CAUTION! BABIES ON CAMPUS!!!

March, 2023

By Emily Chalambaga, Staff Reporter

In late March, AP Psychology students started their week-long flour baby project to learn responsibility, by making a baby out of a bag of flour.

Imagine hallways filled with the sounds of crying children and witnessing students having to get to class quickly and carry backpacks and computers, all while having to support a baby simultaneously. In the last week AP Psychology students have become parents to flour babies, where they have made a baby with the supplies of a 5-pound bag of flour, cotton stuffing, tights to form the limbs, and clothing for their baby. In this project, students have to care for their baby for a week and log where the baby has been, who it is with, and how the baby is being cared for.

Introducing the Godmother…

The godmother of all flour babies is AP Psychology teacher, Mrs. Corral. In an interview with Mrs. Corral, she talks about the purpose and representation of the project and stated: “It simulates what it would be like to have a child as a teenager while wanting to apply your baby to three psychologists in Psychology, that is Piaget, Kolhberg, and Erickson, and it is a fun way to do that.” So behind the fun of being a parent to a flour baby, the babies are used as a learning tool in teaching students development and attachment stages that three psychologists discovered about how we grow to experience different stages of development. And though this project may not simulate the realities of parenthood, due to not having the stimulations of a baby crying and needing to be fed and changed, it does help create some views in learning responsibility and what parenthood may be like.

Adding more into how this project can be used as a tool for students in learning and understanding development psychology, I asked Corral how students may benefit from this experiment, saying— “100 percent! Number one, it’s enjoyable. Every year students come to me and say that this is why I signed up for AP Psychology. The data from last year’s AP exam, my students did the best on developmental psychology, it really did valid that flour baby is a good thing.” What we learn from this is that these flour babies are amusing yet also practical in assisting psychology students to understand development stages while also using what they learned for exams to enable a positive outcome and experience.

Now hearing from the most affected… THE PARENTS!

In an interview with Liliana Castillo, she talked about her opinion and perspective on how the project the lesson on childcare and reflection on parenthood, and quotes: “It is helping a lot of students realize the importance of childcare and that it is not a laughing matter whenever it comes to teen pregnancy.” “It both questions and prepares you, because you carrying this 5-pound bag of flour and pretending its a baby so you have to take care of it, but also questions it because after taking care of this baby you also start developing a sort of sentiment for it,” she adds on. Adding on to Castillo’s claim, in another interview with Angel Valle, he stated, “It really teaches teenagers about the bad things about having a baby. Allowing kids to see how hard it is having to carry it all day and constantly be attending to it, and having it be near you 24/7.” These two connect the view of how the flour baby project has brought up and opened the eyes to the hardships of having to care for another life that is dependent on you and relate to events that teens may experience unexpectedly.

Nevertheless, of students stressing about caring for the baby, it does bring some joy and excitement to the school community. Teachers and students alike have been enjoying this experience due to its playful nature. For example, Valle shared his favorite part of the project: “Getting to pick the name, gender, and getting to design it all and being able to be creative with your baby”. Similarly, in talking about favorite parts of the project, Castillo stated, “Seeing all the babies and all the students that take Psychology and seeing how much fun they’re having and caring for their baby,” expressing how the flour babies open creativity and connections among the others. So while having to tend to their babies, students can create many hilarious and memorable moments, whether that be in school or outside of school, with friends and teachers.

Looking to become a flour baby parent?

When speaking with Corral and these parents, I asked if they would recommend this class to underclassmen looking to join AP Psychology. Corral stated, “Number one, Psychology is already a hard subject and so doing fun projects like this, brings the project down to Earth of being like, I can do this and I can apply these theories to real-life, and fun.” Likewise, Castillo voiced, “I would 100 percent recommend this class because it is a very hands-on project being able to do a lot with your baby.” She also said, “It is a really good class to learn stuff in like I learned a lot of things about babies that I probably wouldn’t have learned at all if I didn’t take this class.” Agreeing with Castillo, Valle shares the same advice on how students need to not only look forward to the project, but also have to be prepared in working hard to understand and memorize terms.

Whether you’re looking at this project or looking for a challenge, look into discovering more about Psychology. However, keep in mind that this project doesn’t fully capture the beauty of AP psychology. If you’re planning to take this course with only the flour baby in mind, you might get more than you bargained for. So beware and be prepared!!!

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