A Salesian school is an educational institution run by the

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

Salesian Congregation of Saint John Bosco (or Don Bosco), and one that uses his methods. Salesian schools are dedicated to young people in an educational and formative environment. According to promoters, a Salesian school is a home, 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.

Culture

The figure at the center of a Salesian school is Saint John Bosco or

Don Bosco John Melchior Bosco, SDB (; ; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco or Dom Bosco ( IPA: ), was an Italian Catholic priest, educator and writer. While working in Turin, where the population suffered many of the ill eff ...

, who is also known as "Father, teacher, and friend of the youth." Don Bosco was a 19th-century visionary from

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

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. 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, however, in his book ''The Devil's Advocate - Child abuse and the men in black'', author and former Salesian pupil Graham Wilmer MBE, describes the levels of violence he and other pupils suffered at the hands of Salesian priests in Salesian schools in the British Salesian Province. In

Latin America Latin America is the cultural region of the Americas where Romance languages are predominantly spoken, primarily Spanish language, Spanish and Portuguese language, Portuguese. Latin America is defined according to cultural identity, not geogr ...

, the Salesians have been a key factor in the formation of national curricula, while helping provide street children with an education. 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 participate. Operating in 124 countries, the Salesian system could be viewed as a kind of "globalized" education, imposing the same concepts. Although

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

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 A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

nations.

Culture

List of Salesian schools

References

See also