Maslow Before Bloom

Surreal, to say the least.

One week ago today school communities in Michigan found out that they would be closing for the foreseeable future due to the Coronavirus pandemic. This highly contagious disease would cause schools to shift to online learning for the next three weeks (that would coincide with our Spring Break so we will be out of school for four weeks). Families in the state are highly encouraged to stay at home, self-isolate, and stay 6 or more feet away from anyone not in our immediate households (known as social distancing). Our staff gathered last Friday to start the transition to online learning. The district technology teams and administration greatly helped us make this shift.

We are adjusting to a new normal.

This past week has been unprecedented. Thank goodness we've been a 1:1 iPad school for years now. The technology piece isn't completely new for us. Finding the balance between a typical lesson and online lessons from home is taking some getting used to, though. 

Maslow before Bloom.
 https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html

This phrase isn't new to most educators. Abraham Maslow defined what is known as a Hierarchy of Needs in the early 20th Century. It makes clear the concept that people have needs that must be met before self-actualization, or growth, can occur. This growth relates to the second part of the phrase, based on Benjamin Bloom's goals for teaching and learning: 

 https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/blooms-taxonomy/

The experiences we are grappling with now: worrying about loved ones and ourselves becoming sick, the abruptness of closing school, the adjustment to learning (and teaching) from home, receiving distressing news on television and online, all of this takes its toll on students and teachers alike. 

Students are being asked to stay home because (as of today at least) it's been found that most young people recover from this virus with few complications but older people don't fare nearly as well. Our students are being asked to self-isolate for the sake of the common good. That is a noble calling and a true example of good citizenship. The impact is that this is a huge change for all of us, especially for our students. I've required my students to write a short journal entry, at least each week day. They are living in historic times and the record they create may be a primary source for future young historians to learn from.

Adults may remember September 11, 2001. One of the best coping mechanisms during that time was to join together in communities. People united and we gained strength from one another. We are necessarily being asked to do the opposite now. I texted my best friend tonight. She and her husband and son live in the San Francisco area. She assured me that shelter-in-place wasn't as daunting as it sounds. Strange times we live in, indeed. 

I felt my students were gaining momentum as this quarter progressed. My Language Support Historians were feeling more and more confident in their abilities. We started our modified National History Day projects and each day brought more insights into the topics they selected. Today we were supposed to go to the local Nature Center and take part in a cross-curricular study of maple syrup in Michigan. 

My 8th Graders were mentoring 7th Grade Social Studies classes, helping them with their National History Day projects. I saw growth in my students as they advised their peers. They were building community within their mentoring groups, connecting with students they didn't know. The 7th Grade Social Studies teachers and I were beginning to talk about creating an end-of-the-year common 7th-8th Grade project. We had no idea what it would look like yet, but just the idea was exciting!

I truly hope that school life can begin again for us soon. I am hopeful that we will be able to pick up where we left off, only wiser and full of gratitude, grateful for what we missed during our time away from in-school learning.  As for now, I hope I can continue to connect with my students online to reinforce the Maslow-related work we've achieved this year. The Bloom's work should follow.

Stay healthy.