Personal

Development
Quarter 1 – Module 4:
The Challenges of Middle and
Late Adolescence
 What I Need to Know

“Successful people are always looking for opportunities to help others.

Unsuccessful people are always asking: “What’s in it for me?”
– Brian Tracy
One of the challenges that adolescents like you have to face is the changes in
physical appearance. One may become overly conscious of his or her
appearance. How can an adolescent handle these changes well? In this
module, we will talk about the struggles, the issues, and the challenges an
adolescent may face in his or her journey through the end of adolescence.
What are the possible stumbling blocks that one might encounter in one’s
path? What factors predispose an adolescent into doing mistakes and what
forces in the psychological aspect of an individual are responsible for such
attitudes and mal-adjustments? It is wise to know yourself, but it is wiser to
know your enemy- your weakness, vulnerability, and imperfection. We cannot
run away forever. It is always more courageous to face these so we could grow
into better individuals for our sake and others.

After going through Module 4, you will be able to:

1. Identify ways that help one become capable and responsible

adolescent prepared for adult life. EsP-PD11/12CA-Ie-4.3

1
 What I Know

Activity: Challenges and Issues Checklist. Read the list carefully and make
a check next to each issues/ challenges that you are now having. Remember
that there are no correct or incorrect answers. Do your best to answer each
item as honestly as you can.
 being shy having to do household chores
 not having close friends wanting to run away from home
 being taken advantage of by friends feeling out of place in school
 feeling different from everyone else getting in trouble in school
 feeling uncomfortable when talking to worrying about future job or
people college
 feeling clumsy and awkward depending on others for money
 having an unattractive face feeling depressed or sad
 parents being too strict not having a boyfriend/girlfriend
 parents fighting or arguing not having money to buy clothes
 parents disapproving of friends getting easily influenced by peers

What’s In

Activity: Based on the above activity, answer the following questions:

1. Are you certain that you are honest with yourself in terms of your struggles
as adolescent? How would you like to make these weaknesses clearer for you
so you could solve them?___________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
2. Have you analyzed the why’s of your struggles as an adolescent? How can
you change them into wiser choices?_______________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

What’s New

Reading: THE PASSAGE TO ADULTHOOD: CHALLENGES OF LATE

ADOLESCENCE
Physical Development
Most girls have completed the physical changes related to puberty by age
15.

2
 Boys are still maturing and gaining strength, muscle mass, and height and
are completing the development of sexual traits.

Emotional Development
May stress over school and test scores.
Is self-involved (may have high expectations and low self-concept).
Seeks privacy and time alone.
Is concerned about physical and sexual attractiveness.
May complain that parents prevent him or her from doing things
independently.
Starts to want both physical and emotional intimacy in relationships.
The experience of intimate partnerships
Social Development
shifts in relationship with parents from dependency and subordination to
one that reflects the adolescent’s increasing maturity and responsibilities in
the family and the community,
Is more and more aware of social behaviors of friends.
Seeks friends that share the same beliefs, values, and interests.
Friends become more important.
Starts to have more intellectual interests.
Explores romantic and sexual behaviors with others.
May be influenced by peers to try risky behaviors (alcohol, tobacco, sex).

Mental Development
Becomes better able to set goals and think in terms of the future.
Has a better understanding of complex problems and issues.
Starts to develop moral ideals and to select role models.

What is It

Activity: Answer the following questions:

1. Discuss how are you facing the challenges as an adolescent?_____________
___________________________________________________________________________
_________________________________________________________________________
2. How you may able to clarify and manage the demands of teen years?
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
3. Express your feelings on the expectations of the significant people around
you, such as your parents, siblings, friends, teachers, community leaders
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________
___________________________________________________________________________

3
 What’s More

Reading:
Ways to Become a Responsible Adolescent Prepared for Adult Life

Becoming responsible and being able to make good choices are very important
traits no matter what developmental stage you are in. It holds true for
adolescents especially that they are just beginning to internalize and imbibe
virtues, values, and other essential qualities.

It may not be easy to be a teenager. There may be lots of things going on in

various facets of their lives. The demands and expectations of their parents
and other people around them can also be stressful. But the good news is,
they can treat these ‘difficulties’ as ‘challenges’ which can make their life
exciting. Having that mindset is also an indication of becoming a responsible
and mentally mature adolescent.

The following are eight (8) simple rules which could help you, teenagers, to
become a responsible adolescent prepared for adult life:

1. Focus on your studies and do well in all of your endeavors. There is time
for everything.

2. Take care of your health and hygiene. Healthy body and mind are important
as you journey through adolescence.

3. Establish good communication and relation with your parents or guardian.

Listen to them. This may be easier said than done at this stage, but creating
good relationship with them will do you good as they are the ones you can
lean on especially in times of trouble.

4. Think a lot before doing something. Evaluate probable consequences before

acting. Practice self-control and self-discipline.

5. Choose to do the right thing. There are plenty of situations in which it is

better to use your mind rather than your heart.

6. Do your best to resist temptations, bad acts, and earthly pleasures and
commit to being a responsible adolescent.

7. Respect yourself. You are an adult in the making. Do not let your teenage
hormones get into you. If you respect yourself, others will respect you too.

8. Be prepared to be answerable or accountable for your actions and behavior.

It is a part of growing up and becoming an adult.

4
 What I Have Learned

Activity: What about You Can You? In a clean sheet of bond paper make a
write-up on identifying ways that help one become capable and responsible
adolescent prepared for adult life.

What I Can Do

Reading: THE POWER OF PERSONAL DECLARATIONS

by Dr. Emily De Carlo
So often we accept the declarations that others have made concerning our
own lives, well-being or fate. It is imperative that we recognize that in order to
achieve what we want in life; we must not give our power away to others by
accepting their declarations concerning our affairs. When one decides that he
or she will boldly declare good fortune, wellness, joy, etc. relative to his or her
life, all of heaven will break loose! Goodness and mercy shall surely follow.
From birth, we are often told what we are going to be. Sometimes, this is a
good thing, but suppose you have been told time and time again that "you will
not amount to anything just like your mother or father"? This is a dangerous
declaration because it sets into motion the actualization of an unwanted
occurrence. All of us want to amount to something! In order to counteract this
and all of the negative declarations with their destructive potential, one must
consciously replace them with one's own declarations. In so doing, you are
now in control of setting into action what you really want to occur. You can
declare that goodness and mercy shall surely follow you all the days of your
life!
The following are some declarations that you may want to make concerning
your life:
I declare:
that I am totally free of all addictions.
that I will survive any attempts of others to control my life.
that I am free in my mind, body, and emotions.
that I am free to set goals and reach them.
that I am a loving individual with the capacity to give love.
that I am a child of God with all rights and privileges thereof.
that I will contribute to the welfare of others.
that I will be an ambassador of goodwill to all I meet on the journey.
that I will be a good example for others to follow.
that I will help all that I can to reach their goals.
that I will speak words of encouragement to others.
that I will find the goodness in life and focus on it.
that I will not succumb to the negative influences of others.

5
 that I will read the information that will encourage my personal, and
spiritual growth.
that I will commit to being the best I can be.
These declarations are meant to encourage you to take control of the
influences in your life. They are suggestions as to what positive things you
can speak about your own life instead of accepting whatever has been said
about you in the past. You now have the authority to plant the seeds of love,
encouragement and victory in your garden, thereby crowding out the weeds
of negativity that may already have taken root! Just as in a garden, you may
have to pull and pull until you get some weeds out. Sometimes, the negative
comments and declarations of others have taken such a stronghold in our
lives, that we must persist until we see the bough not only fall, but break into
pieces. Don't be discouraged if you don't reach your goals overnight. Just
remember that even a small stream of water will crack concrete eventually!!

Activity: My Personal Declaration. In a ¼ cartolina create your own

personal declaration on becoming capable and responsible adolescent
prepared for adult life. Be creative.

Post-Assessment

Activity: Issues and Challeneges: My Ways. Fill out the table below by
writing down the issues and challenges that you are going through as an
adolescent and the ways that you are going to do as a capable and responsible
adolescent prepared for adult life.
Issues and Challenges Ways to Cope Up the Issues and
Challenges

Additional Activities

6
Reading: BEING HAPPY
You may have defects, be anxious and sometimes live irritated, but do not
forget that your life is the greatest enterprise in the world. Only you can
prevent it from going into decadence. There are many that need you, admire
you and love you.
I would like to remind you that being happy is not having a sky without
storms, or roads without accidents, or work without fatigue, or relationships
without disappointments.
Being happy is finding strength in forgiveness, hope in one’s battles, security
at the stage of fear, love in disagreements.
Being happy is not only to treasure the smile, but that you also reflect on the
sadness. It is not just commemorating the event, but also learning lessons in
failures. It is not just having joy with the applause, but also having joy in
anonymity.
Being happy is to recognize that it is worthwhile to live, despite all the
challenges, misunderstandings and times of crises.
Being happy is not inevitable fate, but a victory for those who can travel
towards it with your own being.
Being happy is to stop being a victim of problems but become an actor in
history itself. It is not only to cross the deserts outside of ourselves, but still
more, to be able to find an oasis in the recesses of our soul. It is to thank God
every morning for the miracle of life.
Being happy is not being afraid of one's feelings. It is to know how to talk
about ourselves. It is to bear with courage when hearing a "no". It is to have
the security to receive criticism, even if is unfair. It is to kiss the children,
pamper the parents, have poetic moments with friends, even if they have hurt
us.
Being happy means allowing the free, happy and simple child inside each of
us to live; having the maturity to say, "I was wrong"; having the audacity to
say, "forgive me". It is to have sensitivity in expressing, "I need you"; to have
the ability of saying, "I love you." So that your life becomes a garden full of
opportunities for being happy...
In your spring-time, may you become a lover of joy. In your winter, may you
become a friend of wisdom. And when you go wrong along the way, you start
all over again. Thus you will be more passionate about life. And you will find
that happiness is not about having a perfect life but about using tears to water
tolerance, losses to refine patience, failures to carve serenity, pain to lapidate
pleasure, obstacles to open the windows of intelligence.
Never give up ... Never give up on the people you love. Never give up from
being happy because life is an incredible show. And you are a special human
being!

Activity: Slogan on Being Happy. In a ¼ cartolina create a slogan on being

a happy adolescent.

7
 8
ANSWERS KEY:
What I Know: (answers may vary according to students’ own
perception/understanding)
What’s In: (answers may vary according to students’ own
perception/understanding)
What I can Do?(answers may vary according to students’ own
perception/understanding)
What I have Learned:(answers may vary according to students’ own
perception/understanding)
Post Assessment:
(answers may vary according to students’ own perception/understanding)
Additional Activities:
(answers may vary according to students’ own perception/understanding)
Remedial/ Enrichment Activity
Reading: ENCOURAGEMENT 101: The Courage to Be Imperfect
by Timothy D. Evans, Ph.D.
Encouragement is the key ingredient for improving your relationships with
others. It is the single most important skill necessary for getting along with
others – so important that the lack of it could be considered the primary cause
of conflict and misbehavior. Encouragement develops a person’s psychological
hardiness and social interest. Encouragement is the lifeblood of a
relationship. And yet, this simple concept is often very hard to put into
practice.
Encouragement is not a new idea. Its spiritual connotation dates back to the
Bible in Hebrews 3:11 which states “Encourage one another daily.”
Encouragement, as a psychological idea, was developed by psychiatrist Alfred
Adler in the early 20th century and continued to evolve through the work of
Adler’s follower Rudolph Dreikurs. However, even today, relatively few
educators, parents, psychologists, leaders or couples have utilized this
valuable concept. Most of the time, people mistakenly use a technique like
praise in an effort to “encourage” others.
Half the job of encouragement lies in avoiding discouraging words and
actions. When children or adults misbehave, it is usually because they are
discouraged. Instead of building them up, we tear them down; instead of
recognizing their efforts and improvements, we point out mistakes; instead of
allowing them to belong through shared decision-making and meaningful
contributions, we isolate and label them.
Most of us are skilled discouragers. We have learned how to bribe, reward
and, when that fails, to punish, criticize, nag, threaten, interrogate and
emotionally withdraw. We do this as an attempt to control those we love,
bolstered by the mistaken belief that we are responsible for the behavior of
everyone around us, especially our spouses and children. These attempts to
control behavior create atmospheres of tension and conflict in many houses.

Most commonly, we discourage in five general ways:

• We set standards that are too high for others to meet because we are
overly ambitious.
• We focus on mistakes as a way to motivate change or improved
behavior.
• We make constant comparisons (self to others, siblings to one another).
• We automatically give a negative spin to the actions of others.
• We dominate others by being overly helpful, implying that they are
unable to do it as well.
Encouragement is not a technique nor is it a special language used to gain
compliance. Encouragement conveys the idea that all human beings are
worthwhile, simply because they exist. In one sentence, Mr. Rogers does more
for a child’s sense of adequacy than a hundred instances of praise when he
says, “I like you just the way you are.” Not I like you when you do it well
enough, fast enough and get it all correct. Encouragement develops children’s

9
psychological hardiness -- their ability to function and recover when things
aren’t going their way.
Encouragement enhances a feeling of belonging which leads to greater social
interest. Social interest is the tendency for people to unite themselves with
other human beings and to accomplish their tasks in cooperation with others.
The Junior League mission of “developing the potential of women and
improving communities through the effective action and leadership of trained
volunteers” is rooted in the idea of social interest.
The first step to becoming an encouraging person is to learn to distinguish
encouragement from discouragement. As a rule, ask yourself: Whatever I say
or do, will it bring me closer together or farther apart from this person?
We all have the power to be more encouraging people. The choice, as always,
is yours.

Activity: Encourage My Fellow Adolescent: Create a video encouraging

your fellow teenagers/ adolescent on how to become a capable and
responsible adolescent prepared for adult life.

10