Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and Its Relevance to Education

Identifying Unmet Needs in Children Living in Poverty

1. Examine Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs in the graphic below. For the following children, identify the needs that are not being met. Please provide evidence from the documentary to support your answer. Respond in complete sentences and in your own words.

a. Brittany and Roger Smith: Brittany and Roger struggled most with the most basic of needs and those are the physiological ones. Once their father was laid off the household income quickly declined. They are fortunate enough to be in school and have meals provided to them there. They are also in the schools nutrition club, that gives them a small amount of food to help sustain them over the weekend. The family also frequents the food bank and they provide them with sustenance as well. Since money has been an issue, the hot water was turned off as the bill was not paid. All the showers are in cold water. As the children got older there were new issues to deal with. There was a need for love and belonging when Brittany was in school. She was incessantly bullied by classmates for being poor which led to her eventual expulsion from school. She was able to fulfill her need for esteem by eventually graduating from middle school She is striving to reach self-actualization with her art. It seems to be her passion and is hoping to reach her full potential in the art subject matter

b. Kaylie and Tyler Hegwood: Kaylie and her brother Tyler struggle with their physiological and safety needs. Their mother explained that after paying her bills there is little to no money left for food and gas. This caused them to move into a motel. The motel was small and cramped with someone having to sleep on the floor. There was no mini fridge and no microwave. The little food they have they store in the bathroom sink chilled with ice. Not only does the small motel prevent them from getting the rest they need it is also in an unsafe area like most motels tend to be. When they left the home there were a few other noticeable things that Kaylie had to give up that interfered with her need of love/belonging. She has to leave her friends and also had to give up her dog to the pound. Her family was no longer able to afford 2 dogs. I also noticed that Kaylie was rarely ever able to make it to school. This also brings up the need for self-actualization. How can Kaylie or Tyler reach their full potential if they do not attend school and attempt to drag themselves out of the pit of poverty?

The Importance of Addressing Basic Needs for Better School Performance

c. Jasmine, Joshua, Jaylan, and Johnny Davis (N.B. Jasmine and Johnny are primarily featured.): The final family we were introduced to were living out of a homeless shelter in the Salvation Army. Being in the shelter they are provided with their physiological needs of food, water, and rest. The food however is only provided at previously determined times. If you miss the meal you may have to go to sleep hungry as they did on some nights. The shelter does offer some sense of safety and security as well. When we saw the kids in the future we saw that Johnny had wandered off the legal path and landed in jail. He has since been released and working hard to reach self-actualization. He has a job and is looking forward to possibly attending LSU and playing college football. Despite the challenged he has faced he is on the path to reaching his full potential. He also now lives with his grandmother to help stabilize his life and prevent himself from moving from place to place. I feel like Jasmine is having more trouble finding a path to self-actualization.
She stated she has had to move from school to school and it caused her grades to slip. She is working on getting them back up as best she can. 

2. Why is Maslow’s hierarchy of needs relevant to the field of education? How could not addressing basic needs affect children’s performance in school?
Maslow’s hierarchy of needs lists the basic needs that any human needs for survival. How can a starving student sitting in class think about anything other than food. If the need of hunger and sleep are not addressed a student might as well stay at home. If for example breakfast is offered before class begins, then the student will have the fuel they need to pay attention in class and focus on the information being taught to them.

3. How did living in poverty affect the children’s friendships and their self-esteem? Kaylie struggled with maintaining her friends when her mom was forced to leave their home and move into a motel. She had to leave her friends behind causing the friendships to suffer. Brittany was bullied due to her poverty. Her classmates would pass notes in class discussing Brittany’s level of poverty. This in turn led to her expulsion from middle school. Poverty prevented her  from having friends at all. With the lack of friendships and dropping out of schools they kids were feels a low sense of accomplishment.

4. Why was Brittany Smith bullied in middle school? How did the bullying affect her performance in school? Brittany was bullied for being poor and that caused her get in trouble and led to her eventual expulsion from middle school.

5. What are the youths’ fears about and aspirations for the future? Many of them have similar fears and that is that they will be stuck in the cycle of poverty that they were born into to. Johnny hopes to get into LSU and play football. Brittany wants to study art. Tyler wants to go back and graduate high school or get his GED.