See the period up there? Yes it isn't as excited as usual. as this will be the final blog post I make with regards to my Educational Psychology course, as the blog itself is due tonight at midnight. I've had fun ranting over the term, about various things. I mean, I just like to rant. Don't judge. EITHER WAY,
I do feel that the blog has been a valuable part of the course. While it may not always be easy to sit down and write about things rolling around in our head from class, this sort of reflection and expression solidifies the knowledge and helps us really think more deeply about the concepts we're talking about in class, which is good...and will definitely help on our journeys to be teachers.
*wipes eyes while violins play*
Anyways, I think I'll finish with one of my most favourite topics!
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. See below in the awesome triangular diagram.
So, as we can see in the very nicely coloured pyramid, Maslow's theory is actually a rather simple theory to understand, that I agree with. However I feel that this broad idea of motivation and priorities can be applied to such a broad range of life situations, that it is invaluable.
Ive actually applied the pyramidal structure to a variety of my own theories, my favourite being human interpersonal relationships (I love social Psych. Especially relationships, fascinating stuff) HOWEVER, this is an EDUCATION blog, so I will not digress so much as to go into my ideas on relationships at the time, email me if you want to hear that boring rant.
Education, right. As we talked about in class, Maslow's structure can have quite drastic effects on the learning of individual students. *Gets out laser pointer* As we can see, the need to "Know and Understand" or engage in advanced cognition, is actually quite a way up the pyramid. In fact, the two distinct categories discussed in class are the top four tiers being more like "Growth" needs that allow us to further ourselves, whereas the bottom four tiers are "Necessity" needs that must be filled before we can move onto the growth part of things. Now, since the drive to learn and think is above these four "Necessities," Maslow's theories state that this need for cognition and knowledge is not pursued if the bottom four are not satisfied. So if a student is not receiving proper nourishment, has no place to live, or another immediate deprivation of basic needs, there is not a chance he is going to focus on schoolwork, which does not necessarily mean he is not smart. The child could be brilliant, but if his Physiological needs are not met, he will be unable to perform at his potential.
The same can be said for the next three levels, Safety, Belonging, and Esteem needs. If you think about the case of a child being bullied at school, is he going to feel safe, coming to class? Is he going to feel loved and cared about if he is being excluded? And as for his esteem, is he going to believe in himself and have a high level of self esteem if he is being put-down and fed negative messages? No. All of these things "prevent" the child from focusing on his academic goals, by Maslow's theory. This outlines how important making a child comfortable and cared for in a school environment is, or else, how can we expect them to focus on schoolwork if they have to worry about these much more pressing psychological needs?
Even beyond the first four tiers, and once a child has achieved the level of need that allows him to pursue knowledge and higher cognition, then what? Then a child who is understanding, and drinking in this knowledge can move to focus on aesthetic and beauty needs ,which I also see as creativity and generative thinking personally. Don't think it gets better? If the child is still achieving all of his needs up to this point, he can move on to become self-actualized. This used to be regarded as the ULTIMATE form of accomplishing and fulfilling ones need, as self actualization allows the individual to fully realize their identity and become the best they can be. This is best put simply (in my mind) As realizing their potential, and it is one of the best experiences a teacher can have is one of their students self-actualizing. Of course, there is now a new tier called Transcendence.
To be honest Ed Psych was the first time I'd heard of the added tier transcendence as the top of Maslow's pyramid, and I understand it was a newer addition so outdated information in my other psych classes must have missed it. I personally kind of view transcendence as a part of self actualization, almost as if they exist side by side at the top of the pyramid, rather than transcendence being on top. Either way, it implies that now that we have become the best we can be through self actualization, the final step is to begin to selflessly help others become the best they can be as well. People who achieve transcendence believe strongly in helping others and doing things to contribute to society and humanity as a whole. They are the people putting themselves on the line to tirelessly help others, further human knowledge and understanding, and make big contributions to society and humanity as a whole. It sounds pretty grand, but the question is...does this kind of transcendence really exist? I believe so, yes. This opens up the entire "Existence of Altruism" debate from Social Psychology the other day however, and this post is already rather large and wordy, so I'd best not.
I urge you (the reader) to think deeply on Maslow's ideas as I have, and see how you may apply them to your lives and careers in order to maximize not only your teaching, but how you live your own lives as well.
For now, this is Zach signing off for the last time, I wish everyone the best in their teaching careers!
Zach Wanner =)
