Needs-Based Classroom

Today, I thought I‘d spend the day making another literature-based lesson plan for the kids. But something deeply bothers me.

I just realized that lesson plans and other materials utilized in the classroom only come secondary if we were going to talk about PRIORITIES in the classroom. For starters, did these children have anything to eat or drink? Can they breathe fresh air? Is the room temperature too cold or too hot? How do we manage a classroom filled with ego-centric individuals who have different backgrounds?

Yes! Absolutely ego-centric. In other words, selfish! We have not yet added into account whether the child comes from a chaotic household or have certain disabilities. And you as the teacher are called to accept these children for who they are (for the love of God!). The same as how everybody else, adults alike, possesses this intrinsic need for acceptance.

Acceptance is just one of our many needs. And if in case you are reading about this for the first time. Let me tell you that ALL HUMANS, including Jeff Bezos, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Adolf Hitler, are ALL NEEDY. We all wake up each day to satisfy our needs. And the picture attached here are those. Note that this is an on-going list. We are yet to discover more of the things the whole of humanity needs.

This list deeply humbles me. It reminds me of a homily of a Benedictine priest, “We are all beggars.”

And believe it or not, classroom management is dependent on the satisfaction of the needs of children. And this does not only apply in the classroom but also in organizations, businesses, institutions, countries.

1. acceptance
2. air
3. aliveness
4. appreciation
5. attention
6. authenticity
7. autonomy
8. awareness
9. beauty
10. belonging
11. care
12. celebration
13. challenge
14. choice
15. clarity
16. closeness
17. community
18. companionship
19. compassion
20. competence
21. connection
22. consciousness
23. consideration
24. consistency
25. contribution
26. cooperation
27. creativity
28. dignity
29. discovery
30. diversity
31. ease
32. effectiveness
33. emotional safety
34. empathy
35. equality
36. exploration
37. faith
38. flow
39. freedom
40. fun
41. growth
42. harmony
43. healing
44. health
45. honesty
46. hope
47. humor
48. inclusion
49. independence
50. initiative
51. inspiration
52. integration
53. integrity
54. interdependence
55. intimacy
56. joy
57. kindness
58. learning
59. love
60. mattering to self
61. meaning
62. mourning
63. movement
64. mutual recognition
65. mutuality
66. nurturance
67. order
68. participation
69. peace
70. peace of mind
71. physical safety
72. play
73. power
74. presence
75. protection
76. purpose
77. recognition
78. rejuvenation
79. respect
80. rest
81. security
82. self-acceptance
83. self-expression
84. self-realization
85. self-responsibility
86. sexual expression
87. sharing
88. shelter
89. space
90. spiritual expression
91. stability
92. stimulation
93. support
94. sustenance
95. tenderness
96. to be heard
97. to be known
98. to be seen
99. to be understood
100. to matter
101. touch
102. trust
103. understanding
104. warmth
105. water
106. well-being

Ref: Catherine Cadden and Jesse Weins 2010

Inbal & Miki Cashtan 2009

We are all needy.

We are all beggars.

No shame about it.

Asian Santa

May 1, 2025