Contextualising Maslow for Classrooms

Contextualising Maslow for Classrooms

             

Maslow, A. (1943): Theory of Hierarchy of Needs

When I was in school, I opted for Business Studies because it had interesting topics like motivation, Human Resource management, amongst other personnel-oriented lessons. It was then I read about Abraham Maslow having proposed the famous 'Hierarchy of Needs' in his 1943 paper titled 'A Theory of Human Motivation'. The theory was nothing but a series of needs that every individual goes through albeit in a pyramid form. The needs ranged from basic physiological needs, safety, love and belonging, self-esteem to finally, self-actualization. He claimed that needs lower down in the hierarchy must be fulfilled before individuals can attend to their higher-order needs and eventually, attain self-actualization. I remember guffawing when I read that the lowest need included sex and reproduction, and so ended up engaging in debates with classmates as to why was it so important to indulge in intercourse to achieve safety and esteem. It was not so much as sex as it was companionship and someone to be intimate with, which in turn, gives you the basic feeling of stability and security (and hence, moving up the pyramid. Jeez! Naivety, I blame you!). 

I had the opportunity to teach in two vastly different schools in terms of resources. My first experience as a teacher was in the confines of a small classroom with broken windows, loud street noises streaming through those gaps, and me shouting out my instructions and lessons. The kids came from homes where physical and verbal abuse were normal. Naturally, the behaviour in the classroom reflected that when I first walked in. There were occasions where I used to get emotionally exhausted trying to make them understand why certain words or actions were not good and why they should speak fluent English or have a creative imagination. Unfortunately, I failed to acknowledge that no matter what I say or do, those kids are going back into the same community after 2pm. 

I did not know if they came from loving homes. I did not know if they had supportive parents. I did not know if they had a space to study. I did not know if they were being abused. I did not know if they were respected at home. And yet, I wanted my 8 year-olds to achieve big things. It wasn't until I finished the tenure and moved to a new city to study a course that will give a name to what changed my perspective, I realised that I had been doing it all wrong. In the pursuit of wanting my kids to read fluent English and come up with innovative pieces of writing, what I did not see was that I had failed as a teacher the moment I prioritised these rudimentary things instead of knowing them as individuals. I was trying to push those kids up into a space where I thought they would seamlessly reach if I gave them books with moral lessons or stickers for positive reinforcement.

So towards the tail end of my fellowship, I started doing home visits. It was perhaps one of the best decisions I've taken in my life. Getting to know the kids at a one-on-one level, talking to their parents, school staff, reined me back into the game. What changed? I did. I started pushing for parent investment in students' studies, more support at home, accessibility to books and stationery from my end in case they were unable to procure on their own (and to my parents' dismay, one of the biggest reasons why I never saved during my teaching stint), we insisted on fixing the classroom walls and windows as a pressing concern, we emphasised on teachers adopting class divisions based on learning levels instead of resorting to physical punishment (which those kids were used to, before we were assigned). Having a conducive environment where the teacher can foster learning was critical before expecting students to miraculously do well.

                             

                                      

I have believed that if you want to get into the field of teaching, you must be a social worker at heart. Not only you must have that helping frame of mind, you must also have the aptitude for really understanding the pedagogy. Neither am I an expert on this nor have I degree in Education. But what I know and what has worked for me really is the acute curiosity to know what makes each child different. And trust me, it is not difficult. All you need is: a child, an inclination to spend time with them, empathy, the will to frame lessons keeping all those unique qualities in mind, and you're good to go. And contextualising Abraham Maslow's theory into the classroom has been one of the key game changers for me. 

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs contextualised for schools (Steve Guditus, 2013)

What Maslow proposed and was adapted for a classroom was a simple approach to motivate students.  Start off by ensuring that a student's physiological needs are being met, vis-a-vis, is the child getting food, does the child have a safe home to go back to, has the child been sleeping well, does the child have kind and supportive parents/guardians who take care of him/her? This is followed by understanding if the child feels safe in school, physically and emotionally. One can talk about pastoral care and providing sound socio-emotional support within the school premises either through the teachers or the allied experts such as counsellors. Once the child feels safe, we have to guarantee that he/she forms strong relationships with peers, adults, and other stakeholders including parents. A child undergoing physical abuse at home cannot be expected to form healthy relationships in school. And so, his/her physiological and safety needs must be taken into account before anything else. After the child feels comfortable in the group and has formed an identity within the group, we move on to safeguarding the esteem needs wherein we create a nurturing environment in the class/school. Providing opportunities to establish and display strengths, a constructive feedback mechanism, giving the space to make mistakes and take risks without guilt, and of course, recognising the efforts of the child. Only if these things are made certain of, can a teacher have the child be in the confident headspace to learn. 

Taking the example of the recent suicide that happened in Kerala where a young girl resorted to the extreme measure because she was unable to partake in the virtual classes that began without even taking cognisance of the fact whether the students have accessibility and affordability to those classes. The child's father expressed that her classes started but they didn't have a smartphone, he had lost his job, and the TV was due for repair. The girl committed suicide because of the stress of not being able to do what everyone in her class was perhaps doing. To what can we attribute that stress?

One can safely assume smart devices to be a necessity during this pandemic and going by that logic, her basic need was not being met. And therefore, she was unable to feel safe (perhaps feel isolated from peers and teachers due to the lack of a device), she was unable to connect with her friends, which affected her esteem and led her to feel that she is missing out on learning. There are scores of incidents now especially with the floating migrant population whose kids are missing out on their studies because the parents cannot afford more than one smartphone in a household or are on the verge of being unemployed and/or might also lead to school dropouts. How do we expect such kids to achieve self-actualisation and independence in learning when their fundamental needs are not catered to?

Maslow's theory may not be THE key to unlock your teaching challenges during this lockdown but it is definitely one of the mini keys that helps you see that it is critical to start off your online class by asking kids if they are doing okay, if they are facing any challenges in learning, and most importantly, if they are safe and happy. 

Trust me when I say that happy kids will always make you proud of the decisions you take as a teacher doing what you do everyday. 

So here's a small quote for you to remind yourself how important your job is:

And so, I hope you go 'basic' this upcoming semester!