The Salesian Preventive System of Education

Faithful to the educational heritage handed on by St. John Bosco and St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello, the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians educate young people in the spirit and style of the Preventive System.  Don Bosco firmly believed that in every young person there is a seed of goodness and therefore no one is beyond redemption. Herein lies his fundamental choice for the preventive style of education rather than the repressive system. In the style of the Preventive System the educators are afire by the single motto of Don Bosco: “Da mihi animas coetera tolle”, i.e., “Give me souls take away the rest”.

The Preventive System as a spirituality is deeply rooted in the heart of Jesus, the Good Shepherd and as a method has three fundamental elements: reason, religion, and loving kindness. By reason, the young is helped to develop critical thinking and to have a discerning attitude thus becoming capable of making intelligent judgments, decisions and enlightened moral choices. By religion the youth is accompanied to have a deep and lasting relationship with Jesus through prayer, an active Sacramental life and through the formation of an upright conscience. Don Bosco emphasized “Education is a matter of the heart, of which God is the Master”, therefore the Preventive System is founded on the Gospel virtue of loving kindness. When the young feel loved and develop a friendly relationship with their educators, they are most disposed and willing to welcome educative proposals from their educators.

This relationship between the educators and the young is characterized by a strong union of minds and hearts towards a single vision of saving one’s soul. It is a relationship that is based entirely on the love of God and an unwavering trust and respect for the person’s self-worth and dignity.  Because of this the educators are able to challenge them and motivate the youth to take hold of their life and be responsible for it. 

The aim of this style of education is for the young to become good Christians and honest citizens. The school creates an educative environment where the prevailing atmosphere is that of the family spirit. In this kind of environment, the youth is the center of the educative interventions.

Education is a concerted effort of the different sectors of the educating community composed of the Sisters/ parents/ teachers / support personnel/ and the youth themselves. The educative presence of the different members of the educating community, called the Salesian assistance, gives the young a sense of security and a sense of being “at home” wherever they are. Seeing their educators always present in their midst and accompanying them in their life’s journey remind them of the presence of God and of Mary herself. This gives them confidence that they are not alone in their struggles to become good and to make responsible choices.

In this educative environment, the youth breathe and live the Salesian Youth Spirituality. This is a spirituality tailor – made for the youth but shared and lived by the educators themselves. This kind of spirituality encourages the young to strive for holiness in their day to day life as members of God’s family, the Church, and of society. Thus, they are expected to be active and committed promoters of the culture of life.

Moreover, this style of education believes in providing the youth educative experiences not only in the classrooms and playgrounds but especially through volunteerism and membership in different groups within the Salesian Youth Movement. These venues for self-expression and self-discovery allow and encourage the youth to become protagonists of their own growth and formation. Here potential leaders are born and developed.

In the spirit of the Preventive System the educators walk hand-in-hand with the youth towards the fullness of life, drawing from the well spring of the biblical passage “that they may have life and have it abundantly”.  (Jn 10:10).

After the heart of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, an educating community that commits itself to live the Salesian Spirituality of St. John Bosco and St. Mary Domenica Mazzarello, forming the young to be good Christians and honest citizens.

Through the Preventive System of Education, we educate, evangelize and accompany the young especially those who are affected by various forms of poverty to live their Christian vocation to the full in joyful service to others, to the country and to the Church.

We commit ourselves as:

An Academic Community – to offer the young quality academic and cultural formation animated by faith that serves with joy.

A Filipino School – to educate the young in the appreciation, preservation, and enrichment of our nation’s culture and heritage in the spirit of stewardship thus contributing to the building of just and humane society. 

A Catholic School – to guide the young to discover for themselves the deep joy of friendship with Christ and the motherly guidance of Mary making them persons capable of right judgment, free, mature and responsible choice and of service to others.

A Salesian School – to live the Preventive System with its essential elements of reason, religion and loving kindness as an experience of communion and celebration of life shared among educators and with the young journeying together towards holiness.