The Balanced Teacher Path: How to Teach, Live, and Be Happy

by Justin Ashley

Overview

Award-winning teacher offers advice on achieving work-life balance and employing self-care techniques to avoid burnout.

It wasn’t long after being named North Carolina History Teacher of the year that Justin Ashley started noticing signs of burnout. He knew he needed to make some radical changes in how he handled his work and personal life. In The Balanced Teacher Path, Justin shares his personal story—illuminating how easy it is to give your job everything you’ve got and leave yourself with nothing outside of school—and shows new teachers and veterans alike the self-care techniques they can employ to create work-life balance and prevent burnout. With equal parts humor and wisdom, Justin analyzes four key aspects of every teacher’s life—career, social, physical, and financial—and offers practical advice to bring these areas into sync, reigniting a passion for teaching in the process.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781631981012
Publisher:	Free Spirit Publishing
Publication date:	03/10/2017
Series:	Free Spirit Professional®
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	224
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	5 - 13 Years

About the Author

Justin Ashley is an award-winning teacher, motivational speaker, author, and public education advocate from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he began teaching in 2007.

He is also a highly sought-after speaker for professional development. He has been an inspirational keynote presenter for thousands of current and future teachers, creating an atmosphere that bounces back and forth between rapt silence and raucous laughter.

In 2013, he became the only teacher ever to win both North Carolina History Teacher of the Year and North Carolina Social Studies Teacher of the Year in the same year.

Editorial Reviews

If we want to successfully meet the needs of all of our students, it is important that we as teachers meet our own needs as well. In this book, Justin Ashley, whom I have had the great joy of knowing for almost half a decade, draws on his own experiences as a high achieving and highly driven educator to give us ways in which we can effectively achieve balance between our own needs and those of our students. Thanks to my work with Justin, I can testify that he does indeed practice what he preaches in this book. Like all of us, though, it took him awhile to get there, and this is in many ways the story of his journey to that balance. It is a journey I encourage you to follow him on.

Stephen S. Masyada

Everything about this book is genuine. From Justin’s forthright sharing of his experiences to his candid advice, The Balanced Teacher Path is a MUST-READ for all teachers, but especially novices who find themselves trying so hard to be the ‘perfect teacher.’ If you want to find your balance AND your sun, read this book. As former NC Teaching Fellows director, I am so proud of Justin for finding his balance and reigniting his passion for living, loving, and teaching.

Dr. Misty Hathcock

Justin’s remedies for breaking out from the burnout are compelling, practical, and will help reignite the passion for the profession. It’s a must-read for educators facing these real-life situations like Justin, but it can be modified to help any professional find the right life balance. These are tremendous lessons from a tremendous husband, father, and teacher.

Mark Jewell

Unique and exceptional, The Balanced Teacher Path is impressively user-friendly in organization and presentation, making it an ideal and highly recommended addition to personal, school district, and teacher education collections.

Wisconsin Bookwatch

Great teachers produce amazing results . . . but at what cost? Justin Ashley is one of those great teachers who is willing to truthfully share the costs he painfully paid in order to benefit and inspire his fellow educators. This topic of teacher burnout and stress management is real. This book can truly serve to share ‘real-world ideas and strategies’ to fuel personal reserves of emotional and physical resilience needed to continue our important professional and personal goals. Reading this book can provide ways to rediscover the passionate and amazing teachers and people we all strive to be! Thank you, Justin.

Kathy Rhea Bumgardner

Balance is something many educators find difficult to achieve. Justin Ashley’s book is a must-read for educators at any point in their careers! Justin offers practical solutions and advice intermingled with personal anecdotes and reflections from his teaching career that will help you travel along the balanced teacher path—the path that will positively impact ALL areas of your life!

Lisa M. Pagano

Wow . . . I just finished reading Justin’s book and I literally could not put it down. Whether you are a first-year or veteran teacher, The Balanced Teacher Path will inspire and speak to you. It feels so good to know you are not alone in trying to make a difference in the lives other others, while still balancing your own lasting happiness in a busy world. It prompted me to reflect on my own life right now and steps I should take TODAY to lead a more balanced life. This is a must-read for all teachers and should be required reading in all pre-service teaching programs.

Justyn Knox

Unique and exceptional, The Balanced Teacher Path is impressively user-friendly in organization and presentation, making it an ideal and highly recommended addition to personal, school district, and teacher education collections.”—Wisconsin Bookwatch


“Everything about this book is genuine. From Justin’s forthright sharing of his experiences to his candid advice, The Balanced Teacher Path is a MUST-READ for all teachers, but especially novices who find themselves trying so hard to be the ‘perfect teacher.’ If you want to find your balance AND your sun, read this book. As former NC Teaching Fellows director, I am so proud of Justin for finding his balance and reigniting his passion for living, loving, and teaching.”—Dr. Misty Hathcock, NC New Teacher Support Program regional project director, UNC Charlotte


“Great teachers produce amazing results . . . but at what cost? Justin Ashley is one of those great teachers who is willing to truthfully share the costs he painfully paid in order to benefit and inspire his fellow educators. This topic of teacher burnout and stress management is real. This book can truly serve to share ‘real-world ideas and strategies’ to fuel personal reserves of emotional and physical resilience needed to continue our important professional and personal goals. Reading this book can provide ways to rediscover the passionate and amazing teachers and people we all strive to be! Thank you, Justin.”—Kathy Rhea Bumgardner, M.Ed., national literacy consultant at Strategies Unlimited, Inc., and a McGraw-Hill Wonders author


“Justin’s remedies for breaking out from the burnout are compelling, practical, and will help reignite the passion for the profession. It’s a must-read for educators facing these real-life situations like Justin, but it can be modified to help any professional find the right life balance. These are tremendous lessons from a tremendous husband, father, and teacher.”—Mark Jewell, North Carolina Association of Educators president


“If we want to successfully meet the needs of all of our students, it is important that we as teachers meet our own needs as well. In this book, Justin Ashley, whom I have had the great joy of knowing for almost half a decade, draws on his own experiences as a high achieving and highly driven educator to give us ways in which we can effectively achieve balance between our own needs and those of our students. Thanks to my work with Justin, I can testify that he does indeed practice what he preaches in this book. Like all of us, though, it took him awhile to get there, and this is in many ways the story of his journey to that balance. It is a journey I encourage you to follow him on.”—Stephen S. Masyada, Ph.D., University of Central Florida


“Balance is something many educators find difficult to achieve. Justin Ashley’s book is a must-read for educators at any point in their careers! Justin offers practical solutions and advice intermingled with personal anecdotes and reflections from his teaching career that will help you travel along the balanced teacher path—the path that will positively impact ALL areas of your life!”—Lisa M. Pagano, M.Ed., NBCT, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools


“Wow . . . I just finished reading Justin’s book and I literally could not put it down. Whether you are a first-year or veteran teacher, The Balanced Teacher Path will inspire and speak to you. It feels so good to know you are not alone in trying to make a difference in the lives other others, while still balancing your own lasting happiness in a busy world. It prompted me to reflect on my own life right now and steps I should take TODAY to lead a more balanced life. This is a must-read for all teachers and should be required reading in all pre-service teaching programs.”—Justyn Knox, M.Ed., NBCT

From the Publisher