Ser amable.

I think the eye is accustomed to telling the brain what might be different about a situation. When someone starts dressing in another way, or your favorite store is stocking their shelves mildly askew. I think the heart tells the mind when you find things similar. When positive, there's nothing more that can quietly align your trepidation of the unknown than the familiar.

I value the my work and that of others.

So when I walked into my partner teacher's classroom on Monday, my eyes saw the different language, a stone floor, and the open-air layout of a classroom in a tropical climate.

Almost immediately though, my heart saw the labels that identify the objects and areas of the room that identified itself to me that as a pre-K class). I saw the large, clean handwriting on the walls, the definition of spaces, and the affirmations on the wall. Phrases that make seemingly thin, yet immeasurably strong connections between each other.

I'm talking about the tissue that connects all of the classroom around the world that have thoughtful, dedicated teachers in them, who all know one thing instinctively - that the emotional lives of children triumph over everything else. Reading, writing, mathematical abilities and the skills of playing an instrument are all branches off this same tree trunk.

Which teacher, of all the incredible ones that have worked with in the past and work now, would not recognize the "Palabras mágicas", the magic words of "thank you", "please", "good morning/good afternoon", "may I?", and - maybe the strongest connective tissue we have in our capacity, "can I help you?"

My brief time in El Salvador has shown me that a smile and a sincere "buenos dias" or "buenas tardes", elicits a genuine response. Quiet, demure and equally sincere. It's has been my one solo undertaking that has brought me a level of comfort and determination in what I do as a teacher. More importantly, it's what I do as human being. Telling someone you meet and don't even know, "Good morning!" seems so facile, however it is the tiny bit of good that we can consistently bring into our surrounding world.

We were asked on Wednesday, without explanation, what animal we most felt like. I said "una hormiga", an ant. I can't bring the levels and amounts of peace to this world, my kids, my friends, that I'd like to. However, I can bring in the little elements that, alongside other "hormigas", help build together a better society.

"Ser amable" is one of our Bread Loaf tenets - possibly the one most dear to me - "be kind". All the great teachers I've known in my life and have yet to meet know that this is at the heart of our teaching.

Be kind.
Be kind.
Be kind