Coach Maslow's Hierarchy

I said in my first blog post that I am a senior education student at West Virginia State University in Institute West Virginia. I am close to graduation, which has caused me to look back at the things I have learned over the past four years. I think the thing that has been the centerpiece of my teaching philosophy is Maslows Hierarchy of needs. In his hierarchy, Maslow theorizes that the basic physiological needs of a student must be taken care of before they can begin to learn and more so discover things about themselves. This theory obviously applies to education, but it also applies to many other things in life.

The pyramid at the top of the page is a visual representation of Maslow's hierarchy of needs. At the very bottom, the support of everything above it is physiological needs. Things like shelter, food, rest, and water, all the things that we need for survival, belong in this rung of the pyramid. Above that is safety, a person must feel safe before they continue up the rest of the pyramid. If a person is not safe, then they will be focused on finding that safety rather than striving for the upper parts of the pyramid. Next is love and belonging, the rung where a person starts to feel like they are part of a meaningful group and they are wanted there. This could be a literal group of people or could be just a general sense that a person is cared for. Next is esteem, so a person feels that they matter and respected/competent in life. They generally have a sense that they can succeed in their tasks. Last at the very tip of the pyramid is self-actualization. This is where a person is meeting their absolute potential. In this theory, a person is not able to reach their fullest potential until all of the bottom parts of the pyramid are met.

This relates directly to education in that if we are wanting a student to reach their potential, we have to care for the rest of the pyramid. This is a daunting task, but we have to understand that some of the parts of the pyramid can not be fulfilled in a day. The two bottom parts of the pyramid can possibly be taken care of in a day. A teacher should do everything in their power to make sure a student's physiological needs are met. If a student is hungry or thirsty allow them to eat and drink whether in the cafeteria, hallway, or in the classroom. If a student is tired, do everything you can to alleviate that. Whether allowing them a small nap period to allowing the students to get up and stretch, there is a lot that you can do to help your students stay awake. Students should also be safe in the classroom. This comes down to having good classroom management skills and establishing good relationships with your students.

The other parts of the pyramid are a bit more difficult to fulfill. Love and belonging comes from establishing a safe classroom and developing a good relationship with your students. You could make sure your students understand that their thoughts and answers are important, this will also help them develop a good sense of self-esteem. Once all of this has been done, it is only then that a student can begin to achieve to their fullest potential. There is a lot of work that goes into helping your students achieve.

There is a huge crossover between the theories we can apply to the classroom and the ones that can be applied to the football field. As a coach, we have to make sure that we are trying to get our athletes to their fullest potential. So we have to first make sure our athletes are fed, well-rested, and hydrated. They then must know that they are safe. This is crucial for athletes, they should have the proper equipment on the football field, weight room, and practice field. We should do nothing as coaches that put our kids in unnecessary danger. If a kid does not feel safe, then they will likely not play football. We saw something similar to this in the first cases of CTE being diagnosed. Participation in football dipped because we had no way to show the safety of our sport. There are a ton of things being done to our sport to improve safety. From better technology to better coaching techniques, we are doing more and more to ensure the safety of our athletes.

To help with belongingness, we can try to build a true team atmosphere. This means eliminating cliques, coaching all kids, not just the top athletes, and eliminating hazing. This also shows your athletes that you care. I will always hold the idea that people learn best from people that they like and they know care about them. In doing this, you will also likely be boosting esteem. Take your time to get to know all of your athletes. Let them know that they matter to you, let them know they matter to the team, let them know that they matter. To also boost esteem we have to get away from the old-school style of coaching (and teaching). A coach should never stand over top of a kid and scream at them, a coach should never deliberately belittle an athlete. Coaches should be focused on building people up, not tearing them down. Some people call it soft, but I call it being a decent human and building the people around me.

After all of these things are done, it is only then that an athlete can be the best version of them that they can be. It is the job of the teacher and the coach to create a Maslow based atmosphere around their athletes. In doing so, we are allowing our athletes to push themselves, we are setting them up for success.