There are many things admirable about St. John Baptist De La Salle. Unfortunately, I find it hard to compare my life with his.
I was not born to a rich family in the 17th century, and in the First World country of France. Instead, I was born in a Third World country that is the Philippines during the early 90s. My family not being wealthy, I have neither riches nor property to give away to the poor. Most importantly, I do not have a rank in the Catholic Church, nor do I consider myself even remotely religious. Instead, I work in a corporate environment armed with advanced technology and well-established bureaucratic processes.
In short, I have no delusions that my life is even the slightest bit comparable to that of the Saint’s. But the closest thing that St. La Salle and I have in common would be the love for the development sector.
I believe it is important for the development sector to have someone like St. La Salle. To me, his main weapon was not that he was rich, although it did help in financing the schools he and the Christian Brothers had started. Rather, it was his willingness to use what he had that set him apart from the privileged and learned people of his generation.
Life in 17th-century France was way different from life in 21st-century Philippines. But the fact remains that looking after your own (or your family’s own) welfare is still considered more important than ensuring other people’s needs are met. Often, the brightest and most educated minds are nowhere near the poor and the underserved. Instead, they work for people richer and more privileged than they are in hopes that they, too, will attain higher social status.
Therefore, what can people like me—the working middle class—do to model the life of St. La Salle? I doubt that quitting my job, going to the convent and giving away the meager amount of riches that I have will cut it. And even if I were to do all these, they will not make a long-term impact on society.
The most common path to contributing to the development sector is to become a licensed social worker. Many have taken this path, but my approach will be different. My quixotic dream is to revolutionize the development sector as St. La Salle did for education. I believe I can do so by taking up MBA studies. In my years of experience working and volunteering services for NGOs, I have discovered that even the noblest advocacies cannot survive without ample funding.
The life of St. La Salle may be different from ours. But the modern Lasallian in the workplace can still find inspiration in him. Here are some of his examples.
He remained relevant
St. La Salle pioneered the use of the native language in teaching instead of the highfalutin Latin language. He recognized that to be effective in his mission, he must use a bottom-up approach rather than an ethnocentric perspective coming from his privileged background. This way, he did not alienate his teachers and students, but instead kept them engaged as he carried out the mission.
He equipped his teachers
St. La Salle is known for creating manuals for teachers and administrators. He standardized teaching methods so that they could easily be duplicated. This led to the faster assimilation and knowledge-sharing among teachers and administrators. Thus, his schools and teaching ways have outlived him by centuries. Talk about sustainability.
He created a community
Instead of carrying out the mission alone, St. La Salle created a congregation of brothers. He enlisted help even from laymen and the poor. He unified and empowered each member of his team to work regardless of their backgrounds as long as they had a heart for educating the poor.
He focused on the people who needed help the most. During his time, quality education was not available to the poor. Even the Church had yet to take upon itself the mission of educating the poor.
He anticipated the needs of his beneficiaries
St. La Salle could have produced priests from his school. Yet he chose to emphasize secular studies alongside religious ones to equip his students for life. Recognizing that people have different callings, he brought in new subjects to the curriculum and introduced class-based learning.
We may not follow the life path of St. La Salle point by point. We do not need to be born into privileged families, wear religious habits or become missionaries to make a difference. But we can use the tools we have been given, follow his example in principle, and then forge a path of our own. The modern Lasallian, after all, is made, not born.
Samantha Isabel Coronado is an MBA student at the Ramon V. Del Rosario College of Business of De La Salle University. She wrote this essay for her class on Lasallian Business Leadership, Ethics, and Corporate Social Responsibility during her second term in the MBA program. She can be reached at [email protected].
The views expressed here are the author’s and do not necessarily reflect the official position of DLSU, its faculty, and its administrators.