On Home as Social Hub: The Importance of Hosting Our Sons and Their Friends

Watch the follow-up webinar below for an additional discussion with Mr. Tom Royals about the topics from this episode.

Mr. Tom Royals, Assistant Headmaster of The Heights, offers his thoughts on the importance of hosting our sons and their friends at home.  Rather than being a place to be avoided, the home should be a social hub and a place of gathering for our boys.  This takes work and investment, but the effort is worth the while when friendships flourish and our sons develop relationships informed by the culture of the home.

Timestamps:

00:00​ – Introduction

01:25​ – Post-podcast thoughts

02:50​ – What are some differences between 9th/10th graders and 11th/12th graders?

05:40​ – Ideas on introducing guys and gals.

09:00​ – What does the school do to facilitate coed interactions?

11:00​ – Perfectionism: the enemy of the good?

15:45​ – Lessons learned: what are some things to avoid when gathering?

19:05​ – Freedom and formation: how to thunderbolt down one’s lane.

21:15​ – Why do we gather? What is the point of socializing?

25:05​ – What is “eutrapelia?”

27:30​ – The party in the soul: the importance of prayer.

29:20​ – Kids these days: why parties and gatherings are so crucial for a tech-saturated generation.

Tom Royals

About the guest:

Tom Royals


Tom began his tenure at The Heights in 1979. Over the years, he has taught grades four through twelve in the disciplines of English and religion, held various administrative positions, and was appointed Assistant Headmaster in 1998. Tom holds a BA in English from Providence College. He and his wife, Cecilia, have eight children, four daughters and four sons. All four sons are graduates from The Heights: Fr. Andrew Royals in 1997, a priest in the Archdiocese of Washington, DC; Thomas J. Royals in 2003, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate; LT James M. Royals in 2007, also a USNA graduate, currently attached to VAW -120 at Norfolk Naval Air Station; and John P. Royals in 2012. Tom and his wife, Cecilia, have nineteen grandchildren.

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