Maslow Before Bloom: Then Gardner, Jung & Goleman: Educating The Whole Child With Needs, Strengths, Meaning & Emotional Intelligence

Five years in the making-the powerful follow-up to Maslow Before Bloom: Basic Human Needs Before Academics.

What if school wasn't just about achievement... but about becoming?

In Maslow Before Bloom... Then Gardner, Jung & Goleman: Educating the Whole Child With Needs, Strengths, Meaning & Emotional Intelligence, Dr. Bryan Pearlman invites educators, counselors, and leaders to reimagine what it truly means to help students thrive. Building on the truth that kids can't learn if they don't feel safe, seen, or supported, this book goes beyond Maslow to explore how we help students grow-academically, emotionally, and personally.

Dr. Pearlman shares real-life stories from his decades as an educator, school leader, and mental health professional-stories of students who weren't broken, just unseen. You may remember JJ, Annie, Mikey, Austin, Emily, Curtis, and Chuck from earlier books. This time, their stories are revisited through new lenses-revealing not just trauma, but brilliance, creativity, and resilience.

Through the combined lenses of Maslow (needs), Bloom (thinking), Gardner (intelligences), Jung (identity and purpose), and Goleman (emotional intelligence), this book offers a powerful roadmap for educating the whole child.

Inside You'll Find:

Part I: The Foundations of Human-Centered Education
Why compliance-based education no longer works-and how to shift toward connection, healing, and purpose.

Part II: Maslow - Meeting Basic Needs First
How to create safe classrooms, foster belonging, and support student voice. Without safety, learning is blocked.

Part III: Bloom - A Trauma-Informed Approach to Deep Thinking
Using Bloom's Taxonomy to promote real learning-once students feel safe and regulated.

Part IV: Gardner - Honoring Multiple Intelligences
Plan lessons that celebrate diverse strengths-social, artistic, kinesthetic, introspective, and beyond.

Part V: Jung - Cultivating Identity, Meaning, and Purpose
Help students explore who they are and who they are becoming through introspection and storytelling.

Part VI: Goleman - Emotional Intelligence in Action
Teach self-awareness, emotion regulation, empathy, and social skills-turning misbehavior into coaching moments.

Part VII: Application and Transformation
Real-world examples and strategies for public, private, and alternative settings, with tools for equity, relationships, and family engagement.

Reframing Student Stories

In Chapters 26-32, we revisit students we thought we understood:

• Chuck wasn't a ruckus-he was a child in pain.
• Emily wasn't quiet-she was silently suffering.
• Curtis wasn't disruptive-he was a systems thinker overlooked by the system.

These students didn't need more referrals. They needed someone to truly see them.

From Survival to Significance

In the final chapter, Dr. Pearlman reminds us: survival isn't the goal. Students deserve meaning, confidence, and a chance to discover who they're meant to be.

This is a call to action. A guidebook. A reminder.

If you've ever believed your students are more than their behaviors...
If you've ever questioned a system that reduces kids to test scores...
If you've ever wished for a better way...
You were right.

Let's stop managing kids-and start mentoring them.
Let's move from grading what they produce to honoring who they are.
Let's help them not just survive-but become.

Maslow Before Bloom... Then Gardner, Jung & Goleman is more than a framework.
It's a philosophy.
A movement.
And the future of education-where science meets soul, and every child is empowered to thrive.