Saint Don Bosco was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who dedicated his life to the education and care of disadvantaged youth in the 19th century. He is known for his innovative teaching methods and his strong belief in the value of practical, hands-on learning.
Born in 1815 in Turin, Italy, Don Bosco was the youngest of three children. He grew up in poverty and experienced the struggles of being a disadvantaged youth firsthand. Despite these challenges, he excelled in his studies and was eventually ordained as a priest in 1841.
After his ordination, Don Bosco began working with disadvantaged youth in the streets of Turin. He quickly realized that traditional methods of education were not effective for these boys, who were often uninterested in academics and more interested in practical skills. In response, he developed a new approach to education that focused on hands-on learning and included activities such as carpentry, printing, and agriculture.
Don Bosco’s innovative methods proved to be highly successful, and he quickly gained a reputation as a compassionate and effective educator. He also founded the Salesian Society, a group of priests and laypeople dedicated to the education and care of disadvantaged youth. The Salesian Society still exists today and has spread to countries all over the world.
In addition to his work with disadvantaged youth, Don Bosco was also a strong advocate for the rights of workers and was deeply involved in the labor movement of his time. He believed that education and work were key components of a fulfilling and meaningful life, and he worked tirelessly to provide young people with the skills and opportunities they needed to succeed.
Don Bosco was beatified in 1929 and canonized as a saint in 1934. Today, he is remembered as a pioneer in education and a model of compassion and service. His legacy lives on through the work of the Salesian Society and the many people whose lives have been touched by his teachings.
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One well-known anecdote from the life of Saint Don Bosco involves a dream he had when he was a young boy. In the dream, he saw a group of boys who were lost and in danger. He tried to lead them to safety, but they kept running away from him.
As he chased after the boys, he was joined by a tall, handsome man who told him, “Don’t be afraid. Take these boys under your protection. Educate them, and I will help you.”
When Don Bosco woke up from the dream, he was deeply moved by it and felt called to dedicate his life to the education and care of disadvantaged youth. He saw the dream as a sign from God and took it as a mission to help young people who were lost and in need of guidance.
This dream had a profound impact on Don Bosco’s life and shaped the course of his career as an educator. He worked tirelessly to provide young people with the skills and opportunities they needed to succeed, and his innovative teaching methods helped countless boys to achieve their potential.
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One more anecdote from the life of Saint Don Bosco involves a time when he was working with disadvantaged youth in the streets of Turin. There was a young boy named Tony who was particularly difficult to reach and seemed resistant to all of Don Bosco’s efforts to help him.
Despite this, Don Bosco refused to give up on Tony and continued to try to reach out to him. He eventually discovered that Tony was struggling with a learning disability that made it difficult for him to keep up in school.
Rather than giving up on Tony, Don Bosco worked with him individually and found creative ways to help him learn. He used hands-on activities and practical exercises to engage Tony and help him understand the material.
Through his persistence and patience, Don Bosco was able to help Tony overcome his learning disability and succeed in school. This experience was just one example of the compassionate and innovative approach that Don Bosco brought to his work with disadvantaged youth.
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After his ordination, Don Bosco began working with disadvantaged youth in the streets of Turin. He quickly realized that traditional methods of education were not effective for these boys, who were often uninterested in academics and more interested in practical skills. In response, he developed a new approach to education that focused on hands-on learning and included activities such as carpentry, printing, and agriculture.
Rather than giving up on Tony, Don Bosco worked with him individually and found creative ways to help him learn. He used hands-on activities and practical exercises to engage Tony and help him understand the material.
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Use your hands
What activity did you take up during the pandemic years?
Was it baking? Gardening? Knitting? Did you learn a new instrument? Start working out? Or take up cooking?
Personally I picked up woodworking. It was so satisfying to cut and carve wood. Assemble it together and polish it into a finished product.
Most of the activities that people sought during the pandemic had to do with ‘using your hands.’ We all found solace in physically making something, even from scratch.
200 years ago, Don Bosco already knew that was true.
He’s among the famous saints in the Catholic tradition. Well known for being a teacher, and all the schools he inspired. During his life, he focused on the disadvantaged youth in Turin. He saw that for these troubled children, the usual way of teaching them was not working.
So he didn’t force it.
Instead, he developed a new approach to education that focused on hands-on learning and included activities such as carpentry, printing, and agriculture. (Yep! Getting people to use their hands for work) That helped those struggling youth find work- but spiritually it also helped them relax, and calm down (just like it did for us in the last 3 years)
Here in the Philippines, this is what we associate Don Bosco with- all the vocational schools and technical skills that a Don Bosco education provided.
But I also think we make a big mistake when we think of “Don Bosco”, “Disadvantaged Youth”, “Vocational Training”, and we immediately think “Oh that’s not me.”
Yes, you may not be a disadvantaged youth. Yes, you probably don’t do any vocational work.
But just for a minute, exercise your spiritual imagination a little.
Aren’t you disadvantaged, struggling, and troubled? I know I am. Technology, media, the news fills me with anxiety
Do you need to do some manual work? I know I do. I’m always thinking, thinking, thinking. But when I use my hands and garden, I focus on where I am in that moment. Nothing but what I see and the sensations of my work.
Work that uses my hands.
One of my favorite teaching from John Paul II is about work itself. He says: “Since work is always a personal action it follows that the whole person, body and spirit, participates in it, no matter what kind of work it is.”
We glamorize the preaching of Jesus, but we forget that he was also a carpenter. Someone who worked with your hands. And anyone who has made anything with their hands will tell you- that the process of creating something. Not rushing. Taking your time. Making mistakes. Learning. This has a holiness all of its own.
Jesus knew this. Don Bosco knew this. What