The project reflects on juvenile delinquency, emphasizing that it involves not just illegal acts but also behaviors deviating from societal norms. Key factors influencing delinquency include family environment, poverty, and community influences, highlighting the importance of early intervention and parental role models. The author, relating personal experiences, advocates for a more proactive approach in education, encouraging teachers to engage with students' family backgrounds and foster a supportive school environment.

1. CHILD AND ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENT
Final Project
Personal Insights
Knowledge gained
The concept of juvenile delinquency had become clearer to me. Juvenile delinquency does not only
entail those acts by youth that are against the law, it also encompasses behavior that deviates from normal
behavior. Examples of juvenile delinquency intensity vary from very simple ones to huge ones. Examples of
simple acts of juvenile delinquents are the following; getting coins from parent’s coin purse without permission,
lying about simple things like if one has finished his/her assignment or not. Examples of more ruthless acts of
juvenile delinquents are the following; alcohol and drug addiction, stealing, murder and other heinous crimes.
Family is the fundamental institution. Home is where the youth first develop their values and beliefs. It is
their family who influenced them most. It is the foundation of formation of good morals and principles. At home,
it is very important to strengthen the values of the youths because this determines what most likely the youth
will be in the future. Once the foundation is not strong, when the youth go out of their homes and have friends
who are of no good influence, most likely these youth will do the delinquent acts they learned outside their
homes. Needless to say, when even at home, youth do not see a good role model from their family members,
for example the mother is a gambler, the father is hot tempered, alcoholic, and steals to have money to buy
alcohol, siblings are stealing to have food on their table since parents do not have jobs. Where will the youth
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2. develop their moral not to steal when they are forced to do such because their parents are irresponsible?
Poverty is also a factor. Most likely, the youth cannot finish schooling because their money is solely for the food
and parents do not value education, since they themselves do not finish their schooling. The living environment
or community is also a factor. The youth will learn different delinquent acts from their neighbors. Some are
having pot session at the back of their house, some are stealing from the local sari-sari store, some are being
killed in the ‘tong-itan’ (or gambling place) because of the ‘heightened’ emotions due to gambling gain and most
especially loss. I am not saying that all and only poor youth are doing delinquent acts, that the rich youth are not
doing delinquent acts. I am not discriminating. I am only trying to explain the factors why youth commit
delinquent acts.
Sometimes, there are some acts that many people do nowadays that are being accepted because many
people are doing it. And they even think it is alright to do such acts. People do not realize that what they are
doing is inappropriate.
Early intervention is really important. Law enforcers should not only focus on running after the ‘big’
syndicates, thinking that the youths cannot do something that ‘harsh’ as what the big syndicates can do. Yes,
right now maybe youths cannot do what those big syndicates are doing, but in the future, these youths will grow
old and become part of big syndicates. Law enforcers should not undermine what the youth can do when they
are still youths and especially when they grow old as law breakers. Sad to say, this is only a cycle of developing
law offenders.
The Philippine law should be altered such that juvenile delinquents will be properly ‘punished’ even when
they are not yet in legal age. Here in the Philippines, youth law offenders do not go to jail if they are under the
legal age, they only go to government facilities wherein programs for helping them are not being reinforced
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3. properly and strengthened. That is why the youth keeps on repeating their criminal acts because they know
they will not be punished for doing them.
Applicability of knowledge to current task
I can say that I can relate to the topic of juvenile delinquency, since as a youth, I committed some
delinquent acts, though not the ones that is against the law. I can clearly remember the incident when I did not
pay the tricycle fare because I really don’t have money. It happened when I was in high school. The public
school I am attending is located in Paranaque and I live in Las Piñas, so that requires me to take tricycle and
jeepney. Beside the fact that big portion of my small money (baon) is allocated for the fare and the remaining
small portion is for snacks and simple immediate school requirements like ballpen, folder, bondpaper, and
photocopying pages of books (students don’t buy their own books) and test papers. The latter ones are the
more important than snacks so most of the time I don’t buy snacks and I only chat with my classmates during
snack break (good thing was that students were only required to be in school half day, I take good breakfast for
me not to feel hungry and I ate when I arrived home). To make the story short, I spent my tricycle fare for
immediate school requirement.
I was very nervous because it was my first time not to pay the tricycle fare. When I was about to get off
the tricycle, I was wondering what I will do if the driver noticed that I did not pay yet. Luckily, the driver did not
notice. But since then I promised to myself not do it again and secure my tricycle fare no matter what happens.
Maybe if my parents failed to teach me moral and values, I will not feel any guilt of not paying the fare
and I will keep on repeating it. And I will even repeatedly do other delinquent acts like stealing from my
classmates, skipping classes, bullying other students, not respecting my teachers, and others.
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4. Impact of the experience to one’s teaching role/ future teaching role
Teachers are the second parents of the youths. School is the youths second home wherein they build
relationships with their schoolmates and build a ‘family’. School should fill in to the things not met at home.
As a future teacher, it is important not to focus only in teaching the cognitive aspects. It is also important
to touch the hearts of the students for them to be inspired to study. Teachers should make the students feel
they are at home in a sense that they trust them instead of having fears towards the teachers. It is very
important for teachers to know the family background of the students, for them to fully understand the reason
why the students are acting that way. In this, the teacher can offer help not only to the students but also to the
parents in whatever problem or difficulty they are facing with right now. Maybe the parents do not know that
their child is experiencing such thing. It is important that there is a full cooperation coming not only from the
school but especially also coming from the family. Once there is a denial of the problem in the side of the family,
the problem/situation will not be properly addressed and efforts will be wasted. Parents
and teachers conference is a good way of providing chance for parents and teachers
One looks back with to meet and talk about the welfare of the child especially in terms of school progress.
appreciation to the brilliant
teachers, but with gratitude to This way, the teachers can provide essential feedback about the child’s actions in
those who touched our human school and the parents can also provide essential feedback about the child’s actions at
feelings.
The curriculum is so much home.
necessary raw material, but
warmth is the vital element for
the growing plant and for the
Abegail T. Sonas
soul of the child. BS IT 4
~Carl Jung October 12, 2011
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