by Richard Demeter
It's like a six-limbed oak tree offering shade and shelter and bearing acorns that will some day take root and replace their alma arbor.
That "nourishing tree" is the religious education program at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead, Calif., which spreads its message through its multiple branches. Overseeing this multifaceted programwhich includes the Salesian Education Seminar, the Religious Studies Department, Liturgy, Retreats, Peer Ministry, and Christian Serviceis Rudy Herrera, the youth ministry coordinator and a 1980 Bosco Tech graduate.
Assuming the chief pastoral roleboth to this program and to the school in generalis Fr. Marc Rougeau, the director of the Salesian community of 14 priests and brothers at Bosco Tech. "My most important duty is to see that St. John Bosco's special way of bringing the Gospel to young people is being practiced on the campus among both the faculty and the students," he explained. "I'm also trying to extend this effort at evangelizing youth to the larger community or neighborhood."
To foster these ends, Fr. Marc encourages members of the faculty to attend the Salesian Education Seminar held annually at the Salesian theological center in Berkeley. "The teachers who attend the SES gain a greater awareness of Salesian spirituality and the Salesian educational system and actively try to implement it in their relations with their students, both inside and outside the classroom," Fr. Marc pointed out.
With regard to the students, the goals of the religious education program are two-fold: to provide them with a background of formal religious instruction and to give them opportunities to implement their religious convictions through service to others.
While at Bosco Tech, each student must take seven courses in religious education as part of his academic curriculum. "Although it's possible that students can practice the Christian virtues without any formal religious education, this kind of instruction is important because it can give the student an appreciation of the Catholic-Christian tradition and a recognition that millions of other people in the past have actively lived these values," explained Mr. Herrera.
The freshman religious studies course, for example, tries to help students discover their individuality and to get them thinking about the ultimate theological question. In doing this, the religious education teachers use discussions, retreats, and a variety of activities related to the students' experiences. "We want to make the religious experience interesting and enticing, because ultimately we want the students' relation to God to be the source of their moral commitment," explained Claude LeBlanc, chair of the Religious Studies Department. The course also introduces the freshmen to the life of St. John Bosco and the Salesian educational philosophy.
Mr. LeBlanc admits that, despite the generally academic bent of the theology courses on the other three grade levels, it is more important that students know God than know about him. The chairman believes that the success of these courses must be judged in terms of the heart rather than of the headwhether they motivate students to be actively engaged in Christian action and service. "The only way I can know if someone knows God is through his commitment."
One of the religious studies classes on the junior level incorporates a peer ministry component. "We try to get the students to develop their talents and to put them at the service of others," Mr. Herrera stressed. This course concentrates on the development of such skills as leadership, time management, and listening and communicating effectively. "The ultimate goal is to increase the students' sense that they are committed to a larger group, whether it be the class, the school, the community, or the Church."
Once students have developed this sense of commitment, they are encouraged to channel it into Tech Fest and the Big Brother program. Tech Fest is hosted at the beginning of the school year by upperclassmen specially selected and trained to serve as Big Brothers for the incoming freshmen. The annual event follows a Salesian tradition first established by St. John Bosco himselfcombining opportunities for students and faculty to play, pray, and eat together. "We try to make the freshmen feel they're part of the Bosco Tech family," explained Miguel Flores, a junior on the Big Brother core team. "We try to make them feel needed by giving them a sense that they will someday be expected to take over these activities and carry them on in the future."
This emphasis on communal activities is reflected in the religious education program's use of retreats. For Brian Armstrong, a fifth-year college student who has been a leader at several student retreats, the experience is tremendously satisfying. "It's very important that these students get a better understanding of their faith, because once they do then they make good moral decisions," he stressed. Brian, who also teaches Confirmation classes in his parish, believes that the Salesian emphasis on taking a personal interest in young people and treating them with respect and trust is the key to successful evangelization.
The final aspect of the school's religious education program is a commitment to Christian service. Required of juniors as part of their Church History and Ministry course, Christian service can be performed through such activities as tutoring, volunteering at a local maternity home, participating in the Big Brother program, helping conduct retreats, or working for the Key Club. "It's by giving that we receive the most," Mr. Herrera stressed, alluding to a line in the Prayer of St. Francis. "In the process we're also enriched as human beings; and it's also a good opportunity to enrich the life of the school."
Richard Demeter is a former teacher and public relations officer at Don Bosco Technical Institute in Rosemead, Calif. He is currently a member of the editorial board of the Salesian Bulletin.