THE PREVENTIVE SYSTEM IN THE EDUCATION OF
THE YOUNG
CRITICAL EDITION: P. BRAIDO - TRANSLATION & NOTES:
P. LAWS
INTRODUCTION
On
Upon Don Bosco's return to
The translation is based on Braido's 'Document R',
which contains later refinements to the text, and which was printed together
with the Regulations For The Houses Of The Society Of St
Francis Of Sales, in 1877.
TEXT
On a
number of occasions I been have asked to express, verbally or in writing, a few
thoughts concerning the so-called Preventive System which we are accustomed to
use in our houses. Until now I have not been able to comply with this wish for
lack of time, but since at the present moment we are preparing to print the
regulations which now have been observed as it were by tradition, I have
thought fit to give here an outline of it, which however will serve as a sketch
for a small work which I am preparing, if God will give me life enough to be
able to complete it. I do this solely to help in the difficult art of the
education of the young. Therefore I will say: in what the Preventive System
consists, and why it should be preferred; its practical application, and its
advantages.
I: In
what the Preventive System consists, and why it should be preferred.
Through the ages there have been two systems used in the education of the
young: preventive and repressive. The repressive approach consists in making
the law known to the students and then supervising them in order to detect
transgressions, inflicting, wherever necessary, the merited punishment. Using
this system the words and the appearance of the
To give
greater weight to his authority, the Director would need to be seen but rarely
among his subjects, and generally speaking only when it was a question of
punishing or threatening. This system is easy, less demanding and is especially
useful in the army and among adult and sensible people who ought of themselves
to know and remember what is according to the law and other regulations.
Quite
otherwise, I would say its very opposite, is the
preventive system. It consists in making known the rules and regulations of an
Institute, and then supervising in such a way that the students are always
under the vigilant eye of the Director and the assistants, who like loving
fathers will converse with them, act as guides in every event, counsel them and
lovingly correct them, which is as much as to say, will put the students into a
situation where they cannot do wrong.
This
system is all based on reason, religion and loving-kindness. Because of this it
excludes every violent punishment, and tries to do without even mild
punishments. It seems that this system is preferable for the following reasons:
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4: The Preventive system offers the student previous
warning, in a way that the educator can still speak to him in the language of
the heart, whether during the time of his education, or later. The educator,
having won the loving respect of his protégé, will be able to greatly
influence him, warn him, counsel him, and also correct him, even when he is
employed, whether it be in the civil service, or in
commerce. For these and many other reasons it seems that the preventive
system should prevail over the repressive. |
II:
Application of the Preventive System
The practice of this system is all based on the words of
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1: For this reason the Director
should be dedicated to his pupils, nor should he ever assume tasks
that would take him away from his duties; on the contrary, he should be among
his pupils every time they are not taken up with other legitimate tasks,
unless they are duly assisted by others. |
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2: The teachers, the technical instructors, the
assistants should all be of known moral rectitude. They should try to avoid
like the plague every kind of (morbid) affection or exclusive friendship with
the pupils, and they should realise that the
wrongdoing of just one person can compromise an educational Institute. They
should operate in a way that the students are never alone. As far as possible
the assistants should precede them to the place where they are required to
assemble; they should remain with them until others come to assist them; they
should never allow them to be idle. |
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3: Give them ample liberty to jump, run, make a din as much as they please. Gymnastics, music,
declamation (of poems, etc), theatricals, hikes, are very effective
methods for getting discipline; they favour good
living and good health. One must only ensure that the plot, the characters
and the dialogue are not unsuitable. That great friend of youth, St Phillip Neri used to say, "Do whatever you wish; for me it
is enough you do not sin". |
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4: Frequent Confession, frequent Communion, daily
Mass are the pillars that ought to support an educational edifice, from which
one would want to keep at bay threats and violence.
Never require the youngsters to go to the Holy Sacraments, but just encourage
them, and offer them every opportunity to make good use of them. Then on the
occasion of retreats, novenas, homilies, religious instructions, one should
highlight the beauty, the greatness, the holiness of that Religion which
proposes with such easy methods things as useful to civil society, to peace
of heart, to the salvation of one's soul, as are these holy sacraments. In
this way the young people will become involved spontaneously in these
religious practices, with pleasure and with fruit. (1) |
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(1) Not long ago a minister of the Queen of England, visiting an Institute
in
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5: Exercise the strictest vigilance to prevent there
being allowed in the Institute friends, books or persons who carry on bad
conversations. The appointment of a good doorkeeper constitutes a treasure
for a house of education. |
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6: Every evening after the usual prayers, and before
the students go to bed, the Director, or someone in his place should offer a
few kind words in public, giving some good advice or counsel regarding things
to be done or avoided, and let him try to glean these from events that have
taken place that day in the Institute or outside. But his talk should never
go on more than two or three minutes. This is the key to good behaviour, progress and educational success. |
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7: Avoid like the plague the opinion of any one who
would want to postpone First Holy Communion to too old an age, when most
times the devil has taken possession of the heart of a youngster with
incalculable harm to his innocence. According to the discipline of the early
Church it was customary to give to infants the consecrated Hosts left over
from the Easter Communion. This helps us realise how
much the Church loves to see children admitted to their First Communion in
due time. Once a child can tell the difference between bread and bread, and
shows himself to be sufficiently instructed, pay no attention to his age and
let the Heavenly King come to reign in that happy soul. |
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8: Catechisms recommend frequent Communion. St
Phillip Neri advised receiving once a week, or even
more frequently. The Council of Trent states clearly that it greatly wishes
every faithful Christian to also receive Communion each time he goes to |
Someone
might say that this system is difficult in practice. I reply that from the
point of view of the students it turns out easier, more satisfying, more advantageous. In the case of the educator, it does
include some difficult features, which however are diminished if the educator
addresses the task with devotion. An educator is one devoted to the well-being
of his students, and for this reason ought to be ready to face every
inconvenience, every fatigue in order to achieve his goal, which is the civil,
moral and intellectual education of his students.
Over and
above the advantages set out above, I would also add:
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1: The student will have the greatest respect for
the educator and will go on recalling with pleasure the orientation he was
given, always considering his teachers and the other Superiors as fathers and
brothers. Wherever they go, these students are generally the consolation of
their families, useful citizens and good Christians. |
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2: Whatever might be the character, the attitude,
the moral state of a pupil at the time he is enrolled, his parents can be
secure in the knowledge that their son will not deteriorate, and one may
confidently assert that one will achieve some improvement. Indeed, certain
youngsters who for a long time were the scourge of their parents, and were
even refused entry into houses of correction, when cared-for according to
these principles, changed their attitude, their character, they set
themselves to live a decent life, and now fill honourable
places in society, thus becoming the support of their families, and a credit
to the area they live in. |
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3: Pupils having unfortunate habits who perchance
should gain entry into an Institute will not be able to harm their fellows,
nor will good boys be harmed by them, because there will be neither time,
place, or opportunity, insofar as the assistant, whom we presume to be
present, would rapidly put things right. |
A Word on Punishments
What
criteria should one observe when inflicting punishment? Where possible, one
should not make use of punishments, but when necessity demands repression, one
should bear in mind the following:
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1: The educator at work amongst his pupils should
make himself loved, if he wishes to be respected. In this case the omission
of an act of goodwill is a punishment, but a punishment that acts as a
challenge, encourages, and never disheartens. |
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2: With the young, what is used as a punishment
becomes a punishment. One can observe that a less-than-loving look is for
some worse than being struck. Praise when something is done well, blame when
there is negligence, are already reward and punishment. |
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3: Except in very rare cases, corrections,
punishments should never be given in public, but privately, apart from
companions, and one should use the greatest prudence and patience to have the
student understand his fault through reason and religion. |
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4: To strike one in any way, to make one kneel in a
painful position, to pull any one's ears and similar punishments should be
absolutely avoided, because they are forbidden by the law of the land, they
greatly irritate the young, and they degrade the educator. |
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5: The Rector should make the rules well known,
along with the rewards and punishments set down in the disciplinary policy,
so that no pupil might be able to excuse himself by saying he did not know
what was commanded or forbidden |
If in
our houses this system is put into practice I believe that we will be able to
achieve excellent results without resorting either to
corporal punishment, nor to other violent punishments. For these forty
years during which I have dealt with the young, I do not remember ever having
used any kind of punishment, and with the help of God I have always got not
only what was necessary, but even had my wishes met, and that from those same
young people for whom every hope of a good outcome seemed in vain.
(Fr) John Bosco
