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I went to Granite Hills High School in El Cajon and graduated in 2009. It was a mostly a white population of kids who drove in from more affluent areas like Alpine. Most students of color went to the El Cajon Valley High School. I remember being in honors and AP classes and being the only Mexican student there, or in some classes, me and only about 1-2 other students of color at most. This impacted how I perceived myself, how I dressed, how I acted, my friendships, etc. Students segregated themselves on campus during times like lunch. I didn't see myself represented in the curriculum. This impacted what I valued as academic vs. not. I had of unlearning to do. I internalized a lot from my time there. I began my unlearning in college.

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I was fortunate to have the hierarchy of needs met. My teachers were very supportive, as were members of my community. I was very passionate about languages and one area where I didn't feel supported in High School was when I wanted to take both French and German in HS. The counselor talked to my parents and me, and essentially didn't permit this - not supporting a student's passion(s) is unacceptable.

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I have mixed reviews about my educational experience.  Some told me how smart I was and encouraged me live up to my potential; while others just treated me as another number.  I really do not feel I was valued from a cultural standpoint by anyone because no one taught me that people who looked like me were important, even though the student body was made up of primarily African-American. students. I was fed a constant diet of the importance of the Eurocentric culture and no importance of my own.  And because I did not feel valued as an African-American or female person, my academic ability began to wane a bit because I resented the fact that I was not valued.  This is why I believe that acceptance and celebration of all cultures foster strong self-esteem in the students we are teaching.

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I have mixed reviews about my educational experience.  Some told me how smart I was and encouraged me live up to my potential; while others just treated me as another number.  I really do not feel I was valued from a cultural standpoint by anyone because no one taught me that people who looked like me were important, even though the student body was made up of primarily African-American. students. I was fed a constant diet of the importance of the Eurocentric culture and no importance of my own.  And because I did not feel valued as an African-American or female person, my academic ability began to wane a bit because I resented the fact that I was not valued.  This is why I believe that acceptance and celebration of all cultures foster strong self-esteem in the students we are teaching.

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I went to school, and I feel a very few teachers met my needs.   My mother worked hard to give me the belonging I needed in schools by advocating for assistance for me with my learning ability.  (I don’t write disability because I don’t believe I am disabled.). I was on IEP for a time.   High school was another struggle to belong with few teachers giving me safety.  I was bullied, and it was horrible.  My mother was even told it would be okay if I didn’t graduate.   She never told me until later in life. I did graduate from high school and college.

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During my elementary years I was fortunate enough to have a handful of teachers who were compassionate and understanding.  But as I entered middle school and high school, concepts and curriculum became more difficult and I felt there was minimal support.  I struggled in math and writing.  I took the late bus to retake test to improve my grades.  I  retake tests.  I think it's important for educators to understand the whole child and their strengths as well as needs.

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During my elementary years I was fortunate enough to have a handful of teachers who were compassionate and understanding.  But as I entered middle school and high school, concepts and curriculum became more difficult and I felt there was minimal support.  I struggled in math and writing.  I took the late bus to retake test to improve my grades.  I  retake tests.  I think it's important for educators to understand the whole child and their strengths as well as needs.

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One of the biggest feelings I remember from school was hunger. Despite food insecurity, my family never applied for FRL. I often ate other students' lunches who had FRL but brought their own lunch. The feeling of hunger intensified when I started menstruating, leading to headaches and other symptoms that made it difficult to focus. I remember how much teachers held the line on eating in class and that some of my favorite days were standardized testing because we got granola bars and Sunny D.

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I didn't expect anything from my teachers as far as to meet my needs. My parent's taught me that school is school not for socializing. Follow what they tell you to do. Be seen and not heard. However, I was a bit defiant and I belive it's because I wanted to be heard but didn't know how to use my voice in a positive way. 

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I didn't expect anything from my teachers as far as to meet my needs. My parent's taught me that school is school not for socializing. Follow what they tell you to do. Be seen and not heard. However, I was a bit defiant and I belive it's because I wanted to be heard but didn't know how to use my voice in a positive way. 

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My sister had a high school teacher who had hurt her feelings and ridiculed her in front of her peers in class.  I confronted him about it and he stepped up to me and said, "What are you going to do about it?"  We were in the school library and looked around for witnesses.  None were around.  So I said, "I'll kick your ass if you do it again."  I was enrolled in his class the following year and swore to myself I would never be like him if I became a teacher.  

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My sister had a high school teacher who had hurt her feelings and ridiculed her in front of her peers in class.  I confronted him about it and he stepped up to me and said, "What are you going to do about it?"  We were in the school library and looked around for witnesses.  None were around.  So I said, "I'll kick your ass if you do it again."  I was enrolled in his class the following year and swore to myself I would never be like him if I became a teacher.  

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When I think about my own schooling and the hierarchy of needs, the love and belonging/ esteem levels are where I feel school fell short. There were expectations to follow, activities to participate in, but to feel belonging or a part of the community came down to what happened on the playground. When there were problems, bullying/ harassment etc... teachers did not step in to build an emotionally safe environment. I found community and belonging outside of school until high school when I could join the school band and gymnastics team which made me feel more connected to the school community and helped build more self esteem.

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School was a safe place for me, for the most part.  I came from a family where "getting to school" was the majority of the battle.  I had a thirst for learning and there were many educators who saw that in me and fostered it.  There were some that tried to "crush my spirit" but the positive impact of those educators who "saw" me was too great.  It only takes one educator to spark a flame in a student. 

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School was a safe place for me, for the most part.  I came from a family where "getting to school" was the majority of the battle.  I had a thirst for learning and there were many educators who saw that in me and fostered it.  There were some that tried to "crush my spirit" but the positive impact of those educators who "saw" me was too great.  It only takes one educator to spark a flame in a student. 

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Honestly, while I was a student in SDUSD I always felt supported and respected. I had teachers who tried to make that connection and really engage with us as students. I don't think I ever had a time (except in Math which has always been an area I've struggled in) where teachers weren't supportive or trying to engage me in the concepts.

The place where I struggled was actually when I went to College. I attended PLNU which is a fantastic school academically, but I grew up Catholic and the school is very much Nazarene. I went five years as a student there and it was only in my last semester that I had one, just one, professor say that I belonged as much as anyone else. It's not as bad of an experience as I'm sure many people have had, but after 4.5 years of being told I was "doing it wrong" essentially, it made a world of difference to me.

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I only had one teacher rise to meet my need for self actualization in all of my years at school. They system totally failed me! I hated school. But, the one that did, changed my life! He had me read Herman Hesse and talked about travel and being a pilgrim to find myself.

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My teachers didn't know anything about my life and my struggles.  They didn't ask, and I didn't share.  However, a few acknowledged me or developed relationships with me, and it helped me to feel like I belonged or at least was welcomed.  As a 2nd generation minority, I was raised to work hard to survive.

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My teachers didn't know anything about my life and my struggles.  They didn't ask, and I didn't share.  However, a few acknowledged me or developed relationships with me, and it helped me to feel like I belonged or at least was welcomed.  As a 2nd generation minority, I was raised to work hard to survive.

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My needs were not met by educators because I felt I didn't have anyone that cared about me. I remember having to chose a symbol to represent myself in my 3D art class and I chose the symbol for "disease." My art teacher did not once ask me WHY I had such a negative view of myself. She was only interested in the technical aspects of the project.

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My needs were not met by educators because I felt I didn't have anyone that cared about me. I remember having to chose a symbol to represent myself in my 3D art class and I chose the symbol for "disease." My art teacher did not once ask me WHY I had such a negative view of myself. She was only interested in the technical aspects of the project.

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I actually had a lot going on at home that no one knew anything about. I hid it yet I'm sure there were signs on some days and at some times. However, I can honestly say I never felt a strong connection to a teacher. For me succeeding at school was my way of surviving. Not sure what I would have done if that had not been an option.

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I actually had a lot going on at home that no one knew anything about. I hid it yet I'm sure there were signs on some days and at some times. However, I can honestly say I never felt a strong connection to a teacher. For me succeeding at school was my way of surviving. Not sure what I would have done if that had not been an option.

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I attended University of San Diego High School (now Cathedral Catholic).
My teachers were 100% about academics.  There was no social / emotional interactions.

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Reflection on Maslow's Hierarchies of Needs

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Reflection on Maslow's Hierarchies of Needs

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As a student I didn't feel too good about my academic abilities. I thought I couldn't succeed in school until later after elementary. I remember a few teachers in junior and high school who stood out to me. They shared with others the work I had done and gave me self-esteem when I had little. By doing so that gave me the confidence in my work, my writing abilities and self-worth. And this continued into college and university with several more instructors who mentored, guided and shared their experiences and wisdom with me.

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For most of my education teachers were not in tune with social emotional needs, except for elementary school and one teacher in high school. In elementary school, we conducted "families" every Friday where students of various grade levels would get together and do community building, then we'd meet up as a whole school for a community bonding assembly. In high school, I had a teacher who noticed I was going down the wrong path (grades slipping/ditching class) due to wanting to fit in, specifically trying to fit into society's stereotype of what it means to be Black. We had a heart to heart which changed my relationship with academics and wanting to fit in

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I had a band teacher who never took the time to connect with our class. Although there were quite a few students who regularly misbehaved, he always came to class so combative, and never took the time to relate to us. Now that I'm on the other side of the the desk, I see how difficult it may have been for him, but I understand that it's even more important to connect with our students and make the effort to relate to them. 

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I had a band teacher who never took the time to connect with our class. Although there were quite a few students who regularly misbehaved, he always came to class so combative, and never took the time to relate to us. Now that I'm on the other side of the the desk, I see how difficult it may have been for him, but I understand that it's even more important to connect with our students and make the effort to relate to them. 

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I did not feel unsafe in school but I felt invisible.I was super super shy in elem and middle school and was too scared to speak up. In high school I remember going to see the school counselor (according to my last name initial) and I do not remember getting much insight. I had no plan, and she didn't help w/that. Maybe it was b/c my parents were not helping me either.
I learned a lot of Spanish and did that well-made it as high as I could go by 12th grade and that was a great class that last year. He was impressed but I also found out years later that he dated girls 20 yrs younger, who knows?!

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I feel most educators in my life met my needs, but I think that is because I came to school with the first four needs well met by my family/home life. I don't remember feeling that I needed my teachers to necessarily support me emotionally/socially often. The expectations and role of schools and educators seems very different today than when I went to school (40 years ago!)...at least in my experience.

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High school was overwhelming. Too many people to feel  part of the group. Teachers seemed focused on instruction only.

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Educators didn’t meet my needs because they piled on homework. During the weekdays, I don’t like the idea of my students looking at a screen all day at school and then all night at home (due to an excess of homework). Therefore, I give students a lot of in-class time for assignments. It’s a reward system: use your time wisely at school, and you’ll have zero to very little work to do at home. I make sure to emphasize to my students to rest on the weekends. I rarely ever give weekend homework.

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I was viewed as troubling, so ignored. A teacher in HS saw the real me.

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Some female students in my class are being asked by their parents to take care of siblings. Those students do not have enough time to do homework or participate after school activities.

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I went to Catholic school from kinder to high school. I attended the same schools where my siblings, cousins, and neighbors went, and the school connected with my local parish. I felt known and seen starting from even before attending kinder. My teachers knew my family, and therefore knew me. I felt supported throughout my entire K-12 education, which helped me gain self-confidence and self-efficacy.

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I feel like teachers in the 1900s were very focused on grades and status. So, when I got good grades, I felt very loved and that I belonged in those classes. But as far as belonging within a community, there was little to no attention to this. My culture and identity was not represented in the school, among the teachers, among the students and families, and definitely not in the curriculum.

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Several of the pyramid needs were not met for me.  I was probably not at my best in my formative years.  Most of my elementary years I remember teacher favoring students who were the overachievers not really encouraging everyone.  

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Several of the pyramid needs were not met for me.  I was probably not at my best in my formative years.  Most of my elementary years I remember teacher favoring students who were the overachievers not really encouraging everyone.  

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I went to Valhalla High School in El Cajon, CA. I am Chaldean and there is a huge populations of Chaldeans that live in this community. The other majority group of the school when I attended was White. I have always been a curious person and ended up on the AP track. My teachers did not make me feel like I belonged to be honest. There were a lot of comments like "What? A Chaldean in this class? There aren't many of you here. You must be special." Often times, I think their intentions were to compliment me, but it made me feel like an outsider. I was already struggling with safety and security because of home dynamics, so not feeling like I belonged also made things more challenging for me.

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1. I always had levels 1-3 taken care of, and definitely felt some of level 4 as I got into high school and excelled academically and in some extra curricular activities and found my friend base. I also remember having a falling out with some friends in middle school and feeling less safe without that community.
2. I was lucky enough to have teachers who were responsive to my needs and strengths in class. More in the early grades I think than in secondary.

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I had some teachers (not many)that really reached out and built relationships with me, that was when I was at my best as student.  They did this just by making efforts to get to know my likes/ dislikes, and verbal praise for my strengths as a student.  Many teachers did not meet my needs because they wanted me to conform into someone I was not. Mostly by only teaching to one learning style. 

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I had some teachers (not many)that really reached out and built relationships with me, that was when I was at my best as student.  They did this just by making efforts to get to know my likes/ dislikes, and verbal praise for my strengths as a student.  Many teachers did not meet my needs because they wanted me to conform into someone I was not. Mostly by only teaching to one learning style. 

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I do remember one particular PE teacher in middle school that really reached out to me to build my confidence up. It meant a lot to me even though I still was learning this even through college.

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I had the lower four levels of the Pyramid of Needs when I was in school except for a couple of moments in my life. I think that because I had that foundation I was able to keep self actualization even as some of the lower levels were depleting. I had a college professor who reached out to me at that time to support me when I needed it.

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I don’t think teachers were as in tune with social emotional learning when I was in school. It certainly wasn’t at the forefront of policy decision. I always felt that my needs were met in school, but I came from a very stable home with a lot of privilege. I didn’t need the same support at school.

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I had a few adults in my high school career who took an interest in my success. For example, a vp noticed that I was having identity issues suggested I read The Bluest Eye by Toni Morrison.