When St. John Bosco went to school, he received a new elderly teacher who was biased against him because he was from the poor village of Becchi and only studying Grade 7 at age 15. When the teacher administered a test to separate the class into ability levels, John Bosco asked to be taught Grade 9 Latin. The teacher scoffed that Latin was beyond the mind of a farmer boy, but when John Bosco insisted, he gave him an entire Latin document translate into Italian. When John Bosco handed in his translation, the teacher initially ignored it, and only read it once the class demanded him to. The document was flawless, and the prejudiced teacher began accusing John Bosco of plagiarizing another student, even when no other student submitted a similar document. John Bosco did not learn much academically then, but he impressed his classmates with his quiet enduring of injustice and insult. At his host family, he learned music and handicrafts; at first, he made clothes for extra money, later he taught handicrafts to youths so they could be useful contributors to society.
Spiritual Talk – Fr Ho talks about St. John Bosco (20)
