Prayer is not prescriptive. So how could we hope to teach our children a practice that St. Thérèse called “a surge of the heart”? Lower school head Colin Gleason suggests that it’s about creating opportunities and options, so that our sons can naturally make a life of prayer their own.

In his talk from our Parenting Conference in April, Mr. Gleason lays out ten very practical ways to sow the seeds of prayer into our family’s daily routines—in formal and spontaneous ways. He ends by reminding us that prayer is not a program. It is an orientation. And whatever we parents approach with consistency and sincerity, “the house will be filled with the fragrance of it” (cf. John 12:3).

00:05:28 Prayer as a relationship
00:09:53 A family plan for daily prayer
00:12:30 Introducing them to mental prayer
00:15:00 The Psalms: a handbook
00:20:37 Making opportunities and options
00:24:20 Asking them to pray for us
00:26:57 Stories for the prayer imagination
00:29:52 Prayer journals
00:31:07 Discussing prayer
00:32:46 Prayer in our daily activities
00:35:27 Making a prayer spot
00:37:32 Clearing obstacles, preparing the ground

Teaching Essentials Workshop at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025)

Convivium for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)

Forming Men of Faith by Alvaro de Vicente

Forming Families, Forming Saints featuring Fr. Carter Griffin

We often speak of a pedagogical friendship between teacher and student: the earnest desire for the student’s good, the collaborative adventure through difficult material, and the trust built thereby. But we shouldn’t oversimplify this friendship: it’s not merely to be liked by our students.

From rookie teachers to decades-long veterans, we can all feel that pull to be the “favorite teacher.” But what kind of frameworks should we keep in mind as we serve our students well? This week, Heights Headmaster Alvaro de Vicente unpacks the very human desire to be liked, the perils of seeking popularity, and what our students really need from us.

00:03:16 The student is not for your gain
00:05:18 Including social-emotional gains
00:11:10 Practical pitfalls of seeking popularity
00:15:31 Why we want to be liked
00:19:21 Give the respect you want
00:21:46 Like your students
00:26:03 Where to find stable satisfaction

Parents Conference: Fostering Our Sons’ Faith at The Heights School (April 12, 2025)

Teaching Essentials Workshop at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025)

Respectful Dominion: On Discipline featuring Colin Gleason

Order and Surprise: On Beauty and the Western Tradition featuring Lionel Yaceczko

“Offer it up!” Do we receive that invitation with a wince or a nod? Heights Assistant Headmaster Tom Royals invites us to examine our approach to Lent and “offering it up”—with an emphasis on offering. Mr. Royals reflects on the “happy obligation” that is the habit of sacrifice, and he considers the liturgical seasons of Lent, Passiontide, Eastertide, and ordinary time as gifts from the Church.

4:21 “Offer it up”

8:37 Look to the cross

10:59 Offering it up as a pattern and practice

12:47 Keeping the Lord company

16:22 Our reactions to setbacks

20:57 History of Lent: an ecclesial framework

23:22 Our Lent so far

25:44 Lent in the family culture

28:24 Easter: the feast of feasts

32:02 These next ten days

Holy Rosary (with images) by Josemaria Escriva

Parents Conference: Fostering Our Sons’ Faith at The Heights School (April 12, 2025)

Teaching Essentials Workshop at The Heights School (June 16-20, 2025)

Convivium for Teaching Men at The Heights School (November 13-15, 2025)

Learn to Turn featuring Tom Royals