Article | September 28, 2026
Drama as a Teaching Tool: Freeze-Frame Tableaux
Featuring Joseph Bissex
Read OnHeightsCast | September 17, 2026
Struggling in Math: Where Digital Tools Can Assist in Academic Virtue
Featuring Dave Maxham
Read OnHeightsCast | September 10, 2026
The Art and Act of Knowing—and What It Means for Teaching
Featuring Dr. Jonathan Buttaci
Read OnHeightsCast | September 3, 2026
Newman and his Idea of a School featuring Dr. Paul Shrimpton
Featuring Dr. Paul Shrimpton
Read OnHeightsCast | August 20, 2026
Boy-Girl Socializing: Fostering Healthy Peer Groups
Featuring Alvaro de Vicente
Read OnArticles & Essays
Drama as a Teaching Tool: Freeze-Frame Tableaux
Joe Bissex shows us a method for helping our students embody characters from books we're reading in order to understand them better.
By Joseph Bissex | September 28, 2026
High School Success
High school success should be more than simply a college admissions game. Boys can learn to set goals for physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual growth—with the guidance of a trusted mentor.
By Alvaro de Vicente | September 22, 2026
Thomas Merton: Wide-Awake in the World
Merton is a spiritual guide who combines the natural and mundane with the supernatural and eternal.
By Michael Ortiz | September 18, 2026
The Perfect Life Fallacy
When one starts to take the “life plan” seriously, he can easily fall into the “perfect life fallacy.” Alvaro de Vicente reminds us that a good life is never fully for ourselves.
By Alvaro de Vicente | August 11, 2026
Helping Your Son Discover the Meaning of His Life
The first step for "high school as life prep" is no less than helping your son discern the purpose of his life.
By Alvaro de Vicente | July 28, 2026
Life Prep: Introduction to the Series
High school shouldn’t just prepare boys for college—it should prepare them for life. Alvaro de Vicente kicks off a series for parents and educators, reframing the high school years as “life prep.”
By Alvaro de Vicente | July 21, 2026
A Good Use of Summer for Boys
Summer offers unique opportunities for building a strong family culture and assisting a boy’s personal growth in matters physical, intellectual, moral, and spiritual.
By Alvaro de Vicente | June 23, 2026
Scouring Tom’s Whitewashed Conscience
Pat Miggins explores the depths under Tom Sawyer's simple schemes and fantastical imaginings. Twain shows us in Tom what's involved in growing up.
By Pat Miggins | June 09, 2026
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Book & Movie Reviews
The Web-Head Wins: A Review of Spider-Man: Brand New Day
"Director Destin Daniel Cretton takes great care with the action, pacing, sets, surprises, and emotional beats of Spider-Man: Brand New Day..."
- Joe Breslin Read the ReviewHomer through Nolan’s Looking-Glass
"Joe Breslin examines the good, the bad, and the upshot of Christopher Nolan's epic attempt to tell the story of Odysseus's homecoming."
- Joe Breslin Read the ReviewThe Power and the Glory – A Review
"Have you ever read a book that inspired in you a soul-crushing desire to eat fried chicken, shed undefinable tears through a mouthful of Spr..."
- Joseph Bissex Read the ReviewHow It’s Done, Done, Done: K-Pop Demon Hunters
"A true musical that doesn't make its plot into a mere vessel for “messaging"—yet is ultimately compatible with a Christian sense of sin,..."
- Joe Breslin Read the ReviewAll Tracks Converge: A Review of The Lincoln Highway
"After a stint in a Nebraska prison over an accidental killing, Emmett Watson prepares to start fresh in California with his wide-eyed eight-..."
- Joe Breslin Read the ReviewIn Search of Sacrifice: The Drama of the Family in Godzilla Minus One
"2023’s Japanese film Godzilla Minus One is more than a monster flick—it’s a true family movie. Not to be confused with CGI-heavy Ameri..."
- Joe Breslin Read the ReviewTestosterone Tropes: A Review of F1: The Movie
"If the social media “manosphere” became incarnate as a movie, that movie would be F1. Not so much a story as a series of “manly” tro..."
- Joe Breslin Read the ReviewLook Up: Why I Believe in Superman (2025)
"Superman (2025) is a fun and wholesome movie that’s best enjoyed on the big screen. Despite some issues with pacing and a few unfortunate ..."
- Tom Cox Read the ReviewCutting Edge, but Get to the Point
"Fantasy authors have a league of their own. They play for various intramural teams, such as The Snarky Sendups (Terry Pratchett’s Discworl..."
- Joseph Bissex Read the ReviewMelancholy, Minnesotan Medicine
"In a post-progress Midwest, beside that omnipotent and mercurial god, Lake Superior, Rainy and his wife Lark have the closest thing to happi..."
- Joe Breslin Read the ReviewBrowse all Reviews...
Podcasts & Videos
HeightsCast
The Scope of Mentoring
Spiritual direction, coaching, counseling—how do these forms of advisory compare to mentoring? Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente outlines his vision for a holistic mentoring program.
Featuring Alvaro de Vicente | September 24, 2026
Forum Faculty Podcast
Why Should I Read The Odyssey?
Is it ever too late to read one of the foundational works of Western literature? In this inaugural installment of “Books I Haven’t Read—and Why Should I Read Them?”, host Joel Sellier sits down with fellow faculty Gerard “Babo” Babendreier, Justin Myers, and Joe Bissex to discuss Homer’s Odyssey: why it remains essential reading, where a first-time reader should begin, and what an ancient epic can still teach modern readers about home, loyalty, pride, suffering, and love. The conversation also explores the challenges and possibilities of translation, with the guests...
Featuring Joel Sellier, Gerard Babendreier, Joseph Bissex, Justin Myers | July 24, 2026
Struggling in Math: Where Digital Tools Can Assist in Academic Virtue
An extremely practical guide to the best digital resources out there and how to use them effectively.
Featuring Dave Maxham | September 17, 2026
The Art and Act of Knowing—and What It Means for Teaching
A student coming to know something is not passive at all. It’s an act. And that act does not primarily belong to the teacher.
Featuring Dr. Jonathan Buttaci | September 10, 2026
Newman and his Idea of a School featuring Dr. Paul Shrimpton
You may know The Idea of a University, but fewer have heard about St. John Henry Newman's extensive efforts in primary and secondary education.
Featuring Dr. Paul Shrimpton | September 03, 2026
Boy-Girl Socializing: Fostering Healthy Peer Groups
Alvaro de Vicente speaks to the different roles of families and schools in building up healthy, mixed-gender peer groups for teens.
Featuring Alvaro de Vicente | August 20, 2026
True Convivium: Friendship with Fellow Teachers
What is the value of friendships among fellow faculty? What are the ingredients of that friendship? How should individual teachers seek it? How can school leaders foster it? And how might students benefit?
Featuring Austin Hatch, Tom Steenson | August 06, 2026
Reducing Anxiety through the Meaning of Work
Our professional and academic anxieties may come from a crisis of meaning for the term ‘work.’
Featuring Michael Moynihan | July 23, 2026
An Introduction to Natural History: Beauty, Science, and Philosophy for Boys
A largely outdoor, discovery-based class for our lower school students, where they see the Valley as a textbook and the seasons as its chapters.
Featuring Eric Heil | July 02, 2026
Theology and Masculinity: Men’s Creation and Calling
Our headmaster often uses this paradigm for the ideal Heights graduate: he’s the kind of young man you’d want your daughter to marry. In a recent article for the Forum, Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti asked: in our current culture, how does a boy grow up to be the kind of man who desires that life? Delving into Church sources, both scriptural and magisterial, he has assembled the outline of a theology of masculinity. Responding to Pope St. John Paul II’s description of the “feminine genius,” Dr. Lanzilotti considers the prospect of...
Featuring Dr. Joseph Lanzilotti | June 18, 2026
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