Adam Taylor on Boys’ Education and the ‘Medieval Model’

“Are you a classical school?” It’s a question many parents and educators will have to answer at some point. St. Martin’s Academy in Fort Scott, Kansas, likes to say they’re not exactly classical—more like medieval.

At St. Martin’s, a boys’ boarding school and working farm for grades 9-12, Adam Taylor and a team of educators seek to nurture authentic masculinity, awaken wonder, and heal the imagination. This week on HeightsCast, Mr. Taylor talks with us about the vision of St. Martin’s, and gives us ideas we can take into our own understanding of boys’ education.

Chapters:

3:35 The medieval model

7:12 The path to “Dean of Magistri”

14:38 Nurturing authentic masculinity

19:14 Healing the imagination

25:00 Boys need reality and heroes

33:49 Soulcraft: the role of work at St. Martin’s

36:54 Forms of manly friendship

40:57  Time management for teachers

45:35 Recommended reading

Links:

St. Martin’s Academy in Fort Scott, Kansas

“The Necessity of Chivalry” by C. S. Lewis

The Tuft of Flowers by Robert Frost

John Senior and the Restoration of Realism by Fr. Francis Bethel

Poetic Knowledge: The Recovery of Education by James S. Taylor

Beauty for Truth’s Sake: On the Re-enchantment of Education by Stratford Caldecott

Beauty in the Word: Rethinking the Foundations of Education by Stratford Caledcott

Featured opportunities:

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

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

Also on the Forum:

Breathing Narnian Air: Loving Modernity as a Medievalist featuring Jason Baxter

Shaping Your Son’s Moral Imagination featuring Alvaro de Vicente

On Moral Imagination, Part I featuring Alvaro de Vicente