The Heights

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

What message do boys get from all female teachers? No female interaction? What about mothers, sisters, and the rest of the world? Boys benefit from good male role models. The Heights teachers are strong role models for my sons. We looked at the other all boys school in Potomac and didn't find the male teachers of the same caliber. Much more chauvinist/jock oriented. And they have female teachers so go figure. The Heights strives to help parents raise men that are good citizens, fathers, sons. Check for yourself and listen to some of their podcasts. You don't need to be a Heights parent to benefit from their approach to teaching boys.

Boys benefit from good female role models too, eh? Just as girls benefit from good male role models, which is why it would be good for everybody if there were more teachers who are men. Both boys and girls should be taught by male teachers and female teachers.

A boy does not relate to a female as he does a male. Sending my son to The Heights gives him many male role models. At his last school the only male teacher was the PE teacher and the principal.

This is simply not true, but rather learned behavior. You have taught you son this and reinforce it by sending your child to The Heights.

It sounds like a great fit for your family. But you must realize that it would not be a great fit for others, hence the questions on this topic.

Yes, as a parent I do teach my sons to look up to strong male role models. And I teach my daughter to look up to strong female role models.

I do not need to "realize" anything in regard to this topic because I've simply been trying to shed light on a school that has a great approach to teaching boys. There have been a lot of wrong assumptions made about The Heights here. As you said, the question was asked and I provided an answer. Just because you don't agree doesn't mean my answer is wrong. We all have our approaches to parenting.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And no school nurse, so forget meds administration. And an all male faculty. If there is a woman in the front office, she is usually the receptionist answering the phone.

Having a nurse on site is not a requirement for meds administration.

Can we agree it is a good thing? Can we agree that when you are paying tuition. You are hoping for better than the public school? My bad our public has a nurse lol. There are a lot of conditions where a medical profession on hand can make a difference.

Are you losing sleep over this? You know you don't have to send your kid to school there, right?

What a dumb statement. Of course that is obvious. This is a forum to discuss and it is something that is not great for a school that touts
inclusion and also wants to be at same
Level as a Landon. Our family hopes they think through issues like this. Many people are looking for more religious options.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:And no school nurse, so forget meds administration. And an all male faculty. If there is a woman in the front office, she is usually the receptionist answering the phone.

Having a nurse on site is not a requirement for meds administration.

Can we agree it is a good thing? Can we agree that when you are paying tuition. You are hoping for better than the public school? My bad our public has a nurse lol. There are a lot of conditions where a medical profession on hand can make a difference.

Are you losing sleep over this? You know you don't have to send your kid to school there, right?

What a dumb statement. Of course that is obvious. This is a forum to discuss and it is something that is not great for a school that touts
inclusion and also wants to be at same
Level as a Landon. Our family hopes they think through issues like this. Many people are looking for more religious options.

You should take a look at the Heights. Like I've said before, there website (podcasts especially) will give you a good feel for what they are all about. We love it for our sons. There is no place like it - don't think they are trying to model themselves after Landon at all.

You have a few Heights parents giving you good info here - not sure the "losing sleep" poster is even a Heights parent. People chime in on other's replies. Overall The Heights message is what you will discover from their website so do your research there. You don't know who is replying here.

[Anonymous]

OMG, the heights is noooooothing like Landon.

[Anonymous]

Hope they teach your sons the difference between there and their.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hope they teach your sons the difference between there and their.

iPhone typos. Come on now.

[Anonymous]

Ha! I learned to check my messages and my posts before sending them. Even on anonymous forums, I don't want to look stupid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Ha! I learned to check my messages and my posts before sending them. Even on anonymous forums, I don't want to look stupid.

I never do. I'm not the PP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hope they teach your sons the difference between there and their.

Looks like they do

https://heightsforum.org/article/electronic-correspondence-for-high-school-students/

In a recent episode of our podcast, Georgetown Professor and author of Deep Work, Cal Newport, talks about adults’ diminishing expectations for teenagers to both pursue and follow through on opportunities to grow themselves professionally and formatively. Cal mentions a high school student whose performance in an unpaid volunteer research position had a domino-effect of opening up multiple unexpected opportunities, resulting from the initiative she had demonstrated during her time as a volunteer.

However, more often than not, the first impression that a student can make in pursuit of opportunities such as these is via email. As an Admissions Director, I’ve noticed an increase in email directly from student applicants rather than parents. I don’t mind this at all; in fact, I welcome it. Indeed, our own students at The Heights are using email as a way to complement or accompany the non-virtual, real world interactions that happen in-person; another potential good, so long as conversations are improved rather than displaced.

In reading emails from young persons, however, I notice a tendency to conflate the tone of the email with that of the text message, comment, chat, or whatever digital mode of communication. The two are very different, especially as one enters the professional world. As these members of the post-millenial generation (or iGen, or pick your term) begin to hunt for internships and later, employment, it becomes increasingly important to exceed expectations by putting their best foot forward, even if it is thus placed through fiberoptic cable by way of an email.

Here are a few rules for your high schooler to consider when electronically corresponding:

Begin with a salutation

Initiate email to a prospective employer (or teacher) with a salutation. The timeless “Dear Mr. or Ms. So-and-So” is a great way to start. DO NOT launch right into the body of your email. The immediate thought of your older and wiser recipient will be, inevitably, “who does this kid think he is?” A proper salutation infuses the text that follows with a tone of respect, which leads to a more receptive audience, which leads to… well… better results.

Spelling and grammar count

Observe rules of spelling and grammar! Many, likely most, of your readers will see these as goods in and of themselves. Ideas are best conveyed by good writing, and good writers tend not to make spelling mistakes. Even if, however, your recipient is him or herself a digital-junky in the cloud, odds are they will judge your attention to detail by your attention to spelling. The care with which you proof, may be perceived as (and usually is in fact) the same care with which you will work. DO NOT hit “send” without proofing.

Be professional

Be professional in the tone of your communication. Technology does not mean that professionalism is dead. It just means that young persons, as 17 or 18 year olds, can now enter the professional world with greater ease than ever before. But remember, it is still the professional world. Write accordingly and DO NOT speak familiarly to a person with whom you are not familiar. Emoticons, excessive exclamation points, even, to a lesser extent, jokes, are not a great way to open a line of communication with a person in a position of power. Keep it professional.

Mind your manners

Be polite. DON’T tell you reader what to do without asking nicely. At least for the time being: “Please find attached. . . ,””Please call me . . . ,” “Please let me know . . . ,” all sound better than, “Find attached,” “Call me,” and “Let me know.”

Close with a sign-off

End your digital letters with a sign-off and signature. “Sincerely” works well in the first email; you can graduate to “regards” or “best” in time; after you’ve landed the job and are crushing it, you might be able to move on to a signature without a sign-off… maybe…. so long as you are talking to a regular recipient.

Print and proofread before clicking send

Take the time to print more important emails to proof them. I strongly support the primacy of paper over pixel when it comes to comprehension and proofing. But over and above that, when you proof paper, your email (and career?) isn’t competing with browser windows for your attention. Read it once top to bottom, then, if you really want to make sure it’s perfect, read it backwards–any lingering spelling mistakes are sure to reveal themselves when you see the words a bit out of context.

Get a second set of eyes

Ask mom or dad to take a look. Students have a huge advantage over many job seekers insofar as their life coach and biggest fans are within a few seats of them at the dinner table on a near daily basis. Parents know a thing or two about what employers might be looking for. Take pride in writing, but accept correction graciously. DO NOT be unduly defensive about your writing. You might give your proofing-parents pause in offering future corrections, and, let’s be honest, you owe them a grateful and receptive response even if you decide, after thoughtful consideration, to forego a proposed edit.

While an email is no substitute for a face-to-face conversation, it can be the difference between whether or not one achieves that conversation. While these are some helpful guidelines to keeping digital correspondence professional, they are by no means exhaustive. Have any additional tips for students? Feel free to leave them in the comments section at the bottom of the page.

[Anonymous]

I was a Heights parent. The drinking by parents at parties and the young men was out of control. We left.

[Anonymous]

Former Heights parent here, so I thought I would give my perspective. We applied for the high school, and were initially attracted to the curriculum and faith formation. Faculty seemed to really care about the kids when we spoke to them at the Open House. Anyway, our kid had ADHD but we had heard about the institutionalized discrimination at the school against students like our son, so we lied and said he didn't have any issues. We went to confession and felt better, but later learned through our son's religion class at The Heights that we had committed the sin of presumption. Anyway, not sure where we stand with the Big Guy right now, but we're trying our best.

We loved everything about The Heights until the day an incident occurred that caused us to leave. Our son was in an English class where I think they were learning the proper uses of "their" and "there" and I guess the teacher brought beer for the kids. Now, remember my kid has ADHD and the school doesn't have a nurse, so he's popping pills at his locker whenever he gets a chance. I guess he went heavy on the dosage and crushed a couple of Natty Bohs. Things went south from there. Apparently a fellow classmate dared my son to climb onto the roof at school and my son fell off.

Okay, your stomach probably dropped when you read that, but he's totally fine now. Back to the story, there is no nurse on campus to help my son so the teacher calls 911. The EMT's arrive but they are all women. Apparently the institutionalized sexism at The Heights was strong with my son, because he actually refused treatment until a male EMT arrived. Anyway, amidst all the commotion, the truth comes out that my kid's been popping pills, and long story short, we get counseled out of The Heights.

In the end, we definitely deserve some blame because we lied about our son's learning issues. The thing that I miss the most about The Heights is the parent parties though. They have some epic parties, probably even rivaling some of the Gonzaga crowd. I mean, you've got some Dad's that are probably first team all WCAC partiers at that place...great times.

[Anonymous]

This cannot be true

[Anonymous]

Definitely not true. It's satire directed at the whole thread.

[Anonymous]

^thank for that. Awesome!!

[Anonymous]

I was a Heights parent. I believe it all except for the part of the DS refusing help from women EMTs. That is what the Heights does when someone falls out of a tree - they call the ambulance. Someone joked the school had a Batphone direct line into the local fire department. Car pool line w/ an ambulance approaching from behind is such a thrill.