Who Summer Is in terms of Psychology

“Ayoko na. Baka binabasa mo na ‘yung isip ko eh.”
A guy once told her while they were out on a date.
“Yes, nababasa ko sa isip mo na ‘di mo alam ang ibig sabihin ng psych,” Apryl Mae Parcon, whom students call Miss Summer because of her first name, just joked around it. On the first day of our Psych 101 (General Psychology) class, she already told us that psychologists do not read minds. They use psychology concepts and theories as scientific basis for human behavior. These include how the brain works, the complexities of human mind, dreams, psychological disorders, and human development from conception to death.
“That’s the beauty of psych. You can apply it to your everyday life,” she said. She said she could apply it in her family. At 61, her father started to feel and think he was useless. She explained to him that this was the stage in human development where people at his age question themselves if they had contributed something to the society or if they had done nothing. He just needed to overcome this stage.
Since she was a kid, she dreamt of becoming a teacher. “My ultimate dream is to have a school of my own,” she added.
Her parents told her not to take education since she could be a teacher even by not taking education. Inspired with her elementary principal, she decided to do the same thing: take psychology, then work as a teacher.
Miss Summer took BA Developmental Communication in the University of the Philippines Los Banos after not passing for BS Psychology in UP Diliman. But she shifted out from Dev Comm after a year and pursued psychology.
After graduation, she worked as a researcher and technical writer in Malacanang but resigned after a year.
“I really wanted to teach. So I went back to school.”
And so she decided to take her Master’s in UP Diliman while teaching preschool students at St. Mark Learning Center, New Manila.
“They (Kids) are very lovable and very interesting to work with. You learn to deal with them as you actually spend days with them.”
This was what she knew she wanted to do: to be a teacher.
Describing herself as simple, cheerful and optimistic, Miss Summer never forgets to smile. She was smiling throughout our conversation while eating her lunch inside Palma Hall Annex Room 209B. In class, I always feel Miss Summer’s energy and enthusiasm as she speaks. And she really never forgets that smile.
Aside from teaching, she also worked as a researcher assistant in Center for Women’s studies and Center for Educational Measurement.
“Para na lang akong zombie nun, but then you learn to manage your time.”
After finishing her thesis, she worked as an instructor in La Salle and Ateneo for four semesters, teaching General Psychology, Psychological Measurements, and Experimental Psychology. UP, then, told her that if she would teach in UP, her tuition fee for her doctorate would be free. So instead of going to two different schools, she just chose one. And that was UP Diliman.
This was the last time Miss Summer changed her mind.
Now, she is an instructor for General Psychology and Developmental Psychology in the morning and a student by night.
As a teacher, she makes sure she gets the attention of her students. Almost every meeting, she has an activity reserved for us. From drawing to writing, from games to reporting. She also provides her students, acronyms for example, to make it easier for them to memorize concepts. One example is the six approaches to psychology: behaviorism, psychodynamic, cognitive, behavioral neuroscience, evolutionary, and sociocultural. Just remember BICEPS, but written this way: B2CEPS.
The next question would be, “How would Miss Summer describe herself using these six approaches?”
Behaviorism means you incorporate rewards and punishment to what you decide to do. If as a kid, you were given rewards after doing this, you will continue doing this. But once you get a punishment for doing that, you opt not to do that anymore. As a kid, her parents treated her out for dinner every time she got high grades.
Psychodynamic involves your early family experiences. “I am the way I am now because of how my parents brought me up. They fostered openness, communication and expression.”
Cognitive deals with how you think and solve problems. To memorize concepts, she relates them to her everyday life or makes a story out of it.
Behavioral neuroscience is all about the brain. She believes she mostly uses her cerebral cortex, the one responsible for rational thinking, rather than her instincts and emotions.
Evolutionary is concerned with adaptation, reproduction and survival. She prefers an older man, thinking he can ensure her security and survival.
Sociocultural involves culture, socioeconomic status and gender. Another reason why she wanted to be a teacher was because she also wanted to be a mother who could stay at home most of the time and be able to teach her children.
Some students do open up to her and share their problems. In terms of giving advices, she said, “If they ask for it. But I always listen.”
“Teaching students who really value learning is already a big contribution to the society,” Miss Summer said. Also, she wanted to contribute to the body of knowledge and disseminate information by being a researcher.
But above all these, Miss Summer has an ultimate goal. And that is to be a good mother.
“If I’m able to do my part, I’ll be able to raise up sons and daughters who can then contribute to the society.”