Mike Matthews

My thoughts after 63 years on this planet on family, public education, cooking, and life.


LATEST POST

Accepting our Mistakes and Being our Best

If there’s one way to guarantee low blog post readership, it’s to make it about golf. I can already hear my dad and my mother-in-law sighing as they read that first line. I have disappointed both of them. Again. You’d think they would be used to it by now. And yet, they still love me. […]

Discover Latest Post

RECENT

Birthdays: Don’t Love Them, Can’t Live Without Them

March 15, 2025

I turned 63 years old this week. I’m quite good with it. As they say, it’s way better than the alternative! I decided to share some random birthday thoughts in this post, so here we go. When the ground shifts, I’ve found the best thing to do is to be of service. Go where the […]


Throwing Spaghetti at the Wall

March 1, 2025

Tom Peters, a famous writer on business and management, wrote, “If you’re not confused, you’re not paying attention.” Well, based on my level of confusion, I can confidently report that the good news is that I am paying attention. I have never been more dazed and confused. I think that is what this administration wants. […]




Subscribe To My Newsletter


BOOKSHELF

The Ideal Team Player: How to Recognize and Cultivate The Three Essential Virtues

Patrick M. Lencione 2016
Read: 2024
Education/Leadership, Non-Fiction, Reading Now

One of my favorite parts of my career in public education is the teams that I have been fortunate to be a part of. I wrote a post on my love of teams back in 2020, celebrating teams that included: History classes that I taught New teachers (and eventually veteran ones too) at San Lorenzo […]

The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment

Eckhart Tolle 2010
Read: 2022
Non-Fiction, Reading Now

I’m not sure why I haven’t added this book until now. I’ve been reading it and re-reading it for years, and it has helped me through many a stressful time. I love the references to all of the world’s major religions. The main premise is rather Buddhist in nature, seeking the end of suffering through […]

Rich Dad, Poor Dad

Richard Kiyosaki 2000
Read: 2010 or before
Non-Fiction, Reading Now, Recommended for Young Adults

It’s been on the best seller list since it came out. It’s corny and very simply written. But as a parent and an educator, there’s not better book to give you the big picture of money. We educators don’t think about money. We think about how overwhelming our job is, how wonderful it is to […]

The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Marie Kondo 2011
Read: 2018
Education/Leadership, Non-Fiction, Reading Now

I was listening to an architect who specialized in building new schools talk about what classrooms should be. One of his pet peeves was all of the nonsensical and nonpurposeful clutter that occupies many classrooms. He thought that every classroom should contain only those items which are useful for teaching and learning or inspirational for […]


PrincipalChef.com Highlights