pupil's freedom, taken as an individual or as a group, deamnd for autonomy in choosing the

objectives and the means and methods to attain them;

- Legitimate educational pluralism which takes into consideration the increased number of

circumstances within which young people grow up today.

This is something which was almost ignored by Don Bosco and his collaborators, since they worked in a fundamentally homogeneous world, or one considered as such, and the same system might be (too) easily transferred to more heterogeneous worlds resulting from gender, ethnicity and political, social and cultural circumstances.

14. As a result the person and activity of the one to be educated has changed. This has been vindicated by the most recent and advanced findings of those who champion activism and institutional pedagogy, and by the relevant and continuing phenomena of protest and self-management. The fact that some inspirations are ideological does not eliminate the legitimate question-mark they raise. It needs to be evaluated and responded to by approaches more suited to all these many differences. Research into the cultural, scientific and technical foundations of the various different interventions can help.1393 With this reservation it is legitimate to hold that the preventive system may profitably be linked to

various forms of activism, self -government and self -management and versions of these proportionate to

the maturity already reached. This is especially so during adolescence and young -adulthood. Any preconceived pessimism, which might tend to see education al activity as a nagging kind of assistance

aimed at protecting the weak or the young person at risk or some poor unfortunate minor should be

disposed of. Psychology of development, depth -psychology, social psychology, the psychology of the

family and of i nstitutions, might provide helpful indications for inventing solutions of various kinds,

highly differentiated and inspired by the gradualness of the process and a sense of what is possible.

At the time when youth protests were getting underway, Achilles A rdigo asked himself this question:

“Could we hypothesise a youth culture as a vital component of a renewing force, maybe even a revolutionary one regarding the civilisation of wellbeing in one part of the world? It would seem to fit the present state of things in a society of huge organisations or those in an advanced stage of transformation. The discourse becomes rather difficult and high-falutin at this point”.1394

15. The more we stress the dignity, virtue and active role of the child and young person, the greater is the educator's need to play the role of innovator. This 'Copernican revolution' in education and pedagogy should be considered as a definite conquest. Don Bosco might have had some practical intuitions concerning this but there is no doubt that in his preventive initiative the educators are the uncontested owners of the entire system: its goals, content, methods and means.1395After more than a century of theory and practice, youth-adult relationships have undergone deep change, if for no other reason at least for the fact that in today's society the attainment of adult status has been delayed for several years. This holds true in reference to profession, financial independence, emancipation from parents, and the possibility of forming a family.

But for this reason alone the natural and legitimate process of maturing should not be held in check or blocked1396 as might happen when prevention and assistance are ambiguously understood. All this

means a radical new way of interpreting and experimenting w ith the roles of 'father, brother and friend'.

The educator who is sure of himself and reassuring, aware of his role and responsible is not

1393 Cf. P. Braido, Appunti per una interpretazione pluridimensionale della «constestazione giovanile», in

«Orientamenti Pedagogici» 15 (1968) 1284-1304.

1394 A. Ardigo, La condizione giovanile nella società industriale, in Questioni di sociologia vol II, Brescia, La Scuola

1966, p. 609.

1395 Highlighted in Chap. 14 §1; cf also P. Braido, La prassi di don Bosco..., pp. 135-136.

1396 G. Lutte, Lo sviluppo della personalità. Prospettive pedagogiche. Presentation of the work of D. P. Ausubel, Zürich

PAS-Verlag 1963, pp. 21-22.