Mike Matthews - My thoughts after 62 years on this planet on family, public education, cooking, and life.

Hello to all of my podcast subscribers. I am a few podcasts behind - still working on a routine that lets me get this done in a timely manner. I’ve also taken a few steps to make the recording a little more professional, so that it sounds like a real podcast. In these podcasts, I look back at a blog post and simply reflect on it. I try to hit some main points and give some thinking behind the post...

This latest podcast is based on my blog post published on September 7, 2024. You can find the original post by clicking here . Thanks for listening! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drmdmatthews.substack.com

Hi Listeners. Thanks to some feedback from my listening friend Kylie, I am no longer going to read my most recent blog post and interject comments. Instead, I’m going to use the last blog post as a base, but just talk about what I wrote, why I wrote of it, and thoughts I’ve had since writing it. As always, I’ll be curious to hear what does and does not resonate. Thanks for listening. You can find...

This podcast, like all of them, is an embellished version of my latest post on www.drmdmatthews.com . I hope you enjoy! I’m not a big fan of report cards. They are so . . . final. A progress report is much more helpful – it’s a check in on how it’s going, and guidance on how to be more successful. As a teacher, one of my favorite projects was the five to ten page research paper, where the first dr...

Growing up, July 4th was always a big holiday in our house. We did not call it Independence Day. Just July 4th. The main focus for my siblings and me was getting to the amazing fireworks stands that magically popped up in June. The red, white, and blue banners lured us in, but it was the wondrous and colorful array of explosive devices that drove us out of our minds. We were on our best behavior,...

June 15, 2024 You can count on it coming in early June. My Dad will reach out to all of his kids and say, “The most important day of the year is coming this Sunday. You do remember that Father’s Day is this Sunday, right?” Yes, Dad. We remember. I heard those words this week from my 85-year-old Dad in our weekly Tuesday conversation. I love those talks. We’ve been having them for a long time now....

Do you ever feel like the world is bombarding you with a message, and that wherever you turn, you keep hearing that same thought? Kind of like Kevin Costner’s character Ray Kinsella in Field of Dreams hearing, “If you build it, they will come.” Or like when people saw images or heard musical notes inspired by aliens in Close Encounters of the Third Kind. In those examples, only a few people saw or...

Last week, I enjoyed a five-day visit to my hometown of Little Rock, Arkansas. The temperature was nice, though it rained every day. These days, I am able to go home three or four times a year. I love seeing my mom, my dad and step-mom, my brother and my sister-in-law, my sister and my nephew, and other friends and family. I feel fortunate to have so much love and friendship in my life, and to hav...

Podcast version of my April 20, 2024 post on www.drmdmatthews.com This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit drmdmatthews.substack.com