THE SALESIAN EDUCATOR (by Sr Malen Estacio F.M.A)
The Salesian
educator is a disciple of Don Bosco, the Father and Teacher of youth; hence, he
follows Don Bosco’s Preventive System of education. Those engaged in this great
task of educating in the Salesian way understand that aside from teaching or
imparting knowledge, values and work skills, Salesian education involves a
deep, personal rapport between teacher and student and requires the educator’s
mature sense of discernment and moral responsibility over those entrusted to
him.
In this style
of education, the climate or ambience where education and formation take place,
is just as important as the content of education. This educational climate is
characterized by mutual trust, respect, joy, spontaneity and the so-called
“family spirit”. Like his role models St. John Bosco and St. Mary Domenica
Mazzarello, the Salesian educator accompanies the young that they may grow
fully and freely into the persons God has meant them to be.
It is
important to educate with the heart because young people want to be recognized
and given importance, be understood and loved.
When the young person knows and feels that he is truly loved and
trusted, everything becomes easy. Educating with the heart is like applying a
lubricant that facilitates easier absorption of what the young have to know and
live. The Salesian educator knows that when he has won the heart of a child,
especially one who is a difficult or tough, more than half the battle is won.
And how the young respond to kindness! They can be the teacher’s most loyal,
dependable wards and collaborators, ready to risk their lives for him. Thus,
one of the strongest convictions of the Salesian educator is belief in the
transforming power of love.
Educating with
the heart, the educator forms and produces upright citizens who are able to
fully experience life as human beings and as Christians: people who are true to
God and men… people of service… people of hope, peace and joy. Because they
have been truly loved, they could love in return.
The Preventive
System of Don Bosco is built on three pillars: reason, religion and loving
kindness. These elements correspond to the three parts of the person that need
education and formation: the head, the heart and the soul. The head or the mind
searches the truth; it wants to be enlightened. Even the youngest person who is
able to think wants to know the whys, and hows, and what ifs…of things. He
needs reasons, he wants to understand. The Salesian educator has the patience
and largeness of heart to respond to the child’s yearning for reason and the
truth. And he serenely and honestly answers his questions and demands. The
educator is not afraid to be questioned; he does not say: “Silence, things are
like that. Period!”
Loving
kindness is the Salesian educator’s way of opening hearts and gaining trust. He
knows that young people need a friend, a confidant, an alter ego who listens
with genuine (not faked!) interest and concern. Very often, young people find
themselves in a quandary. When they ask their peers for advice, their friends’
honest but impulsive or often unreflected response makes things worse. The
Salesian educator, having gained more experience and training from life,
usually gives an answer that takes the young out of his dilemma. Hence, this
educator must be a person of prayer, one enlightened and guided by the Holy
Spirit.
The aspect of
religion in the Preventive System is that which opens the young to the meaning
of life. God who created him has a beautiful plan for him and for all creation,
and this God is truly alive and present. Hence, the Salesian educator has the
vital task of leading the young to an encounter with God in his daily life, and
in walking with him along the path that would lead them both to heaven. Here,
it is necessary to point out to the young the radiant beauty of virtue and the
ugliness of sin. The Salesian educator is tireless and creative in providing
the young joyful experiences of the wholesome and the good and in the way that
young people enjoy, e.g. camps, dance/music competitions, games and sports,
drama and various forms of presentations using modern technology.
Therefore,
what sets the Salesian educator apart from other educators? First, he is someone who walks the talk, who
practices what he preaches. As early as in his formative years – preferably
from his own youth to the time he is professionally prepared to teach and form
young people – it is necessary that the Salesian educator has himself lived the
Preventive System. It must have been his own way of life and spirituality
before adopting it as his method of education. It must have pervaded all
aspects of his being, of his personhood so that he clearly understands that
education must be integral, must contribute to the development and growth of
the whole person in all the aspects of his being.
It is said
that educators are born not made. But even if one has the mind and heart of an
educator but lacks the practice, his educational philosophy and style remain
but a theory or a desire. Thus, it is necessary that the educator likes and
wills to be with young people and share their life experiences, and learn to
love what the young people love.
A Salesian
educator’s love for his students is manifested in concrete words and gestures.
Don Bosco said: “It is not enough for the young to be loved… above all, let
them feel/experience your love for them.” It is imperative, therefore, that the
Salesian educator loves with a pure heart so that the expression of his love
for the young becomes unequivocal.
This love is
best expressed in what is known in Salesian lingo as “presence” and
“assistance”. It is the educator’s way of saying “I’m here for you, cost what
it may.” This physical and real presence among the young often entails certain
renunciations like giving up an afternoon nap or reading one’s favorite book,
or simply being in front of an electric fan instead of being in the sunny
playground. This moment of assisting the young especially in their leisure or
free time is a privileged moment to know them deeply. It is here that they are
best themselves. It is also here that the educator can best inter-act or
intervene in a friendly or fatherly/motherly way.
Loving the
young authentically and aware of their needs and expectations, the Salesian
educator is able to play multiple roles motivated by his desire for their
well-being in this world and in the next. As a father, he is preoccupied
-- nearly 24 hours a day -- with their needs, their safety and welfare, their
future, their social environment, their emotional state, their moral and
spiritual life, their very souls. As a teacher, the educator
communicates knowledge and views needed by the young to get by and succeed in
life. He also transmits values and inculcates the needed positive attitudes.
Another beautiful relationship that the Salesian educator establishes with the
young is that of friend or big brother. In spite of their age gap, he loves his
little brothers with respect and sensitivity, taking them seriously and seeing
to it that no one bullies or makes his brods a laughing stock.
But like Don
Bosco who takes after Jesus, the Good Shepherd, probably the best rapport is
that of the true shepherd who lays down his life for his sheep. It is the
prevenient love of a shepherd thatmakes him search for the lost, reach out to
the lonely or troubled and have an eye for everyone. Love softens and tempers
the Salesian educator even or specially in moments of tension. But love also emboldens
him and makes him take risks for the welfare of the young. It is not just the
call of duty, but true love that leads him to expose himself to dangers and
difficulties in saving the young.
And like Don
Bosco, the Salesian educator has the young always at heart………. up to his last
breath!
-
Sr. Malen Estacio, F.M.A.
