Dr. Matthew Short

Author · Educator · Ed.D.

Books that take
teaching, humor, and
being human seriously.

I'm Dr. Matthew Short — a teacher, school leader, and author. Everything here grows from the same idea: structure and heart belong in the same room.

Explore the books The S.H.O.R.T. Method

The Library

The publications

Two cornerstone books on building classrooms — and educators — that last.

The S.H.O.R.T. Method — book cover

Education · The Flagship

The S.H.O.R.T. Method

Five practices that build classrooms where students want to be — Structure, Humor, Ownership, Relationships, and Trust — drawn from more than a decade in K–12 classrooms and leadership.

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Teach Like You Give a Damn — book cover

Memoir in Lessons

Teach Like You Give a Damn

A memoir told in lessons — on teaching with conviction, humor, and heart, and the moments that make the work worth staying for.

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The Framework

The S.H.O.R.T. Method

Five pillars that turn a room full of students into a culture. It's the spine of my consulting, my keynotes, and the flagship book.

S
Structure

Predictable systems that free students to take risks.

H
Humor

Laughter as a bridge, not a distraction.

O
Ownership

Students who hold the room with you, not for you.

R
Relationships

The work is personal before it is academic.

T
Trust

The quiet currency every other pillar is paid in.

About the author

I've spent more than thirteen years in K–12 education — as a teacher, instructional coach, and literacy leader — and I write the way I teach: with structure and a sense of humor.

I hold an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership and serve my community as an elected school board trustee. I'm the founder of ShortEd Solutions and the ShortEd Foundation, and I work with educators and schools on classroom culture, literacy leadership, and the S.H.O.R.T. Method.

Focus
Classroom culture & literacy leadership
Framework
The S.H.O.R.T. Method
Work with me
Keynotes · Author visits · School partnerships