Salesian Schools
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 |
This article or section needs copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone or spelling. You can assist by editing it now. A how-to guide is available. (January 2008) |
 |
This article does not cite any references or sources. (January 2008) Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed. |
The Salesian Schools is the way to call the educational institutions rule by the Salesian Congregation of Don Bosco or inspired in its method.
Contents |
[edit] Vision
The Salesian School is defined as a place that is fully dedicated to young people in an educational and formative environment. The Salesian School is a house, a church, a playground and a school, all those things together, where the lads and girls find a new style of life and prepare their future as good citizens for their country being faithful to their own religion.
[edit] The Preventive System
The figure at the center of the Salesian College is Saint John Bosco or Don Bosco, who is also known as Father, Teacher and Friend of the Youth. What is the Salesian Preventive System is found primarily in his style of life. Don Bosco was a visionary of his own time (19th century) and nation (Italy) who could create a fascinating system of education for those boys and girls from marginalized areas of any society or those who are in any kind of danger or at risk. "Prevention" for Don Bosco means to help the youth before he or she gets in troubles. In this sense, the Salesian School has its natural location in the most far villages of Congo with farmer boys or in the most busy avenues of New York with urban youth.
The Don Bosco's system is resumed in three aspects: Loving kindness, Reason and Religion, three aspects that are object of study by scholars along the 20th century, but that is combined in the figure of Don Bosco who introduced an education based in reason and love and looking to the mysterious essence of human life. "I promise you bread and Paradise", he used to say.
The young boy or girl should experiment the gradual growing of his/her personal freedom whithin a context of responsibility and values. The Salesian Assistance is not vigilance or keeping kids by a strict rule, but the company of the youth in their path of formation toward a best future. This Method of Don Bosco took distance since its beginning from the Repressive System that was very popular in Europe during the 19th century. Punishing and treated kids were hold as the best and unique ways of keep discipline and guarantee the success of education. Even today, the Salesian Schools in many countries have to see with this kind of conception, especially in undeveloped nations where teachers have little formation. To formate the teachers and instructors in a Salesian School is a priority to guarantee the world identity.
However, the Salesian Schools are famous for their strict discipline and order avoiding any kind of physical punishment while the Salesian teachers are used to study the meaning of Preventive System. In nations like the ones of Latin America, the Salesians have been a key factor in the formation of national curricula of studies while working in the sensibilization of societies with dramas like the street children with new proposals to answer solutions. A Salesian School where the Preventive System of Don Bosco is the main factor of its history, is in general a center called to change its environment where the young like to join and find a lot of programs and activities to follow. The Salesian School involved also the family. It is not just the boy or the girl the subject of education, but it is important his/her personal history with his/her dear ones. In this way, the Salesian Schools give a lot of importance to the Association of Parents and other kind of groups where parents are invited to participated beside their kids.
[edit] The culture
Being in 124 countries, Don Bosco could be seem as a kind of "globalized" education imposing the same conceptions everywhere. However, culture is very important to Don Bosco and he respects the local and national identities. What can be considered global is the system itself with Don Bosco at its center, but every Salesian School keeps its cultural identity. Only within this context, the Salesian Schools have been welcomed in 124 countries where they enjoyed a big appreciation, even in nations with other religions different from Christianity. There are Salesian Schools in countries like Pakistan, India, Papua New Guinea, Cambodia and many others, where Islam and Buddhism are dominant. Those States not only recognized the value and quality of the Salesian education, but many of them invited the Salesians to settle in their countries to educate their youth.
[edit] The Past Pupils
The existence of the Don Bosco Past Pupils as the biggest world organization of past pupils is a proof of what is the Salesian School. When Don Bosco was alive (1815-1888), his past pupils used to honor him thanking what he did for them and many of them wanted to give something in exchange. Many of them became very important benefactors of the Salesian work around the globe, while others join efforts to benefit the new generations. In this sense, Don Bosco founded the Association for Past Pupils that is still active and growing to become one of the most important Associations of its kind in the world.
