Psychology is a very hard subject to master, let alone teach. There are numerous amounts of theories explaining our behavior and why we do certain things, originating from all over the world. Are our traits and behavior natural or are they determined by how we are raised? Who do we ask if we want to know these answers? None other than the new RHS psychology teacher Christine Zafonte.
Zafonte was born in Long Island, New York and has taught psychology for almost ten years. “I always wanted to be a teacher,” said Zafonte, laughing. “I was the kid who pretended that my stuffed animals were students and would pretend to give them tests.” Zafonte then took this issue to work, attending Towson University, majoring in history.
After deciding on her major in history, Zafonte first stumbled across psychology during her years at Towson, as psychology was a mandatory class as a history major. “Just looking at how psychology can take a stressed teenager, and make them easier to understand and have them understand themselves better is just amazing,” Zafonte said.
Reflecting her début month at RHS, Zafonte has found it very easy to fit in her new surroundings. “The people here are just great. It’s like a whole big family!” said Zafonte. “I am very impressed by the hard working students, as well as the AP and IB programs RHS has.”
It has been said that teachers do not have lives outside of school. After school, teachers are just supposed to vanish. But surely, quite the contrary in this case! Zafonte is a very active punk rock fan. “I am very into punk rock music, and I try to a show at least every two weeks” said Zafonte, very seriously. Other than rebelling, Zafonte’s life is based solely around her dog and family.
Teaching a complex course like psychology is not an easy thing to do. Even spelling the subject can be a challenge! In fact, psychology does not require correct spelling due to the difficulty in certain course words, such as schizophrenia. “It is even hard for me to spell!” said Zafonte during class. However, Zafonte has taken the challenge and is looking for a great success come the AP tests in May.
