The first time I have ever heard of St. John
Baptist De La Salle was when I was a first grade student in De La Salle Zobel.
We were made to watch a film about his life. In all reality, most of it was
lost to my memory as a child. I was unable to see what the big deal was about
education being given to all children who wanted to learn. Neither could I see
the fuss about having a class full of such children being taught by just one
volunteer teacher. In the end, all I ever really remembered, for the sake of a
good grade, at that, was that St. John Baptist De La Salle was a French teacher
who came from a rich family and was very devoted to his students and his fellow
teachers.
In retrospect, much of the story and significance of
Lasallian education was lost to my (probably still) short attention span. For
the longest time, I have never really appreciated the values being imbued upon
us when I was in grade school and high school. Christian Living and most other
lessons about the Saint La Salle took a back seat in favor of learning more
about Science, Mathematics, Literature, and History – the more “concrete”
subjects. Neither did it help that upon graduating high school, I enrolled in
Ateneo de Manila University. The school notably has a different patron saint
and a significantly different patron saint – Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Of
course, even this was of little consequence to me as I was again too busy with
activities beyond the realm of reflecting on the significance of the school
patron saint.
After a variety of experiences thus far, I now find
myself in this situation where I must indeed reflect upon the significance of
the school patron saint. It is not that I find anything wrong or oppressive
about the activity. It is simply the fact that I truly never relegated much
thought to doing so. In any case, what really struck me were the respective
histories of the two patron saints that I have encountered in my formal
education.
While both of the saints were very dedicated leaders,
standing resolute and unyielding in the pursuit of their goals, their attitudes
in general were polarized. Saint Ignatius was a soldier. As such, the religious
order (and consequentially the schools set up and managed by them) which he
established espoused a fierce and steadfast drive to accomplishing their duties
and in giving above and beyond their capabilities to become the very best of
the best as if to mimic the martial nature of the saint himself. The culture of
the Jesuit order and the schools they founded possess an esprit de corps of that of a dedicated military unit. This has its
good and bad points. But as a fan of military history, I related very easily to
this.
On the other hand, we have Saint Lasalle. He, in my
opinion, is the Yin to the Yang of Saint Ignatius. Although also resolute and
dedicated to his calling, Saint Lasalle was the quiet kind of leader. He still
led by example, but he did so in a way that would set the trend for all
educators succeeding him for centuries to come. He was patient as he was
stubborn in spite of all the difficulties he faced, physically or otherwise. Saint
Lasalle sought to establish a religious and educational program significantly
ahead of its time by attempting to give education to all who wanted to be
educated no matter the cost to himself. The grittiness of the film highlighted
this. From the scenes of pre-revolution France illustrated the deep divide between
the classes if only to further emphasize the gambit Saint Lasalle deemed worthy
of his time and effort.
Exactly how devoted he was and to what lengths he
went to for his cause was lost to me as a child. Roughly a decade and a half
later and after watching the movie again, I finally understand what all the
talk about Saint Lasalle being a risk-taker, an innovator, a servant-leader,
and a mentor is all about.
Pre-revolution France had a significant divide
between the rights and privileges of the upper, middle, and lower classes. For
example, only the rich were able to afford quality education. This alone
positions them to be the only people able to properly qualify for higher-paying
or society-changing professions. Big picture wise, this means that the rich
will keep getting richer and the poor will either remain there or just become
even poorer. By establishing an educational system which favors all who seek to
be educated regardless of their backgrounds, Saint Lasalle effectively went
against the status quo of his time. Simply put, it was revolutionary. The
stranglehold upon education can now be effectively removed should his plan
prosper. Saint Lasalle was an innovator.
Of course, such innovation does not come without
personal cost. Saint Lasalle came from a rich family – a noble background.
Their society described earlier, the man could have lived rich and easy for the
rest of his life. In spite of that, however, he chose to give up his ticket to
easy street in favor of a noble cause – to educate the poor.
In pursuing his cause, Saint Lasalle proved himself
to be a servant-leader and a mentor. I honestly believe that you cannot be an
effective leader, or even considered to be a leader if you were incapable of
being both a servant-leader and a mentor. Saint Lasalle was a hands-on leader.
He preferred to be on the figurative front lines of his activities in lieu of
merely dishing out orders to his subordinates. He personally attended to the
needs of his associates insofar as taking care of material needs such as
lodging and moral needs such as personal welfare. By always being on the
business end of things and by being truly immersed in the welfare of his associates
while still providing them direction during trying times, Saint Lasalle proved
to be a mentor as well.
In the end, being able to properly reflect on the
life of Saint Lasalle after such a long time has enlightened me as to what it
really means to be a Lasallian Business Leader. It is not merely a buzzword I
can throw around to new students or what not, I can now feel what it means to
be patient and understanding while still being able to be resolute and
resilient in the pursuit of a good cause.
Of course, our cause now extends beyond educating
the poor. As Lasallian business leaders, we must be able to maximize not only
our own potentials as professionals, but to also bear in mind the values of
being Lasallian leaders – to be innovators, risk-takers (within reason, in my
opinion), servant-leaders, and ultimately, mentors. I believe that we must not
forget these because money and power will only serve to amplify what sort of
persons we are at heart. To fail in the core aspects will mean failure in all
other aspects.
Addendum:
It feels refreshing to be able to pray the Lasallian prayer with conviction this time around.
