente also serves on the Board of Trustees of two other educational groups; the Youth Leadership Foundation and the Texas Education Works. In his capacity as Headmaster of The Heights School he spearheaded and supervised the construction of the School’s signature building. But Mr. de Vicente’s most important work is in the classroom where he teaches Catholic Apologetics and in mentoring students daily.
Learn more about Alvaro de Vicente →