Social skills present an important element of students’ development and foundation of communication and relationships with others. There are three primary concepts of social development, one of which, the theory of mind, suggests that people can learn to read or understand other people’s mental states. Being able to use the theory of mind in children is associated with higher social competency and increased language abilities. Another unconscious part of social development, humor, allows the creation of social bonds when used in a positive sense. According to C. Bergin and D. Bergin (2019), humor promotes the connection between the students and the teacher and enhances students’ creativity through positive emotions. Lastly, the moral judgment component relates to a child’s understanding of justice and presents the progress from subjecting to the authority of elders to the creation of autonomous morality. An important element of moral judgment is assuring the students that dishonestly and cheating are not acceptable and immoral behavior is punished in society.
Sexual identity at a young age is generally associated with gender identity and moral education measures that teachers take to cultivate open-mindedness in students. Gender identity is closely related to expectations that society lays upon individuals through specific interests and behavior from a young age. According to C. Bergin and D. Bergin (2019), the topic of sexual identity is more complex as it resonates with an individual’s inner nature. Many children experience difficulties feeling that they are different from other children as early as elementary school. In addition, many people and parents do not have an idea about the differences between biological sex and gender.
As education plays a significant role in a child’s development, implementing measures focused on gender diversity could reduce the pressure on gender-diverse students. Creativity is often associated with students who experience trouble with submitting to the limitations of social norms of gender. There are several methods that teachers can utilize in the education process that can promote open-mindedness for students without harming their sense of creativity, such as using inclusive language and modeling inclusive behavior. Lastly, it is important to use preventive methods and educate the students about open-mindedness and moral judgment. Educating the students on how excessive moral judgment can result in discrimination and harassment of gender-diverse classmates can emphasize the importance of open-mindedness and compassion.
Furthermore, considering adolescent students, an important point about the sexual identity topic was made by Mercy Adjabeng in the video about adolescent self-concept development. Adjacent suggested that discovering the theme of sexual identity puts negative pressure on the mental state of adolescents (JoyNews, 2015). According to C. Bergin and D. Bergin (2019), maturity in girls can result in behavioral problems and feelings of depression and anxiety.
Therefore, I think that parents and the education system’s essential role in developing students’ sexual identity are to provide necessary information support and carefully guide adolescents through a difficult period. In particular, it is vital to state the potential threats associated with sexual activity, such as risk-taking, and identify their outcomes. According to Adjabeng, the adolescent period presents complications for children’s relationships with parents, and in many cases, parents fail to fulfill their functions due to a lack of connection with the child (JoyNews, 2015). To provide an additional endorsement or substitute for the lack of parental support, teachers should inform and guide the students to eliminate risk-taking opportunities.
References
Bergin, C. C., & Bergin, D. A. (2018). Child and adolescent development in your classroom. Cengage Learning.
JoyNews. (2015). Adolescent self-concept development [Video]. YouTube. Web.