The Whole Child Approach

3 Students Looking at a Laptop in Class

 The whole child approach is an educational approach that encourages teachers to create an environment of belonging and support by acknowledging the humanity of each students. Based on Maslow's hierarchy of needs, this approach emphasizes the importance of long term growth in a student and focuses less on the traditional view of academic success.  When using the whole child approach, a teacher should consider the physical health, mental health, social emotional development, cognitive development, academic development, and identity development. According to the learning policy institute, this approach has far reaching implications and transformative effects on the student. 

In schools with high at-risk populations, the whole child approach helps students reach their full potential by providing them with resource they need beyond academic support. I think that if there were more schools and classrooms that effectively implemented this approach, we would see more at-risk students graduating and having positive experiences in school. In my future classroom, I want to support students in many ways, not just academically. In my previous school experiences, I had several teachers who used what I would consider a whole child approach. These teachers made me feel important as a person, not just valued for what I contributed to the class academically. When I felt appreciated and seen like this, school was a warmer and more welcoming environment that I looked forward to attending. I want to provide a community and space like this for my future students, which in my opinion will not be possible without the whole child approach.