ok. Educational Psycology was amazing as well.
just knowing i was a squiggly line made me so very happy. and then the project to write 100 things to do with a paper clip. the teacher has to be something of amazing. and he was.
bits from my research paper on low socio economic children (using Maslow’s Heirachy of Needs):
Who are the “low economic status” children? 13 million (18%) American children are below poverty level ($20,000 for a family of four). 28 million children (or 39%) are in low-income families ($40,000 for a family of four) (Fass & Cauthen, 2006). For the most part, when speaking of low SES children, we are talking about those living below the line of poverty, but the same problems are often faced by those in low income families as well (and no amount of money exempts one from experiencing difficulties in school). 35% of black children are in this 18% below poverty statistic, 28% of Latino children, 29% of American Indian children, 11% of Asian children, and 10% of white children live in poor families (Fass & Cauthen, 2006).
What problems do low SES children face? Some problems are not being able to get enough food, and spending more than a third of their income on rent, causing them to move often (Fass & Cauthen, 2006). This leads to moving around to different school districts, and often missing time in between (moving, getting papers together, and into a new school around the parent’s work schedule is difficult), as well as spending a lot of time in catching up and adjusting to the different teaching styles, as well as content in the classroom. Low SES children have a higher risk of abuse due to lower knowledge and skill base, are less likely to have parental involvement (a huge factor in the success of children in school), less likely to trust their parents, and less likely to have teacher help due to less parental involvement in school (Briggs & Hawkins, 2006). If the parents don’t care, it is harder for the teacher to pick up the slack. Often they drop the ball, or feel so helpless that they don’t even try.
Their parents are more often less educated, and have fewer expectations for their children. But low SES is more than not having food; it means that you have limited choices, like where to live, where to work, and what to do in their spare time. “It means not having the knowledge, skills or confidence to make the best use of civil and social services or to ensure their legal rights. “ (Socioeconomic status, 2009) They are more likely to have less, have poorer health, suffer from depression, and be isolated. “The social, economic and educational exclusion associated with poverty is worsened by bullying, harassment and discrimination.” (Socioeconomic status, 2009) Low SES often leads to a complete mindset ruled by hopelessness (lack of opportunities, failed opportunities, or missed opportunities) and anger (at not having a chance, at the difference of the way things are and the way things should be, and at the injustice often served them). Not only do low SES children have to deal with their own problems, they are now surrounded (feeling like they are stuck in a pit) by those in the same situation. This often expands the hopelessness and isolation, feeling like everyone in low SES, dealing with the same problems, is one of “us,” while anyone different is one of “them.”
Three goals that seem to help children (and are shown in successful students), especially from low SES families, are having resiliency, being self-actualized, and having an INTERNAL locus of control, also called self-efficacy, (external locus of control seems to add to dropping out), meaning that they believe they do have control within themselves to succeed or fail (Slavin, 2003, pp.334).
Self-actualization is the ability to develop your full potential. It means that you accept yourself and others, have spontaneity, openness, creativity, humor, and independence. (Slavin, 2003, pp.332) Self-actualization is at the top of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. The needs, starting at the bottom of the pyramid, are physical: hunger, thirst, sleep, and then safety. The next levels are emotional—the need to love and be loved and to belong, as well as to achieve and be recognized. Then there is the aesthetic need of needing to know, explore, and understand. The top and final level then is the self-fulfilling need of self-actualization—the goal. (Slavin, 2003, pp.332).
While I do not think many people are arguing that self-actualization is a good thing, and a valuable goal, I don’t believe that it is something that can be taught—it must be chosen. You can provide everything for a child, and they still not choose to be self-actualized, whereas some children are not given the bottom part of the pyramid, and yet seem to be well self-actualized. The traditional way of interpreting Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs is to make sure all of the bottom tiers are taken care of so that the child is free to focus on the upper tiers, and finally, self-actualization.
My teacher, Mr. North, suggested that you might look at the pyramid upside-down. Instead of starting with physiological needs and working your way up, you begin with self-actualization, giving the student all that they need to achieve and then in so doing, equip them to have all they need to meet their aesthetic needs, emotional needs, safety, and then physiological needs. I really like this idea as well, going back to the general thought of “give a man a fish and feed him for a day, teach him how to fish and feed him for a lifetime.”
But in looking at Maslow’s theory myself, I would approach it differently. I would instead begin at the middle of the pyramid, and then work out in both directions. The focus should be, in all aspects of raising a child, on esteem and emotional needs. Once these are settled, other things can come into focus without distraction. Education, I believe, was meant to be a tool that came along side parents in raising their children. Today, it is normal for parents to completely abdicate their role in raising the child, and assuming it is the school’s responsibility. While I believe that a school can never fill the role of the parent, and this situation will never be close to ideal without the parent, schools and teachers need to be equipped with ideas to make sure the bottom line is met—that the child is cared for.
The ideal situation, as seen in my version of Maslow’s theory, would be that the parent is focusing on emotional needs (belonging, loved and loving, and esteem), and then working downward (safety and physiological needs) on the pyramid, as well as upward (aesthetic needs). The school then, begins at the middle (emotional needs), and then works upward, focusing on the aesthetic needs and setting the child up for self-actualization, even though only the child themselves can choose that. Trained teachers can take the child much further than the parents alone, which was how the educational system was intended. But in many families, the safety and physiological needs are also not being met, and so it is important for the school to be aware that they may need to step in and help with these things (school lunches, security—sometimes to even more drastic measures such as foster care).
and so on and so forth for a very long time. 
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