In recent times, called to comment on the tragic stab wounds inflicted by young man from La Spezia to a classmate in the school frequented by both of us, I have often thought about Don Giovanni Bosco, whom we celebrate today 31 December: what would the great priest, crossroads of Italian sentiment, capable of intercepting adolescent tension like few others, managing to defuse its explosive charge with a smile, of the metal detector that the Minister of Education (and Merit) would like to place at the entrance to the classrooms?
He would not have agreed. It went in the opposite direction: we must intervene before the criminal event. As all educators know, the punitive measure can put out the fire, not its embers. In my many years of experience as a literature teacher in professional institutes, I have met many kids who always seemed on the verge of committing crimes: if you could intervene at that crucial stage, you could make a difference. Afterwards, it was always too late.
Saint John Bosco among the boys.
(The Picture Art Collection)
What the famous treatise on the continues to teach us today preventive method composed by Don Bosco 150 ago? I continue from a recent summary of mine: let’s not limit ourselves to pointing out the precepts to be observed with our little fingers. Let’s embody them instead. We focus on friendly alerts. We reject bitterness. The Salesian director must dedicate himself to the students (I know: it’s a demanding expression, but we shouldn’t be afraid to recall it, especially on the day we remember who wrote it), while avoiding like the plague any exclusive affection towards someone.
The treatment action must always be collective, never subjective: Hadn’t the Good Samaritan also done the same thing, handing the poor victim over to the innkeeper, paid to welcome him?
Not obligations but encouragement. Short sermons, three minutes maximum. The lectures that last longer slide on the skin of young people like cool water. Punishments should not be public. Never humiliate a boy who makes a mistake, nor put him with his back against the wall. On the contrary, we must always give him a chance to redeem himself. If you do, he can surprise you in a positive way.
Don Giovanni Boscoeven when faced with a serious event, was not satisfied with pure and simple repression. He was thinking about the future. He knew that winning the heart of just one child means conquering the whole world.
