LEAD ARTICLE: 1. “Holiday Reading – From Maslow to the Classroom: Building Positive Relationships” by NAPCE Secretary Jill Robson
1. Holiday Reading – From Maslow to the Classroom: Building Positive Relationships by Jill Robson
I am sitting down to write this article aware of the fact that when it appears in the August newsletter, the majority of teachers and educationalists will be on holiday, having a well-deserved rest, recharging their batteries and probably paying a premium price for the privilege. One of the best things about being retired teachers is the ability to take term-time holidays, and last year we took full advantage of that and spent the two months of January and February in the Southern Hemisphere.
On a weekend visit to Johannesburg, I was delighted to discover that our travel agent had booked us into the Maslow Hotel. The hotel was named after the psychologist Abraham Maslow and his hierarchy of needs. The hotel’s branding and business philosophy are directly inspired by the pyramid theory, ranking human motivation from basic physiological needs (like a comfortable bed and good food) up to self-actualisation. I have long been a huge admirer of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; it is an ordered and logical approach which can provide schools with a model to enable students to reach their potential, so it was interesting to find a commercial business that had adopted both the tiered pyramid model and the psychological approach to hospitality.
At the base of the pyramid, Maslow placed physiological needs. Over the last few years, the NAPCE Awards nominations have included many schools and individuals who have catered incredibly well for the physiological needs of their students. After years of increasing child poverty, this has obviously been a vital focus in the pastoral care of their students. It does, however, seem incredible that in one of the richest countries in the world, any of our children should go to bed hungry or have to sleep on the floor. Recent reports have stated that there are 6 million people living in furniture poverty and that 1 million of them are children, so there is obviously a need for schools to provide breakfast clubs, holiday clubs with free lunches, school uniform banks and often beds.
The next layer of the pyramid is concerned with safety and security needs, and again schools are catering for these needs by providing safe spaces and support hubs, anti-bullying and e-safety programmes, health education, and many more facilities to ensure the safety of their students.
At the third tier, we have the love, belonging and friendship needs which all humans require on an emotional level.
Pastoral care is about good relationships. Generally, physiological needs are able to be met with a supply of resources, but as you move up the pyramid, catering for the higher-tier needs is not as straightforward. One in ten children have been referred to mental health services in the last year, and that can be attributed to many different factors, but when I hear of this happening, I often think of the line from the Crocodile Dundee film. When being told that someone had spent a great deal of money on seeing a psychiatrist, the title character asks, “Doesn’t she have any mates?”
Whilst I appreciate that this might seem a flippant or simplistic view of mental health issues, which often have very complex causes, undoubtedly loneliness and a lack of support from friends contributes towards poor mental health.
Dr Caron Carter, one of the associate editors of the NAPCE journal, Pastoral Care in Education, spoke at the 2024 NAPCE Conference about the importance of children’s friendships, and whilst everyone might recognise that it is a vital part of a child’s school experience, it is not always easy to achieve. There is no guarantee that every child will find friendship in school, or outside it for that matter, but it is vital that we try to develop relationships within the classroom. Many schools have introduced initiatives like friendship benches, peer mentors, as well as PSHE programmes to assist in this. During my career, I have used a variety of activities in PSHE to try to build good relationships in the groups I taught.
Whilst doing a course at university, I was fortunate to have seminars with an American lady called Donna Brandes, who co-authored, with Howard Phillips, a book called The Gamester’s Handbook. Over the years, I have adapted the ideas and games that she devised to create lessons to develop good relationships in my classes.
One that I found invaluable was the game “How Do You Like Your Neighbour?” I used it with new classes and always found it effective, particularly with new Year 7 students.
How Do You Like Your Neighbour?
Start with students sitting in a circle. Discuss when you meet new people: what is the first thing you need to know about them? Someone usually provides the answer that it is their name. You explain that they are going to play a game to learn everyone’s name.
The rules: One person starts in the middle, having removed their chair from the circle. They ask anyone they choose, the question, “How do you like your neighbour?” That person must answer in one of three ways:
- “I like ___ and I like _____.” (They must be able to name the people on either side of them.) With this response, everyone stays where they are and the person in the middle must ask someone else the question.
- “I like ___ and I like _____, but I would like to change them for _____ and _____.” (They name two others.) At this point, all four named people swap seats. When this happens, the person in the middle tries to take one of the vacant seats. The person without the seat continues with the same question.
- “I don’t know.” (Used when the person cannot name the people on either side, or if they just choose this response.) Then everyone has to move and must move at least two seats away. The person left without a chair continues with the questions.
Students are allowed to ask the people on either side of them their names. After about 10–15 minutes of the game, everyone should be able to name the rest of the group.
Variation on the rules: Rather than just saying they like someone, the person asked has to give a reason for liking those people.
Usually, when this rule is applied, students are reluctant to give people compliments. It is an opportunity to point this out to the students, discuss why people are reluctant to give positive comments and what it feels like when someone does say something nice about you.
Group Interview Game
I usually then move on to the game, “Group Interview”.
We discuss that when you meet new people, it is useful to have some information about them in order to hold a conversation with them. We talk about asking open questions, that don’t give a “yes” or “no” answer, and how to phrase them in order to learn as much as you can about someone. We also talk about inappropriate questions and the fact that people have the right not to answer them.
At the start of the game, each person in the circle asks the person to their right, a question. When they have answered, they ask the person to their right, until everyone has asked a question. We then go around the other way so the person on their left is asked the question.
You can also develop this by asking people to talk about something someone has said that they may have in common, e.g. supporting the same football team, or having the same hobbies or interests.
Group Rule
To conclude the session, I give everyone a piece of paper and ask them to write down three rules that they would like their group to follow in these lessons. When they are collected, I do a tally chart of the statements. They have basically been the same with every class I have worked with and are usually:
- Don’t talk when someone else is speaking.
- Listen to what everyone says.
- Don’t make fun of people or what they say.
Finally, we have a discussion about similarities and differences in people and how everyone is a unique individual, but life is nicer when we are kind and respectful to people and make an effort to get to know them.
I have used these activities on many occasions throughout my career and have always found them to be well received by the students and a great starting point for developing positive relationships in my classes.
If, while lying on a sunny beach, dreaming of retirement when you will be able to book a term-time holiday and wondering what you are going to do with your new Year 7 class, you would like to try something different, please feel free to try them out.
Have a good holiday!
Jill Robson
Secretary, NAPCE
|
