“All of life is education and everyone is a teacher and everybody is forever a pupil.”
- Abraham Maslow
Successful educators learn as much from their students as their students learn from them. Abraham Maslow, the American psychologist famous for creating Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, states the fact that no matter our age, we are never done learning. My educational philosophy proposes that human beings are constantly learning and growing from each other, self-reflection, and experiences, so a teacher's job is to prepare students for lifelong learning. A teacher’s role is not to be an authoritarian, but rather a guide, a role model, and a safe place for students to learn how to learn. The goal is for students to understand they have the ability and skills needed to teach themselves. A self-directed learner allows their natural curiosity to lead them down ‘information’ paths full of mystery, challenges, failures, and successes. As teachers, we invite our students to join us on these adventures, where the real knowledge is gathered along the way. I focus on 21st Century Skill when teaching my students to become lifelong learners, like critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and technology. These skills will help students be successful no matter their future life choices.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the second part of my educational philosophy. This theory, on human motivation, suggests that human beings have 5 levels of needs. The most basic needs (Physical and Security) have to be met before higher needs (Social and Ego) come into focus. Teachers know that some students come to school without the most basic needs being met, Maslow refers to these needs as ‘deficiency needs’. Many students come to school hungry, or sleepy, or anxious, or scared, and then we expect them to focus on this week's math lesson. If the most basic needs for children are not met, we can not expect our students to be successful learners. Most schools provide free breakfast and lunch, and that is a starting point for students success but the students “need” to feel safe, feel loved, and belong are the responsibility of the adults in the school. The fifth and highest level need is self-actualization, or the “‘growth need’ because our need to self-actualize obliges us to go beyond our individual, limited selves and fulfill our true potential as human beings.” Very few people reach this level, for example Albert Einstein and Abraham Lincoln. I encourage my students to become self-actualizers by understanding that a student’s most basic needs have to be met before their true potential can shine.
“All of life is education and everyone is a teacher and everybody is forever a pupil.”
- Abraham Maslow
Successful educators learn as much from their students as their students learn from them. Abraham Maslow, the American psychologist famous for creating Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, states the fact that no matter our age, we are never done learning. My educational philosophy proposes that human beings are constantly learning and growing from each other, self-reflection, and experiences, so a teacher's job is to prepare students for lifelong learning. A teacher’s role is not to be an authoritarian, but rather a guide, a role model, and a safe place for students to learn how to learn. The goal is for students to understand they have the ability and skills needed to teach themselves. A self-directed learner allows their natural curiosity to lead them down ‘information’ paths full of mystery, challenges, failures, and successes. As teachers, we invite our students to join us on these adventures, where the real knowledge is gathered along the way. I focus on 21st Century Skill when teaching my students to become lifelong learners, like critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, communication and technology. These skills will help students be successful no matter their future life choices.
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs is the second part of my educational philosophy. This theory, on human motivation, suggests that human beings have 5 levels of needs. The most basic needs (Physical and Security) have to be met before higher needs (Social and Ego) come into focus. Teachers know that some students come to school without the most basic needs being met, Maslow refers to these needs as ‘deficiency needs’. Many students come to school hungry, or sleepy, or anxious, or scared, and then we expect them to focus on this week's math lesson. If the most basic needs for children are not met, we can not expect our students to be successful learners. Most schools provide free breakfast and lunch, and that is a starting point for students success but the students “need” to feel safe, feel loved, and belong are the responsibility of the adults in the school. The fifth and highest level need is self-actualization, or the “‘growth need’ because our need to self-actualize obliges us to go beyond our individual, limited selves and fulfill our true potential as human beings.” Very few people reach this level, for example Albert Einstein and Abraham Lincoln. I encourage my students to become self-actualizers by understanding that a student’s most basic needs have to be met before their true potential can shine.