“Believe me, every heart has its secret sorrows, which the world knows not, and oftentimes we call a man cold, when he is only sad.” –Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Hyperion
Many times I walk through school hallways where no one says hi or even acknowledges that we are two human beings passing each other through the same space. I used to get intimidated by that unfriendliness. Now when it feels so urgent to keep any humanity that we can in our school buildings, I catch the other person’s eye. I smile. I say “hi.” Sometimes I ask, “How’s it going today?”
A little human kindness can go a long way these days when it can be so absent. How can we not do whatever little bit we can in a building full of children and those who care for them?