Salesian Schools
Encyclopedia
Salesian schools is a generic term applied to educational institutions run by the Roman Catholic Salesian Congregation
of Saint John Bosco (or Don Bosco), and those that use his methods. Salesian schools are dedicated to young people in an educational and formative environment. According to promoters, a Salesian school is a house, church, playground, and school where students find a new way of life, and prepare for their future as good citizens of their country, while being faithful to their own religion.
who created a system of education for boys and girls from marginalized areas of society. For Don Bosco, "Prevention" meant helping a youth before he or she gets into trouble. The Salesian school system can be applied to remote villages of Congo
with farm boys, or in the busiest avenues of New York
with urban youth. Don Bosco's system has three aspects: loving kindness; reason, and religion. These three aspects have been the object of studies by scholars throughout the 20th century.
Salesian schools strive for strict discipline and order, while avoiding any kind of physical punishment. In Latin America
, the Salesians have been a key factor in the formation of national curricula, while helping provide street children with an education. Salesian schools create an environment where children want to belong to. The Salesian school system involves the family, as the system holds that family and background are as important as a student's performance in school. Salesian schools give a lot of importance to Parents Associations and other groups where parents are invited to participated.
was very important to Don Bosco, he respected local and national identities. What can be considered global is the system itself with Don Bosco at its center, however, every Salesian school keeps its own cultural identity. For these reasons, Salesian schools have been welcomed in 124 countries, even in non-Christian
nations. There are Salesian schools in countries such as Pakistan
, India
, Papua New Guinea
, and Cambodia
, where Islam
and Buddhism
are dominant. Those countries not only recognized the value and quality of a Salesian education, but many of them invited the Salesians to settle in their countries to educate their youth.
Salesians of Don Bosco
The Salesians of Don Bosco is a Roman Catholic religious order founded in the late nineteenth century by Saint John Bosco in an attempt, through works of charity, to care for the young and poor children of the industrial revolution...
of Saint John Bosco (or Don Bosco), and those that use his methods. Salesian schools are dedicated to young people in an educational and formative environment. According to promoters, a Salesian school is a house, church, playground, and school where students find a new way of life, and prepare for their future as good citizens of their country, while being faithful to their own religion.
The Preventive System
The figure at the center of a Salesian school is Saint John Bosco or Don Bosco, who is also known as "Father, teacher, and friend of the youth." Don Bosco was a 19th century visionary from ItalyItaly
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
who created a system of education for boys and girls from marginalized areas of society. For Don Bosco, "Prevention" meant helping a youth before he or she gets into trouble. The Salesian school system can be applied to remote villages of Congo
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
with farm boys, or in the busiest avenues of New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with urban youth. Don Bosco's system has three aspects: loving kindness; reason, and religion. These three aspects have been the object of studies by scholars throughout the 20th century.
Salesian schools strive for strict discipline and order, while avoiding any kind of physical punishment. In Latin America
Latin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, the Salesians have been a key factor in the formation of national curricula, while helping provide street children with an education. Salesian schools create an environment where children want to belong to. The Salesian school system involves the family, as the system holds that family and background are as important as a student's performance in school. Salesian schools give a lot of importance to Parents Associations and other groups where parents are invited to participated.
Culture
Operating in 124 countries, the Salesian system could be viewed as a kind of "globalized" education, imposing the same concepts. Although cultureCulture
Culture is a term that has many different inter-related meanings. For example, in 1952, Alfred Kroeber and Clyde Kluckhohn compiled a list of 164 definitions of "culture" in Culture: A Critical Review of Concepts and Definitions...
was very important to Don Bosco, he respected local and national identities. What can be considered global is the system itself with Don Bosco at its center, however, every Salesian school keeps its own cultural identity. For these reasons, Salesian schools have been welcomed in 124 countries, even in non-Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
nations. There are Salesian schools in countries such as Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
, and Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, where Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
are dominant. Those countries not only recognized the value and quality of a Salesian education, but many of them invited the Salesians to settle in their countries to educate their youth.