Recently, there’s been talk about adding a possible Advanced Placement (AP) Psychology class next year. While this is not true at the moment, AP Psychology one day might become a class students can take at Woodside.
Psychology is the scientific study of the human mind and its functions, specifically human emotions, behavior and mental processes. At Woodside, students can take a regular psychology class for one semester as an elective, and learn things such as mental disorders.
“[We talk about] how people react to different things,” junior Lizzy Kautzmann said. “You can see it in everyday life, like when people get mad or when they jump to conclusions. I’ve noticed that a lot.”
While AP Psychology will not be a class next year, government and economics teacher Matthew Austin is interested in teaching the possible AP Psychology class in the future.
“[I’m interested in teaching AP Psychology because] I have a degree in psychology, so I spent a lot of time learning about it and developing a passion for it,” Austin said. “Anytime one can share something they are passionate about with others, they should.”
Students like junior Ian Bryson, who want to pursue a career in psychology, wanted to take the AP Psychology course in order to gain a better understanding of psychology as a whole.
“[I want to pursue psychology in the future] because I’ve always had an interest for psychology and human behavior regarding myself and others,” Bryson said. “I’m kind of sad [AP Psychology] won’t be here by my senior year. It could’ve helped me reach my goal [to pursue a job in psychology and major in it in college].”
Psychology has many important subjects to talk about, but phenomenological psychology is the scientific study of experiences, which is the lens people view the world and how people perceive everything is especially important.
“[Everyone should know about phenomenological psychology because] each person views the world through specific lenses. These lenses or “horizons” shade the way we perceive everything. It is very important to note when these shift – when the way you view the world has fundamentally changed,” Austin said. “I am lucky to have two wonderful children at home. They are my horizon. When I look out at the world, no matter what I see, I see them. Every interaction, every decision, they are informing my choices. It really is a beautiful idea.”
Learning about psychology can better the understanding of yourself and others and their behaviors. Austin believes psychology is a very important subject in the world today and can help everyone’s understanding of each other.
“If people were more educated on how their own psychology impacts their experience, I think the world would be a much more understanding place,” Austin said. “In psychology, the key is to try to understand behaviors and causes of behaviors without judgment. When we understand that for the most part, everyone seeks the same things (hierarchy of needs), it becomes much easier to see each other as human. There is not enough humanity out there.”
