The Unfinished Teacher

In The Unfinished Teacher: Becoming the Next Version of Yourself the authors make the case that becoming the next version of yourself and constantly growing is superior to “arriving” and becoming the “best” version of yourself.

The Unfinished Teacher: Becoming the Next Version of Yourself helps educators to take an introspective look at their growth and development. This topic is timely due partly to the national teacher shortage and the rampant levels of burnout being reported nationally, including by the National Educators Association.

The intent of this book is to help teachers reclaim their “why” and to provide prospective teachers with a view into their professional future. As we continue to reimagine the value of a teacher, we must provide a guide for those in the profession to help them to remain unfinished.

Written as a self-help and teacher-focused leadership book, this book does not follow the typical form of an instructional or pedagogical guidebook. This is not a lesson planning book, though the book addresses the need for individual personal, professional, and interpersonal development. Our focus is on helping you create the next version of yourself.

The key to sustaining joy is creating renewable growth of ourselves and others. Mike, Nick & PJ utilize their years of experience, their hearts, and their unflagging passion to exhort us to reinvigorate our pursuit of growth even when we feel tired or overwhelmed. By strengthening the educators and leaders, we find the entire community experiences quantifiable positive growth."

The path of an educator is never the same and often a difficult yet rewarding journey. In "The Unfinished Teacher: Becoming the Next Version of Yourself," we are asked to look within ourselves and reflect on what really brought us into education in the first place. To identify and reclaim our why while also challenging us with a call to action. Great teachers do not just sit on the sidelines watching the game being played. There are no shadows in education and for that we must reassess our teaching methods, assessment strategies, and ultimately what draws us into our schools and classrooms each and every year, which is our students. Bringing our best and making our gameplan in the classroom fit the needs of our students. Not only becoming the next version of ourselves as educators but helping our students become the next and best versions of themselves as they build a love of learning.

"In their book, The Unfinished Teacher: Becoming the Next Version of Yourself, Lubelfeld, Caposey, and Polyak do a great job of examining how to move to the next level as a teacher. I particularly like their exploration of the importance of being an effective teammate in education. They make a compelling case for the need to go beyond being a great teacher in the classroom and emphasize the significance of collaboration and collective efficacy. The discussion of autonomy, self-awareness, and the purpose of collaboration offers practical insights and tips for educators to reconcile their desire for autonomy with the need to work effectively as part of a team. Because as I always say, it is the best team that wins!"

Michael Lubelfeld, Nick Polyak, and PJ Caposey are three public school educators who have served as teachers, school administrators, and superintendents with nearly a century of service combined. Together with speaking, consulting, coaching, and writing, these three educators have thousands of hours of observation, co-teaching, and teaching as their foundation for the call to action in this book.

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