Introduction
The strengthening of identity is a conscious stage that any subject goes through when he begins the search for his own natural essence in terms of the conformation of his moral norms: knowing who he is, what he is like and what he wants to do.
This moment not only initiates changes in their social environment but also creates new values that completely revolutionize their entire being, in their way of thinking and in the way of feeling, that is, they are on the threshold of a new stage.
The search for moral norms plays many important answers around his life, which drive him to seek new alternatives: why I am the way I am, what I have in common with my parents, what I want to preserve and transform in my being, etc.
Adolescence is as important as the other stages of life. In each of them we gain experiences and learnings; but we must also leave anti values, unpleasant situations, inappropriate places, things that we like and from which it hurts to separate. The essence of adolescence is that in it we consolidate the formation of our identity, that is, we decide who we want to be and where we want to go in life.
“Adolescence is the time when the human being begins the journey towards independence and manifesting himself as he is and wants to be. Adolescence is the crucial stage in the existence of the human being, it is a key moment that should be used to consolidate the formation of identity, that is, to be able to differentiate yourself from others and to be able to express yourself as you are, think and feel ”. (Frida Díaz belly and other authors, 2007).
Today, the media, mainly television, cinema and advertising combine ideological and commercial elements to offer ideal values, models and types for both men and women, with whom many adolescents compare and try to imitate, being these stereotypes those that are contributing to form the image and identity of the new generations.
Development
The step of moving in a conscious person is the task that all men and women face, based on our life experiences, forging our personal identity, which is defined as: the ideas we have about how we are and how the world sees us.
In psychology, the word identification comes from the root identi- (identity). The term refers to the behavior, abilities, beliefs and history of the individual in a consistent image of himself.
Personal identity is the set of characteristics that distinguish us as unique beings and is directly related to beliefs, ideas, values, norms and some physical traits.
In the construction of our personal identity, we can say that it is in adolescence when the first tentative answers to the question, who am I? Arise, answers that we will be reviewing and updating for the rest of our lives. Personal identity is a process that begins to be outlined in childhood and is built throughout life.
The human being is a social being by nature who invariably seeks the realization of individual and common ends. The relationships that they establish between human beings tend to be defined and organized according to a series of norms aimed at guiding the behavior of individuals. (Taken from SEP. Citizen training towards a culture of legality, 2006).
When acting as a member of a group, community, ethnic group, nation or country, duties, obligations and prohibitions are established, thus arising the right as an organizing element of social life.
In this sense, the norms are in charge of regulating the conduct of individuals by establishing a series of imperatives, principles, precepts, prohibitions, permits, values and ideals of life that result, due to the benefits that they imply for the individual and for the collectivity, necessary or desirable above others.
One of the aspects to which it is more difficult to adapt in the school is related to the norms established in it to regulate the conduct of the school community, that is, of all the students, teachers and personnel who work on the campus.
As can be seen, not only the rules and regulations of the school are exclusively for students, but for all who also work and attend it.
Although they are not very perceptible to the naked eye, the norms are present in our daily lives and are only observed at school and at home, if not in society in general.
The word norm refers to the fact that something must be or be produced, especially the way in which an individual must behave, thus giving meaning to all human behavior.
Laws are legal norms that provide support for the existence of the rule of law. There are, therefore, laws whose absence or failure poses a risk to the very subsistence of the state, hence the importance of knowing, understanding, assessing and assuming them based on their usefulness to regulate coexistence and avoid conflicts and abuses that put life at risk. integrity and dignity of the human being.
The custom, in contrast, arises spontaneously by becoming a habitual practice within a social group, where individuals adhere to it voluntarily, therefore its non-compliance does not generate any sanction or punishment.
Standards can be classified into:
- Legal and legal. They are formal norms established by the government and political authorities; its violation brings different types of sanction, depending on your situation.
- Social or social treatment. Represents a type of external obligation; the rules for sitting at the table are a good example. These norms are often decisive for those who seek to achieve some degree of social acceptance. Generally, the sanction, for not following a social norm, depends on the context and the circumstances that arise.
- Morales. Moral or ethical norms imply a type of “internal” obligation, a self-obligation that is consciously recognized, that is, it represents those obligations and rights that we impose on ourselves. The construction of these norms is generally influenced by the values in the family or the different social types in which it is involved, in what it considers good or valuable. Likewise, when a person accepts a moral standard as valid and does not comply with it, they will feel bad about themselves, regret or have feelings of guilt that, in the best of cases, can provoke in the individual a need to modify their behavior.
- Religious. Codes or norms for the believer that imply a prescription to guide their actions. These are precepts or mandates considered orders from the divinity and that are reflected in books or sacred documents such as the Bible or the Koran, as well as the orders or rules dictated by their religious representatives. The consequences of violating a religious rule vary from one religion to another.
Many of the adolescents have difficulty understanding that there are limits necessary to live in an environment of respect, justice and responsibility beyond avoiding punishment or sanction.
Situations as common as being late for an appointment or commitment, making someone else wait, copying a colleague's homework and turning it in as their own, having responsibilities and tasks assigned at home and yet not doing them because there is always someone else to do it. do, enter a room with signs of "do not eat or" do not shout and respect them only when the teacher is present, tells us about a daily transgression of rules that later, can become violations of the laws, by not creating convictions in front of a set of norms and customs.
Teenagers generally tend to hold someone else responsible for their lack. Surely we have ever heard “they hadn't told me”, “not only I did it, but also that one”, “this is the first time it happens to me, I didn't know”, “nothing happens”, etc. All human beings are free to choose and decide what is good or bad, but being free does not mean doing what one wants without taking into account how our actions affect others.
Exercising our freedom implies responsibility, that is; We can exercise our right to think and act according to our convictions, as long as we do not harm others, or limit their right to be free. To recognize what the limits are between our freedom and that of others, it is necessary to resort to what the rules establish.
Living with others sometimes seems to be an impossible task because we believe that we are different in the way of being, of thinking, of not having the same customs, the same tastes, etc. This way of thinking becomes a barrier to establish relationships with others and to live in an atmosphere of cordiality and harmony.
At school, these rules or codes of conduct are known as school discipline and are the set of rules of coexistence that help create and maintain a school climate of harmony and respect, for work in the classroom and at school, so that enable everyone to learn and develop their full potential.
With the coordination of the principal, the school community defines its specific rules of coexistence. The establishment of rules of coexistence, both in the classroom and at school, as well as the mechanisms for their observance, will be done preserving, above all, respect for the integrity and human dignity of students, teachers and non-teachers from school. (SEP. General guidelines for the development of regulations in the states, 2006).
For example, having rules for the classroom favors the creation of an environment of respect, coexistence and justice.
We know that the rules are not met the first time; therefore it is necessary to constantly reinforce its review and compliance.
The key in any process is perseverance and consistency, that is why we must be patient and prudent when applying any rule.
Adolescence is a stage of transformation in all aspects of life. These individual changes also have outward effects, that is; among the people with whom they live daily: their parents, siblings, friends, schoolmates, neighbors and other relatives.
Parents are the first people to notice that their children are growing up. In most parents, the emotions they experience at this event are joy, fear, sadness, and a feeling of worry.
It is said that the family "is a group of people of different age, sex, characteristics and who generally share the same roof" (Luz de Lourdes Eguiluz, 2003).
These people relate to each other, they have a shared history of interactions, and it is these relationships that bring them together. If one member of the family moves or changes, it affects all the others; That is why the changes they are experiencing at this time as adolescents affect the dynamics of their family.
It is in the family where we learn values, principles, norms and customs that will guide and influence not only our present life, but also our future.
All members of a family play a role or role in it, in the case of adolescents, it is to be a child (older, small, medium, depending on the place they occupy), while their functions are, among others, from being a student, who helps at home with chores, who takes care of younger siblings, who helps his father in the field work, but above all, they are the adolescents of the family who with their individual changes and the beginning of the definition of their identity, mobilize the dynamics of their family.
When we are born we are completely dependent on our mother, since it is she who feeds, protects and cares for us for a long period of time.
Most of the learning of early childhood (from birth before entering school) we acquire with the guidance, support and supervision of parents.
Learning to walk, eat, go to the bathroom without the help of anyone, are the first steps to start an independent life, that is to say no longer live under the protection and help of others, in this case the parents.
In childhood the family is the most important and almost the only reference group of the individual. With adolescence, this space widens and, in a certain way, extends to external society, beginning to weaken the family reference. This emancipation from the family as an element for acquiring independence and personal autonomy is perhaps the most prominent feature of the new adolescent situation… which is why they modify their relationships and attitudes towards their parents.
“This dependence and autonomy can manifest itself in adolescents in three different forms of behavior:
to. Emotional autonomy: the degree to which the adolescent has managed to get rid of the childhood ties that bind him to the family.
b. Behavioral autonomy: the degree to which the adolescent tends to act and decide for himself.
c. The autonomy of values: the degree to which the adolescent is capable of being governed by her own moral criteria ”(Ángel Aguirre, 1994).
For this reason, families with adolescent children must make the rules more flexible and delegate responsibilities to their children. This way you guys. In this way the boys will learn to make decisions and take responsibility for their affairs.
Ideally, as the children gain autonomy, they increase the degree of responsibility with the family group: they can go out alone, but they must notify where they are going, who they will be with and what time they expect to return.
"The evolution of the family reaches a key point at the moment in which the children manage to be autonomous and independent" (Luz de Lourdes, Eguiluz, 2003).
Being independent means not living in the care of others, while autonomy is the ability to choose and decide for yourself.
By being able to take care of yourself and not depend on others, the decisions you make are those that you decide yourself, without the influence of anyone.
Conclusions
- The rules establish the limits of behavior, that is, they tell us how we should act with respect to others, to respect them and at the same time be respected. That is why it is important that we know the rules to know how we are expected to act and contribute to creating that environment of respect and harmonious coexistence.
- Each of the rules has a purpose, a particular objective and that by being respected is contributing to the achievement of an environment of respect and harmony in coexistence. For example, the fact of not respecting the turn in participation causes disorder, that those who wish to share something important with the group are not given the opportunity.
- The main function of the rules is that they regulate the conduct or behavior of people with the intention of pointing out the limits that exist in certain contexts and that by not being respected, a fault is being committed towards others.
- Adolescence as a stage of life has been extended to more or less 10 years, in which a series of important changes and transformations are experienced: the body changes, the way of thinking, the relationship with parents and close people, the group of friends becomes more important than family, the role they play in it changes, leading to the modification of some rules and regulations.
- Adolescence is a stage of crisis, especially an identity crisis. And it is precisely during adolescence, when the formation of our identity is consolidated, that is, when we decide who we want to be and where we want to go.
- Identity formation is often a long and complex process. This process offers continuity between the past, the present and the future of the individual.
- Identity formation helps adolescents to know their position with respect to others, and thereby lays the foundations for social comparisons.
- The sense of identity contributes to giving direction, purpose and meaning to life.
Bibliography
Aguirre, BA, Adolescent Psychology, Marcombo, Barcelona, 1994.
Díaz Barriga, AF, Hernández, RG, and Ramírez AM, Learning to learn, Ángeles Editores, México, 2007.
Eguiluz, Luz de Lourdes, Family Dynamics. A systemic psychological approach, Mexico, Pax, 2003.
SEP, Citizen training towards a culture of legality. Social situations and impact on the lives of adolescents, Mexico, 2006.
SEP, General guidelines for the development of regulations in the states. Of the government and operation of the schools of Basic Education, Mexico, 2006.
