Don Bosco's Preventive System

A Look at Our System

Fr. Nioret, SDB

We are all very familiar with Don Bosco's dream at nine. But let's focus alone on the boys in the dream— the boys who were laughing, shouting and swearing — those young Johnny Bosco fearfully encountered. They were bad at the start. They were in fact represented as evil. Somewhere in the dream they turn into goats, dogs, cats, bears and other animals. But later on after a signal from the Blessed Virgin they turned into gentle lambs, jumping and bleating as if to welcome Johnny. This change from wild animals into meek lambs means that the bad boys in the end were converted into good boys. A sequel to that dream (DB had other dreams connected to this one) shows a hearty aftermath of the stages of the boys' transformation. Some of those boys turned into shepherds to mean that they became Salesians to guide other boys.

Decisively, the Blessed Virgin Mary indicated to Don Bosco what was to be his mission in life: to save the young that were lost. "This is the field of your work. Make yourself humble, strong and energetic. And what you will see happening to these animals in a moment is what you must do for my children," the Blessed Mother said to the young John.

Salesians continue this same mission entrusted by our Lady to Don Bosco. But unfortunately the "wild animals" are yearly dropped or passed out from our school almost too easily because of strict rules and regulations. We almost seem helpless in front of our own rules. Progressively we are left only with the "gentle lambs" to care for. Still we are well aware that plenty of the times those who are left behind after the screening are those who least need our supervision as compared to the others we have dropped out or shoved away. We must confront the questions, "Is this not neglect if not abandonment of the bad boys so clearly indicated to us by the Blessed Mother as the primary recipients of our mission? Is this not an indication of giving up the life time task assigned to us through Don Bosco in his dream at nine?"

Don Bosco wanted our schools to function like a family. This is rightly so because as a true educator Don Bosco believed that education is a matter of the heart. Only in a climate of trust and confidence like in a home can a young person learn. Thus he trained his Salesians to make every school a home. Only quite recently do we hear pedagogues preaching that the best educators are still the parents and the best school is still the home. But in all our schools, faithful to our father and teacher who is Don Bosco, we are already doing that, forming one big happy family among our students, teachers and lay collaborators. For a long time we have taken pride of our heritage, our family spirit.

In the family we don't send anyone out of the house whenever they misbehave. We reprimand them and in the long run we also forgive them. That is what we do in a family. In the family our tolerance is always high because in spite of the rules, relationships are governed more by love, care and forgiveness. Should not our schools be likewise? Is this not the mind of Don Bo when he talked about family spirit?

Don Bosco sent out from his oratory boys who were likely to corrupt other boys. Like the bad apples that are apt to spoil the good ones, boys of bad influence were sent out of Don Bosco's oratory. Don Bosco asks us to do the same. But still like Don Bosco, let us be more hopeful and not give up too easily on erring kids because they are our primary "recipients."

Don Bosco was very optimistic about people especially the young. He believed in the supernatural and natural qualities of all without forgetting their weaknesses. His actions indicated the conviction that there is no such thing as a bad boy - but only a good boy doing bad. He took his cue from the Lord who did not see an adulterous woman but only a woman caught in adultery. He therefore condemned the sin but spared the sinner. Don Bosco was much like that. Shouldn't we strive to be likewise?