The subject I would like to look at, the one that concerns me and speaks to my desired degree and subsequent work, School Psychologist (5th to 10th grade is where my interests lie most. This is because these are the years where the struggle of life is most likely to wear a person down and convince them that there is little or no point in higher education, that self-betterment is for others). I would speak of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs which shows to us a direct, easy to see and understand model for achievement and success. Be those the successes of becoming a lawyer or of having a simple life and being happy in it. Maslow tells us that in order to reach the highest states of self-awareness we must first satisfy all of our lower, base needs, instincts, and desires (Openstax College, 2020). The foundation of his theory's structure is the absolute basics of food and shelter, of a safe warm place to sleep. If and when these basic needs are met then it is possible to work to fill the next level of need, stability. To have gainful employment which allows you to save against emergencies, to feel confident that you will not lose your safety and security. When both these baser needs are met then we can easily work towards having a positive social appearance or a happy family of their own, to build strong and lasting friendships all of which create feelings of belonging and connectivity to and with others. He says that then the self-esteem and sense of self-worth help to continue to build so that you can continue to grow and become more. All of which hopefully eventually leads to a place where everything is calm, and one feels fulfilled in a sense of fullness and being. He also spoke in later life of potentially moving even beyond that state of being to one I would refer to as “becoming something greater than the self” wherein people like Gandhi (despite his prejudices) took suffering and pain onto himself to protest British rule in his country and to seek awareness of others to help bring an end to the situation.
When I went to school there were a lot of children that I saw that did not have their basic needs being met at home. My home was one of those homes, a place where food was scarce and always cheap (of low nutritional value). I was fortunate as a very young boy I saw the desparageince’s between my home and that of the TV families, of those of my neighbors, and of my classmates (mostly) and it made me want to understand why there were differences but not everyone understands that things can be different. I wish to work with children and families that need extra support and try to help them to become more stable and healthier so that the student(s) will know and understand that people believe in them and in their ability to succeed. I want to help make sure the foundation and the basic needs of the children are being met so that they can focus on their growth, whatever path they choose to follow in life. To go forward confident that they can and will be successful.
References
OpenStax College. (2020). Psychology (2nd edition). OpenStax: https://openstax.org/books/psychology-2e/pages/10-1-motivation