Does Eating Well Mean Learning Well?

| by Daiv Russell | February 14, 2008
The instructive process may leverage the Maslow hierarchy to ascertain what learners require in school. The achievement of each rank, whether it's physiological, safety, social, self-esteem, or self-actualization can regulate how each unique student learns. Furthermore, naturally, learners might be located on different levels, making the educator cater to an assortment of needs in the classroom.

Scholars working on satisfying the bottom level, physiological, may be the most demanding to educate. This is why particular interest is required to keep an eye on these learners. Scholars who don't get the sustenance or rest essential to maintain this stage may not have concentration or desire to learn. Instructors have to show extra care with these learners to guarantee they stay on focus, even spending extra time with them such as tutoring sessions or recurring contact with their parents or guardians.

Sliding up the ladder to safety, these are just as invaluable to achieving an education as the physiological desires. A constant fear of a lack of safety or shelter can cause a students mind to veer in a million different directions. Students living in an unsafe area or with a violent or abusive parent can suffer lifelong trauma that can affect them even after they are out of school. Educators must take special care with these students to ensure that a poor life outside of school does not inhibit their ability to learn.

People who do not experience safety cannot meet their social needs. Students who have experienced dangerous or neglectful lives may often lack the skills necessary for interpersonal encounters that are an essential facet of childhood and adolescence. If a child develops a fear of a parents, this fear can be transferred to other male authority figures, which can create psychological pain and result in damaged potential for social growth. Instructing students to interact in groups provides an opportunity to assist them to grow beyond self-inhibiting traits such as shyness and distrust of other people. Often, an objective is achieved most effectively when a person encounters it unexpectedly, whether or not the person is ready or willing to accomplish the task required for growth.

The last two stages of esteem and self-actualization are less influential in the educational process. There reaches a point where the focus is enough that education is not impeded. While a student may lack self-esteem, they may still be able to channel their energy towards their education, perhaps making education their area of strength to build from. Give these students with low-esteem more boosts, these pushes of optimism could be just what they need to reach the next level of success.

Of course, not every student will reach the top of Maslow's pyramid, but encouraging and supporting all students on their way can give them that extra boost to strive for the next level. Maslow says that everyone marches to his own drummer, and a good educator can help each student as he or she tries to do just that.

Daiv Russell is a management and marketing consultant with Envision Web Marketing. Read more Management Articles, learn about Abraham Maslow and the Maslow pyramid.

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About the Author

Daiv Russell is a Software Engineering Strategist with Envision Software, a software project management and development outsourcing company committed to helping information technology organizations solve problems, increase revenues, and reduce costs by guiding software development teams through project management chaos. Envision publishes Luminary, a monthly software project management newsletter.
DRussell@EnvisionSoftware.com » Read more articles by Daiv Russell
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