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I. Rapport: Carl Rogers says, “We know that the facilitation of learning rests not upon the teaching skills of the leader, curricular planning, use of audiovisuals, programmed learning, lectures or presentation, or abundance of books but on upon certain attitudinal qualities which exist in the personal relationship between the facilitator and the learners”. There is No learning without a relationship. The more loving and trusting the relationship is, the greater is the confidence of the learner with respect to what is learned.
The things we learn from people we love have a greater impact on our lives and are more difficult to forget than what we learn from others. The things we learn in an atmosphere of trust are not merely bits of information to memorize but experiences that we become passionate about. Don Bosco gives us three keys to establishing rapport in any educator-student relationship:
a) “Love what the young love, that they may love what you love”
b) “It is not enough to love, they must know that they are loved”
c) “Familiarity breeds affection. Affection breeds confidence”
Education is the ability of the educator to draw out the best from the educand, which presupposes the existence of a relationship of love. Being with young people in the things that interest them is the best way to letting them know that they are loved. In this relationship of confidence, a positive disposition is fostered. Spending time with young people builds rapport which leads to affection that gives rise to genuine trust and confidence in which learning become a joyful experience.
Rapport Skills: Some skills used to promote genuine rapport, a true ecology of loving kindness in DB’s Way are: a) Listening in order to understand empowers the learner. b) Being Available to students where they feel most at home – playgrounds, music clubs, etc-boosts the quality of their participation. c) Being Respectful to all leads to mutual esteem. d) Concern for the underprivileged is translating loving kindness into care for those on the periphery. e) Being Creative reveals that love is full of surprises.
II. Reason: The role of reason in DB’s Way is indispensable because it acts like a bridge in the education of young people in three important ways: a) Reason safeguards relationship base on love (the emotional need) from degenerating into mere sentimentality. b) Reason checks the believer’s faith (the spiritual need) from falling into superstition or religious fanaticism. c) Reason checks reasoning (the rational need) from becoming individualist anarchism. The harmony between self-understanding and studentunderstanding enables educators create excellent learning spaces that benefit the educator-student relationship.
Reasonability Skills: DB’s way gives reasonableness great importance especially in formulating rules, in dealing with corrections and in applying sanctions:
On Rules: Hints to make rules reasonable are: i. base your rules on common sense. ii. Keep them few. iii. Keep them simple and clear. iv. Explain how rules benefit them. v. communicate clearly. vi. Give timely reminders. vii. Differentiate on firm and flexible rules. viii. Evaluate rules in course of time. ix. Include students in the formulation of rules. x. To check the fairness of rules put yourselves in the shoes of the students.
On Corrections: i. Decide on the necessity of correction and focus on the cause. ii. Give personal correction with concern and respect. iii. Before correcting ask yourself on reason, value and method proportion to offence. iv. Avoid the following ways: accuses, jumping on to conclusions, calling names or use of offensive, sarcastic language, lecturing, moralizing, raising voice, getting personal, publisizing, involving parents. v. when correcting be factual, polite, reasonable, firm and brief. vi. After correcting do not hold grudge, be ready to forgive, do not recall, or give public example on mistake of one. Sometimes be ready to ask pardon and keep the relationship intact.
On Sanctionsp: Never punish or humiliate, or use physical force, often check the cause for violation, invite parents to search for a solution with a view of understanding and helping. Use sanctions that benefit the offender or use deprivations like personal attention, or something that they are fond of. Maintain a sense of proportion.
Discipline is necessary. It reveals the tough face of Love. Reason is a useful means to discipline behaviour, yet education is a matter of the heart. When reason and love work in harmony, the student at the centre of education project is always the winner.
III. Religion: Religion in holistic education leads one to live in harmony with oneself, in thoughts, words and actions, Harmony with others, with all humans, creatures and the environment and Harmony with God. The aim of education in DB’s Way is to form “Honest Citizens and True Believers”. Education is embarking on a unique double-destination pilgrimage, a voyage into one’s self and into the world, a journey within and without.
The Journey within is the search for one’s uniqueness; one’s reason for existence’ one’s inner voice; one’s struggle to be true; one’s personal intimacy with God who is reverently worshipped.
The Journey without is the search for social harmony. It consists I building loving relationships with others; in making choices responsibly; in balancing one’s inner truth with the demands of daily living; in accepting difference and diversity as a challenge to broaden perspectives; in contributing to a more just and peaceful society; in avoiding everything that harms another human being, whether physical psychological, or spiritual; in cooperating with people of goodwill to make the world a better place. In this sincere, the pilgrim strives to make God’s abode/ kingdom a reality on earth.
The Journey within and the Journey without are one and the same. The more one cultivates a passion to embark on the journey within, the deeper one enters into the journey without. The greater the depth of inner peace, the wider is the peaceful impact one has on society. The deeper one is in the embrace of God, the more effectively is one able to embrace his or her brothers and sisters. The more one experiences God’s love and forgives oneself, the more one wishes to be compassionate with underprivileged section of humanity. The journey within is incomplete if it neglects the journey without. The journey without is superficial if it is not rooted in the journey within. Happiness, holiness or wholeness consists in establishing perfect harmony between the two movements of the one journey.
The Educators in the DB’s Way need to be persons who have experienced the double- destination journey in their own lives, so that they can guide and motivate their students for the same adventure.
Skills for Education to Religion: To embark on DB’s Happiness project, it is necessary that young people learn to develop ten skills. The first four facilitate journey within while the remaining six facilitate the journey without.
a. Meditation: The educator assists the students to develop silence within themselves. Silence forms the basis for an intimate encounter with God.
b. Prayer: Students are taught how to enter into a personal relationship with God through sincere and humble dialogue in prayer.
c. Obedience to the Inner Voice: Listening to the inner voice the student is helped to become aware of what is right and wrong and to habitually align with what is right.
d. Death and the After Life: Reminder about Death and After life helps one to check motivations, orientations, and set priorities for the future.
e. Duty: Sense of Duty is the best of self-discipline when fulfilled daily and cheerfully. Duty involves taking studies seriously, being fair at games, respecting elders, obeying one’s parents, balancing fun and responsibility, developing a healthy body and mind.
f. Joy and Optimism: Youth live life as a celebration. Music, theatre, games, sport, picnics – these are youthful expressions of happiness. Using these elements, the educator promotes attitudes of gratitude, praise, joy, optimism, reverence and respect.
g. Peer Education: Young people easily personalize attitudes and change behaviours through peer pressure. DB was quick to capitalize on this reality for educational purpose, so he formed groups and made them leaders to develop wholesome habits of heart, mind and spirit.
h. Forgiveness, Service, Collaboration and Dialogue: These are methods used to help them grow towards integrity.
IV. Presence: The concrete way of being fully with the students is called “Presence” which helps realize happiness in the here and now. The characteristics of this presence are:
a. Welcoming Presence: The educators make first step in making new acquaintances.
b. Motivational Presence: It is enthusiastic and optimistic where students are enticed to learn, search and discover.
c. Personal Presence: It cares with a special concern for those in need. Each student is called by name, feels know, loved respected and accepted.
d. Incarnational Presence: It is based on sound moral values. Seeing world through their eyes will entice them to experience the values the educator lives by.
e. Creative Presence: Being open to discovery means being ready to try new ways, new solutions and new ideas. Risk is essential to creative learning.
f. Networking Presence: It involves all people of goodwill around a common project.
Skills for Presence: The following suggestions help to maintain a friendly environment without compromising standards of quality:
a. Physical Presence: Ensure that you are physically present in places where students gather in large numbers, for instance, in classrooms, corridors, gymnasiums or playgrounds.
b. Participate: During recreational breaks, avoid, whenever possible, the refuge of the teacher’s rest room. Make attempts to be among the students as friendly guides and observant care-givers.
c. Animate: The time of recreation is an excellent opportunity to get to know your students and establish rapport. Devise creative ways to involve as many as possible in wholesome fun and activity.
d. Decorum: When class resumes, encourage students to switch to seriousness, appropriate to classroom learn-ing. To model this you be serious at the stroke of the bell, this will, in the long run, earn you the respect and appreciation of the students.
e. Contingency Plan: Prepare for any eventuality when you are among yours students, especially for programs that involve large numbers in a determinate area. Anticipate possible casualities and conduct safety check even before they arrive.
f. Environment: The context within which education takes place is as important as the education itself.
g. Co-responsibility: Collaboration of staff in an educational institute is a visible way to ensure a caring atmosphere. When the management and staff work as a team, students are encouraged to give their best. This involves a type of dedication that transcends the mere teaching of syllabus or sticking to a curriculum.
h. A Counselor’s Desk: It is of utmost importance in complex institutions.