The Universal Language of School

Hanoi Journals

I slide off my high heels, adding them to the large pile of shoes at the front of a brightly colored kindergarten building in Hanoi, Vietnam. Looking down the hallway I notice dozens of irregular snowflakes each cut with kid scissors and hung with a teacher’s care. I feel at home.

While I have never been to Vietnam before, much less this specific school, my global travels have shown me that there is a shared humanity that runs across our school hallways. Whether I am at a Catholic school in Brazil, a private school in Vietnam, or a public school in the United States, there are several things I know to be true. These things transcend language, culture, and worldview.  In fact, they may be the magic that makes schools work.

Connection matters

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• It only takes one spark of laughter to change the whole tenor of a classroom. 
• Learning a new game can bring people together.
• Though we show it in different ways, we all need to connect.
• It is absolutely possible to sit with someone who speaks a different language than you and have a conversation.
• Friends can share a joke without saying a word.
• There is a renewed sense of possibility each morning when we greet students and colleagues. 
• Few gifts are more treasured in a school day than receiving art from a student or a hot cup of coffee from a teacher.

Kids are Kids

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• Young children need to dance and sing.
• Middle school students are curious about everything.
• You can see both the lasting glimmers of childhood and the new glimmers of adulthood flash across the faces of high school students at play or work.
• Kids carry big worries and big ideas and they don’t always know how to express those.

Universal Language

• We straighten our gaze with determined focus when solving an interesting problem. 
• When we see something beautiful, we want to share it.
• We nod when we say thank you.
• We crinkle our eyes to show delight.
• There is a telltale kind of tired that teachers everywhere wear on their faces at the end of a school day.

I am grateful to Wellspring International Bilingual School for inviting us to spend the week with students and teachers. While I did manage to learn a few phrases in Vietnamese (thank you mostly to a group of sixth grade students), more importantly I learned that it doesn’t take spoken language to say many of the things that matter most in school including: thank you, I see you, I value you, and I’m happy you’re here.

Appreciatively yours, Dr. KFW