Stumbling, bumbling, fumbling...

During one of my many detours, I learned about Maslow's hierarchy of needs. Before one can worry about "self-actualization" - morality, creativity, spontaneity, etc. - one must have physiological needs met: food, breathing, water, sex, and air. And once those needs are met, then one can worry about safety, belonging, etc. And then belonging. And then self-esteem. And finally self-actualization. 

There are a lot of good and important things to take out of Maslow's hierarchy, especially when it comes to school - how can children who aren't having their physiological needs met, who don't feel safe, be motivated in the classroom?  It's just a little more challenging.  

This New York Time piece, "Generation OMG", the effects of this recession are considered. According to the article, the children born in the 30s and just before turned into the silent generation, sober, practical, eager for a safe, secure job.  Their children, the boomers, were protected, indulged, and able to explore. The article draws some parallels between the excesses of the twenties and the bubbles of the nineties (artificially inflated, also, during the last administration), and it suggests that children today will grow up to be silent - sober, practical, less likely to indulge in excess.  

The article is more nuanced than my little description, acknowledging other similarities as well as diffences. But it made me think of how lucky I am to have the luxury of worrying about creativity, problems of morality, expression. These are good problems to have.