Finding the right speaker for your event is not a minor detail – your decision can make or break the success of your event. As a university dean, I am responsible for finding speakers for a variety of events and so I know it is a task that comes with plenty of responsibility. What I have found is that the success of the event is directly linked to the quality of the speaker. If a particular speaker nailed it, we had a great event. If they didn’t, well…..the results weren’t nearly as positive.

I created this page to hopefully save you some time as you look for the right speaker for your next event. Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions about the specifics of what I can offer for your event and I look forward to working together for positive outcomes.

Thank you for visiting my page and thank you or considering me.

My Specialty Speaking Topics

I speak on topics related to P-20 education. I will customize my presentation to meet your organization’s specific needs. My goal is to facilitate the outcome you want to create.

Keep in mind that I can present my talks as a keynote or a workshop. Also, I have a half-day, and in some cases, full-day seminar version.

If you need me to do a talk on a topic that is not listed below, I would be more than happy to create a customized speech or training for your organization.

Here are the titles and descriptions of the talks that I offer:

 Anti-Intellectualism in America: The idea that children must be entertained and feel good while they learn has been embraced by many well-meaning educators. In many classrooms, as a result, students are watching movies, working on multimedia presentations, surfing the Internet, putting on plays, and dissecting popular song lyrics. The idea is to motivate students, but the emphasis on enjoyment as a facile substitute for academic engagement creates a culture in which students are not likely to challenge themselves or stretch their abilities. The probable result? A life spent shying away from books, poetry, art, music, public policy discussions — anything that takes an effort to understand or appreciate and has no immediate or obvious payoff. What can we do as educators to both embrace the good of technology and popular culture, while training our students to appreciate learning for learning’s sake?

 Anti-Intellectualism in Black America: This takes the topic of anti-intellectualism in America and focuses it on Black Americans. In my talk, I argue that anti-intellectualism in this group is the result of both imposed and welcomed factors. The persistence of discrimination, voluntary and involuntary geographic segregation, self-defeatism, and self-victimization have all contributed to a society that feeds anti-intellectualism in all classes of the black community. Only in black America is consistently lower academic achievement acceptable. This talk examines the root causes of academic disengagement and disinterest in an attempt to reform the negative educational viewpoints that exist in the black community. No group is pardoned, from legislators to parents, in the call for a change in philosophy and action when it comes to intellectual progress for black learners. Through the analysis of past and present cultural factors, the talk explores how the next generation of black students can rise above expectations and boldly claim an intellectual future.

 Answering The Call to Teach: This talk is designed for students who are on the path to becoming professional educators. The overarching goal of this talk is to assist in answering a very simple question: “Do I really want to become a teacher?” This talk discusses the educational landscape today and what the newest teachers will face – and how passionate individuals are needed to truly educate America’s youth.

 Black Boys in Crisis: Though people outside the “black boy” demographic like to think that American K-12 schools, workplaces and courthouses are pillars of fairness, those within the grouping know better. Study after study, research report after research report, and statistic after statistic all point to a crisis among the young, black men of the nation – beginning in homes, stretching to K-12 educational experiences, and leading straight to the cycle of incarceration in increasingly high numbers. So what can be done to save this group of children that consistently seem to fall through the cracks of a society that does little to rescue them? In this talk, I will look at the ways in which the U.S. education system fails black boys, in hopes of sparking some conversation on how we can help to produce a stronger generation of black young men. In addition, I will offer some simple common sense solutions to solving the issues that exist among young black males.

 Effective School Leadership: Educational administrators know that leadership requires hundreds of judgments each day that require a sensitivity and understanding of various leadership strategies. Bridging the gap between the academic and practical world, this talk provides an exploration of ten dominant leadership strategies to give school leaders a solid basis in theory and practical application. Demonstrating the advantages and drawbacks of each theory, listeners are encouraged to discover the most appropriate strategy, or combination of strategies, that will best enable schools to achieve positive results. This talk is essential for aspiring and practicing school leaders who wish to have a better understanding of their leadership role.

 Eliminating Social Promotion and Retention: The practice of passing students to the next grade or holding them back is nothing new. Research has not shown conclusive evidence that either practice is a sound one – yet educators, parents and the American public accept both as concrete concepts of the K-12 system. But why? In this talk, I examine the roots of social promotion and retention, as well as why the pass-fail system of rating students is still so prevalent. This talk focuses on the many different methods of improving student guidance in classrooms that if combined effectively, would reduce the need for retention and social promotion in schools.

 Escaping Tradition, Inequality and Testing Culture: Public education in America is a paradox in the global perspective, a system that congratulates itself from within while failing to measure up to the achievements of other developed nations. This talk examines some of the most prevalent belief systems and educational policies that are negatively impacting the public education of the nation’s K-12 learners. To reach better outcomes, the layers of policy and perception must be peeled back to their cores. Through careful analysis of the present state of K-12 public education in America, this talk makes recommendations for reform that will benefit future generations of students, making them successful, contributing citizens.

 Speaking Fees

Call for a quote.

 What You Can Expect

Here’s what you can expect from me and my team:

1. Prompt, professional replies to your phone calls and email messages.
2. A personal phone consultation with a member of my team prior to your event, so we can better understand how I can best serve you and your audience.
3. An announcement about your event on my blogs and social media channels. (This assumes that your event is open to the public and you want additional visibility for it.)
4. A professionally prepared, dynamically delivered presentation focused on achieving the outcomes you want with your audience.

Dr. Matthew Lynch’s Biography

I am an award winning writer, activist, and the Dean of the School of Education, Psychology and Social Work at Virginia Union University. I spent seven years as a K-12 teacher – an experience that gave me an intimate view of the challenges facing genuine education reform. Before my current role, I was the chairman of the Department of Elementary/Special Education at Langston University and an Associate Professor of Education. Before assuming my position at Langston, I spent three years as an Assistant Professor of Education and Director of Secondary and Social Studies Programs at Widener University.

Now that I have reached such a position of leadership, I’ve focused the second stage of my career on researching topics related to education reform, the achievement gap, and teacher education. What I’ve found is that improving teacher education is an essential component in closing the achievement gap.

In terms of my platform, I am an established expert in the areas of education policy and reform. Since 2013, I have written the blog “Education Futures: Emerging Trends and Technologies in K-12” for Education Week. The blog chronicles and reports on educational innovations, technologies and reforms. My blog is widely read and my posts normally receive an average of 100,000 views. Education Futures can be accessed by clicking this link.

I am the owner and editor of an online P-20 education magazine entitled The Edvocate. The Edvocate website features P-20 education news and opinion that is updated daily, and an opt-in email newsletter (120,000 subscribers). The Edvocate can be accesses by clicking the following link. Its readership includes 100,000 unique visitors per month, 340,000 visits per month, and 4,800,000 million page views per month.

The Edvocate is the fastest growing online destination for the P-20 market. Our readers are:

• Highly educated and place a premium on quality education
• Professionally upwardly mobile
• Socially committed men and women engaged in their communities
• Decision-makers in both the public and private sector
• Passionate advocates for equality, access and opportunity for all

In January of 2013 I created an interview series for Diverse: Issues in Higher Education called “Diverse Conversations.” It serves as a mechanism for discussing pressing issues in higher education with scholars, professors and administrators who are considered to be avant-garde in their fields. Most notably, I have interviewed Dr. Charlie Nelms, former chancellor of North Carolina Central University; Dr. John Ebersole, president of Excelsior College; and Dr. Angela Franklin, the first female and African-American president of Des Moines University. My Diverse blog can be accessed by clicking the following link.

I have been published in more traditional ways too. My in-print publications include:

It’s Time for a Change: School Reform for the Next Decade, Rowman & Littlefield, 2011
A Guide to Effective School Leadership Theories, Routledge, 2012
Before Obama: A Reappraisal of Black Reconstruction, 2012
The Call to Teach: An Introduction to Teaching, Pearson, 2014
Reimagining School Reform and Innovation, Peter Lang, spring of 2014

Click here to view my books on Amazon.

We Don’t Mean to Brag

Below you will find a sampling of the awards and accolades that that have been garnered by me and The Edvocate:

Iris Connect, an influential edtech company, included The Edvocate on their list of “20 of the best “EdTech accounts to follow on Twitter” (2016). The list was in no particular order, so we assume that we were number one!

Onalytica ranked me on its annual list of the “Top 100 Influencers in Edtech and Elearning (2015)”. I came in at #88. I demand a recount! Honestly, I am honored. I expect to be in the “Top 25” next year!

Hanover Research named me as one of the “K-12 Influencers to Follow (2015)”.

The Edvocate’s Twitter account (@advocatefored) has been named the #1 Twitter account for Edtech News & Media (2015) by Getting Smart.

My Video Clips

My Commitment to You

Select me as a speaker, and I will give you a 110% effort. I will act as a catalyst, helping you achieve the goals you’ve set for your event. When you win, I win. It’s as simple as that.

Next Steps

Thank you for considering me as a possible speaker for your event. Email me at [email protected] or call me at (601) 630-5238 to receive more information about my availability and fee schedule.