Pencils, pens, paper or art supplies meet students needs at the basic level. Students need a secure, comfortable classroom to all their knowledge and wriitng skills to take root. Students need to feel a part of the bigger picture. They need to be part of a larger group that will encourage them to grow and work toward success. If a student's writing needs work they have to have a classroom in which they feel their peers are there to help them.
Good teachers make sure their students gain recognition for their success.
This means publication for writers. This means approval for achieving greatness within the context of everyday events. It means a piece begun, or completed, or helping a classmate with their writing as an editor or friend. Learning proceeds best when an individual's needs are met and conflict is balanced to a point where stress and tension crowd out the rest of a students needs. Ada Hill and Beth Boone show how using Maslow's Theory of human development within the context of writing teachers can teach skillful writing and students can learn to write well.