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Journey Into Mastery
  • Home
  • Archived
    • Week 1: The WHY of Teaching
    • Week 2: Supporting Staff Growth
    • Week 3: School Leaders: Instructional Leadership Is the Job
    • Week 4: Sharpening the Saw and Recalibrating
    • Week 5: Authentic Learning
    • Week 6: Professional Learning Libraries
    • Week 7: Be Curious, Not Judgmental
    • Week 8: Prioritizing Tasks
    • Week 9: Starting Out
    • Week 10: Tweaks over Leaps
    • Week 11: Start with Who
    • Week 12: Building a Better Worksheet
    • Week 13: Year End Self Reflection
    • Week 14: Tools of the Trade
    • Week 15: School Fit
    • Week 16: Assessment and Learning
    • Week 17: Student Behaviour and Skill Deficits
    • Week 18: Critical Learning Partners
    • Week 19: Working from a Mobile Office
    • Week 20: Book End Your Days
    • Week 21: The Barrier of Time
    • Week 22: The Problem With 'Work-Life Balance'
    • Week 23: A Week Off Grading
    • Week 24: The 4Fs of Stress Responses
    • Week 25: Mastery and Perfection
    • Week 26: Student Behaviour and Relationships
    • Week 27: Succession Planning
    • Week 28: The (New) School Experience
    • Week 29: Your Teaching Space - The Silent Teaching Partner
    • Week 30: Autonomy vs Consistency
    • Week 31: Teaching My Students
    • Week 32: The Experience Disconnect
    • Week 33: Setting the Narrative
    • Week 34: Charting the Course
    • Week 35: The Illusion Of Objectivity
    • Week 36: Crafting a Classroom Culture
    • Week 37: Collaborative Structures
    • Week 38: Appraisal Theory
    • Week 39: Starting on the Right Foot
    • Week 40: What's the problem?
    • Week 41: Rethinking Expertise in Education
    • Week 42: Zeigarnik Effect and Learning
    • Week 43: Summer of Soccer
    • Week 44: Building Routines
    • Week 45: Teams vs Groups
    • Week 46: Change and Growth
    • Week 47: Jargon and Effective Communication
    • Week 48: Lunch with Staff
    • Week 49: Helping the Retention Problem
    • Week 50: Promoting Teaching for Your Own Children
    • Week 51: Implementation is Key!
    • Week 52: Productive Rest
    • Week 53: Leading With the Whole Body
    • Week 54: Old Tools, New Workshop
    • Week 55: Lessons from the Beach
    • Week 56: Guidance, Regulation or Discipline?
    • Week 57: Finding Your 'Peeps'
    • Week 58: The Way We Have Always Done It
    • Week 59: Tips for Working with Parents
    • Week 60: Trust and Accountability
    • Week 61: The Problem With Preparation
    • Week 62: Teaching - An Art Guided By Science
    • Week 63: Self Care and Cruel Optimism
    • Week 64: The Problem With Fair
    • Week 65: Being New In the Room
    • Week 66: Engaged Listening
    • Week 67: Leading Without Ego
    • Week 68: Ask the Second Question
    • Week 69: The Leadership Disconnect
    • Week 70: Combating 3 Sources of Teacher Stress
    • Week 71: The Small Moments
    • Week 72: The Skill of Silence
    • Week 73: Empowering Leadership
    • Week 74: Feedback Loops
    • Week 75: Leadership and Management Mindsets
    • Week 76: Protecting Identities
    • Week 77: Observing Classrooms
    • Week 78: Building Leadership
    • Week 79: Cultures of Niceness
    • Week 80: Social Media for Teachers
    • Week 81: Why Good Educators Disengage in Professional Learning
    • Week 82: Humanity and Hierarchies
    • Week 83: Breaking Down Silos
    • Week 84: Finding the Pause
    • Week 85: Playing Games
    • Week 86: Decision Fatigue
    • Week 87: Leveraging Your Talent
    • Week 88: AI - Replacement or Enabling??
    • Week 89: The Power of Predictability
    • Week 90: 'Just Right' Responsibility
    • Week 91: Teaching How to Think (Instead of What to Think)
    • Week 92: Rating Yourself
    • Week 93: Same Leader, Different Experiences
    • Week 94: A Second Summer of Soccer
    • Week 95: Same Students, Different World
    • Week 96: Tuning Out the Noise
    • Week 97: Calibrating Confidence and Competence
    • Week 98: Moving Beyond Binaries
    • Week 99: Unsolicited Advice: 10 Things I Have (Mostly) Learned the Hard Way
Journey Into Mastery
  • Home
  • Archived
    • Week 1: The WHY of Teaching
    • Week 2: Supporting Staff Growth
    • Week 3: School Leaders: Instructional Leadership Is the Job
    • Week 4: Sharpening the Saw and Recalibrating
    • Week 5: Authentic Learning
    • Week 6: Professional Learning Libraries
    • Week 7: Be Curious, Not Judgmental
    • Week 8: Prioritizing Tasks
    • Week 9: Starting Out
    • Week 10: Tweaks over Leaps
    • Week 11: Start with Who
    • Week 12: Building a Better Worksheet
    • Week 13: Year End Self Reflection
    • Week 14: Tools of the Trade
    • Week 15: School Fit
    • Week 16: Assessment and Learning
    • Week 17: Student Behaviour and Skill Deficits
    • Week 18: Critical Learning Partners
    • Week 19: Working from a Mobile Office
    • Week 20: Book End Your Days
    • Week 21: The Barrier of Time
    • Week 22: The Problem With 'Work-Life Balance'
    • Week 23: A Week Off Grading
    • Week 24: The 4Fs of Stress Responses
    • Week 25: Mastery and Perfection
    • Week 26: Student Behaviour and Relationships
    • Week 27: Succession Planning
    • Week 28: The (New) School Experience
    • Week 29: Your Teaching Space - The Silent Teaching Partner
    • Week 30: Autonomy vs Consistency
    • Week 31: Teaching My Students
    • Week 32: The Experience Disconnect
    • Week 33: Setting the Narrative
    • Week 34: Charting the Course
    • Week 35: The Illusion Of Objectivity
    • Week 36: Crafting a Classroom Culture
    • Week 37: Collaborative Structures
    • Week 38: Appraisal Theory
    • Week 39: Starting on the Right Foot
    • Week 40: What's the problem?
    • Week 41: Rethinking Expertise in Education
    • Week 42: Zeigarnik Effect and Learning
    • Week 43: Summer of Soccer
    • Week 44: Building Routines
    • Week 45: Teams vs Groups
    • Week 46: Change and Growth
    • Week 47: Jargon and Effective Communication
    • Week 48: Lunch with Staff
    • Week 49: Helping the Retention Problem
    • Week 50: Promoting Teaching for Your Own Children
    • Week 51: Implementation is Key!
    • Week 52: Productive Rest
    • Week 53: Leading With the Whole Body
    • Week 54: Old Tools, New Workshop
    • Week 55: Lessons from the Beach
    • Week 56: Guidance, Regulation or Discipline?
    • Week 57: Finding Your 'Peeps'
    • Week 58: The Way We Have Always Done It
    • Week 59: Tips for Working with Parents
    • Week 60: Trust and Accountability
    • Week 61: The Problem With Preparation
    • Week 62: Teaching - An Art Guided By Science
    • Week 63: Self Care and Cruel Optimism
    • Week 64: The Problem With Fair
    • Week 65: Being New In the Room
    • Week 66: Engaged Listening
    • Week 67: Leading Without Ego
    • Week 68: Ask the Second Question
    • Week 69: The Leadership Disconnect
    • Week 70: Combating 3 Sources of Teacher Stress
    • Week 71: The Small Moments
    • Week 72: The Skill of Silence
    • Week 73: Empowering Leadership
    • Week 74: Feedback Loops
    • Week 75: Leadership and Management Mindsets
    • Week 76: Protecting Identities
    • Week 77: Observing Classrooms
    • Week 78: Building Leadership
    • Week 79: Cultures of Niceness
    • Week 80: Social Media for Teachers
    • Week 81: Why Good Educators Disengage in Professional Learning
    • Week 82: Humanity and Hierarchies
    • Week 83: Breaking Down Silos
    • Week 84: Finding the Pause
    • Week 85: Playing Games
    • Week 86: Decision Fatigue
    • Week 87: Leveraging Your Talent
    • Week 88: AI - Replacement or Enabling??
    • Week 89: The Power of Predictability
    • Week 90: 'Just Right' Responsibility
    • Week 91: Teaching How to Think (Instead of What to Think)
    • Week 92: Rating Yourself
    • Week 93: Same Leader, Different Experiences
    • Week 94: A Second Summer of Soccer
    • Week 95: Same Students, Different World
    • Week 96: Tuning Out the Noise
    • Week 97: Calibrating Confidence and Competence
    • Week 98: Moving Beyond Binaries
    • Week 99: Unsolicited Advice: 10 Things I Have (Mostly) Learned the Hard Way
  • More
    • Home
    • Archived
      • Week 1: The WHY of Teaching
      • Week 2: Supporting Staff Growth
      • Week 3: School Leaders: Instructional Leadership Is the Job
      • Week 4: Sharpening the Saw and Recalibrating
      • Week 5: Authentic Learning
      • Week 6: Professional Learning Libraries
      • Week 7: Be Curious, Not Judgmental
      • Week 8: Prioritizing Tasks
      • Week 9: Starting Out
      • Week 10: Tweaks over Leaps
      • Week 11: Start with Who
      • Week 12: Building a Better Worksheet
      • Week 13: Year End Self Reflection
      • Week 14: Tools of the Trade
      • Week 15: School Fit
      • Week 16: Assessment and Learning
      • Week 17: Student Behaviour and Skill Deficits
      • Week 18: Critical Learning Partners
      • Week 19: Working from a Mobile Office
      • Week 20: Book End Your Days
      • Week 21: The Barrier of Time
      • Week 22: The Problem With 'Work-Life Balance'
      • Week 23: A Week Off Grading
      • Week 24: The 4Fs of Stress Responses
      • Week 25: Mastery and Perfection
      • Week 26: Student Behaviour and Relationships
      • Week 27: Succession Planning
      • Week 28: The (New) School Experience
      • Week 29: Your Teaching Space - The Silent Teaching Partner
      • Week 30: Autonomy vs Consistency
      • Week 31: Teaching My Students
      • Week 32: The Experience Disconnect
      • Week 33: Setting the Narrative
      • Week 34: Charting the Course
      • Week 35: The Illusion Of Objectivity
      • Week 36: Crafting a Classroom Culture
      • Week 37: Collaborative Structures
      • Week 38: Appraisal Theory
      • Week 39: Starting on the Right Foot
      • Week 40: What's the problem?
      • Week 41: Rethinking Expertise in Education
      • Week 42: Zeigarnik Effect and Learning
      • Week 43: Summer of Soccer
      • Week 44: Building Routines
      • Week 45: Teams vs Groups
      • Week 46: Change and Growth
      • Week 47: Jargon and Effective Communication
      • Week 48: Lunch with Staff
      • Week 49: Helping the Retention Problem
      • Week 50: Promoting Teaching for Your Own Children
      • Week 51: Implementation is Key!
      • Week 52: Productive Rest
      • Week 53: Leading With the Whole Body
      • Week 54: Old Tools, New Workshop
      • Week 55: Lessons from the Beach
      • Week 56: Guidance, Regulation or Discipline?
      • Week 57: Finding Your 'Peeps'
      • Week 58: The Way We Have Always Done It
      • Week 59: Tips for Working with Parents
      • Week 60: Trust and Accountability
      • Week 61: The Problem With Preparation
      • Week 62: Teaching - An Art Guided By Science
      • Week 63: Self Care and Cruel Optimism
      • Week 64: The Problem With Fair
      • Week 65: Being New In the Room
      • Week 66: Engaged Listening
      • Week 67: Leading Without Ego
      • Week 68: Ask the Second Question
      • Week 69: The Leadership Disconnect
      • Week 70: Combating 3 Sources of Teacher Stress
      • Week 71: The Small Moments
      • Week 72: The Skill of Silence
      • Week 73: Empowering Leadership
      • Week 74: Feedback Loops
      • Week 75: Leadership and Management Mindsets
      • Week 76: Protecting Identities
      • Week 77: Observing Classrooms
      • Week 78: Building Leadership
      • Week 79: Cultures of Niceness
      • Week 80: Social Media for Teachers
      • Week 81: Why Good Educators Disengage in Professional Learning
      • Week 82: Humanity and Hierarchies
      • Week 83: Breaking Down Silos
      • Week 84: Finding the Pause
      • Week 85: Playing Games
      • Week 86: Decision Fatigue
      • Week 87: Leveraging Your Talent
      • Week 88: AI - Replacement or Enabling??
      • Week 89: The Power of Predictability
      • Week 90: 'Just Right' Responsibility
      • Week 91: Teaching How to Think (Instead of What to Think)
      • Week 92: Rating Yourself
      • Week 93: Same Leader, Different Experiences
      • Week 94: A Second Summer of Soccer
      • Week 95: Same Students, Different World
      • Week 96: Tuning Out the Noise
      • Week 97: Calibrating Confidence and Competence
      • Week 98: Moving Beyond Binaries
      • Week 99: Unsolicited Advice: 10 Things I Have (Mostly) Learned the Hard Way

Entry for Week of Oct 5,  2026

Unsolicited Advice: 10 Things I (Mostly) Learned the Hard Way

A little about me and this blog....

The about page is here because I thought some context for this blog might be in order. For those who don’t know me, my name is Owen Matchim and I have been an educator for 17 years; 5 of which as a teacher, and 12 as a school administrator. I am passionate about learning, educational innovation and change. I have been extremely fortunate to be connected and teach with some amazing educators from whom I have learned a lot along the way. I also read a lot of books, articles, podcasts, etc and generally have an interest in learning more about education. At home I am a dad to 3 amazing kids and have a supportive wife who is also a teacher and humors me in my educational musings.


I started writing this blog as a way to organize my thoughts and to make my learning (and thinking!) more visible. When I thought about doing this publicly I was worried about being ‘right’ if I was going to commit thoughts into print. But, I also think that being vulnerable requires a leap of faith and that if I waited until everything was ‘right’ then I would be waiting a long time. So, if along the way you notice that some things seem to contradict something said earlier, that’s ok! Hopefully it means I have just been thinking about it more and have updated my views (though full disclosure, some of these have been written for a while so despite a hopefully bi-weekly release, some entries would have been written prior). 


The name of the blog is a play on the old Marvel comic book series Journey Into Mystery, because trying to achieve mastery is most certainly a journey and not a destination. Hoping to try writing this for a few months or so and see how it goes. With some luck it will hopefully continue to help me develop and grow, and if anything resonates or agitates then feel free to reach out so we can have a conversation!

The easiest way to find me is through my email: omatchim@gmail.com and I would love to hear from you for feedback or to discuss ideas.


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