School, Whole Child Education, and Abraham Maslow

Tom Hoerr, Head of New City School in St. Louis and the team leader for Orchard's 2006 ISACS accreditation visit, recently wrote an article for ASCD entitled "The Whole Child and Maslow".

Tom is a great friend--and admirer--of Orchard.  He has said many times many times that the only school that matches New City School in terms of mission, program, practice, and outcomes is Orchard.

Here's the link to his article: Tom's article

His article reminded parents and teachers that a school must ensure certain needs (Maslow's hierarchy) for students to optimize their academic learning.

If you are unfamiliar with the work of psychologist Abraham Maslow, here's the link to the Wikipedia write-up on Maslow

Maslow believed that all humans must have a hierarchy of five basic needs satisfied before they can fully focus on, attend to, and succeed at academics.

1. Physiological--basic needs like eating and sleeping. Paul Tough in his new book, How Children Succeed, explains that children from low-income families all too commonly struggle in school not because of low cognitive ability but because they come to school without their most basic physiological needs being met.

2. Safety--This includes both physical and emotional safety. This is why Orchard devotes time through Responsive Classroom, conflict mediation, anti-bullying efforts to create a classroom environment where all students are known, valued, and respected as a unique individual.

3. Love/Belonging--While the previous need provides physical and emotional safety, this need ensures children know they are a part of a larger family, group, community. They see how they need to be supported by others and how they need to support others. For students in a school this includes having at least one adult advocate whom they can trust.

4. Esteem--With the first three needs met (one physical and the other two interpersonal), students can then focus on the next two needs, which are more intrapersonal. Schools strive to have students develop  true sense of intrinsic motivation beyond extrinsic rewards because  they want students to learn to push and challenge themselves and to see that success takes time, effort, perseverance, and patience. If this need is being fulfilled, students become adept at assessing their performance and recognizing what they must do to get better. They also will naturally challenge themselves and work assiduously.

5. Self-Actualization--To Maslow, this is the goal not just for students but for adults as well. This is about finding your passion/purpose in life and embracing personal responsibility for yourself (and, as a student, for your learning). This is why schools like Orchard and New City School provide a well-rounded education of academic disciplines, visual and performing arts, physical education, and outdoor education. Schools need to provide children with opportunities to find their passion and interest.

For Maslow to perform at one's best and to find meaning and purpose in life, all of the above needs must be provided for, especially the first three. To me, that's why schools like Orchard and New City are so successful: they strive to make sure the vital needs of a child are attended to and supported.

And that's not the case with all schools.