Climbing Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs During COVID-19

The goal of the Catholic school is to form the whole child to their full potential in Christ.  Forming the whole child includes the physical, social/emotional, intellectual, and spiritual aspects of development.  This is a lofty goal even in the best of times.  These are not the best of times.

If we take a look at Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs we see that the first need is physiological: food, water, warmth and rest.  Although these needs have never been under serious threat for our children during the pandemic, there were times at the beginning of the pandemic in March when questions were raised about such things.  It was the first time in my life that I myself questioned the possibility of being able to meet these needs for my family in the future.  The ridiculous run on toilet paper made me think: if we could run out of toilet paper, what else could we run out of?  Is this the beginning of something far worse?

The fear caused by initial shortages may have waned, but the constant fear and uncertainty around the ways in which the virus spreads has impacted our daily lives.  Already, only in the second tier of Maslow’s hierarchy, we can see challenges to moving upward.  Many of us, including our kids, do not feel entirely safe right now.  The constant and lingering fear caused by COVID-19 has many of us stuck at this level.

If our goal as a Catholic School is to form the whole child to their fullest potential in Christ, we need to start slowly and work our way up Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.  Our goal at school at this time should be to help the children feel safe and secure.  Then, we need to rebuild relationships and trust that suffered during the past 6 months.   It is only once we have built upon the foundations of safety and relationship that we can begin to help them develop to their full potential. 

The good news is that as a Catholic School we do not have to do this alone.  First, we have our community of parents to work side-by-side with.  The healthy relationships, shared values, and communication between school and parents is vital to helping our children feel safe and loved.  Secondly, we have the guidance and grace of the Holy Spirit to help us through.  We will continue to build up our students to their full potential in Christ, but we must be patient and understanding of the foundations necessary to achieve this goal.