Probably the best story you will read today.

The following was shared on Facebook by a friend. The author, a Pre-K teacher, wished to remain anonymous. This is an amazing and inspiring story. It's one that gets to the root of the matter and exemplifies what we're all capable of.

---

I wanted to share an experience I had yesterday, because it was really beautiful, and made me think a lot. I recently started working in a Montessori school that gets Head Start funding, and has a lot of low income and immigrant children. A lot of kids come from stressful homes due to poverty, being a cultural transplant, and all the other side effects that come from being raised by adults who are stressed or overwhelmed. Some of our kids are in foster care, and some come to us as a last resort after being kicked out of other schools. Among a multitude of hurting kids are a multitude of complicated, big feelings and the behaviors that come with them.

Yesterday, on the playground, probably due to a big incident that happened the day before, tensions were high and there were quite a few hitting/shoving incidents. The first one happened and the voice of a teacher suddenly boomed across the school yard: "Jaden, get over here RIGHT NOW!" It was enough to make my heart skip a beat and I watched, wondering if a tongue lashing was about to ensue. Clearly startled and intimidated, the offending child, probably the child with the biggest attitude in my class, walked slowly across the yard over to her. She crooked a finger under his chin, looked him in the eye and said, "Jaden, I love you. Do you know that? I love you, your teachers love you and your friends love you."

She paused to let that sink in.

"But today, when Gabriel goes home, he will tell his dad, 'Dad, I love Jaden, but he hits me.' How do you think his dad will feel about that? He's going to feel angry, won't he, because he loves Gabriel and it makes him angry when someone hurts him. It makes me angry too because one of my friends got hurt. And when you look at Gabriel's face, I think you can see it makes him really sad. It hurts his body, but it hurts his heart too because he loves you and you are his friend."

At this point half the school yard is in rapt attention and I've never seen Jaden fixated on a conversation for so long. Tears are starting to well up in his eyes.

"But you know what Jaden? When I look at your face, I can see that it doesn't just hurt Gabriel. It hurts your heart too. You are hurting because you are a good person and you love your friend. I know that everyone is feeling cloudy today and the world feels ugly, but Jaden, this is a love school, and today is a love day, and I need you to remember that. I'm going to show you what to do with your hands in a love school." She gently took his hands and folded him into a hug. "That's a hug Jaden. That's how we love our friends. I'm going to call Gabriel over, and I want you to show him that you love him."

The hurt child came over, and Jaden, who was sobbing, held him tightly and said, with the most sincerity I've ever seen him express, "I love you. I love you. I won't hurt you. I love you." They held each other for a long time as Gabriel seemed to know now that maybe it was his friend who needed comforting.

Then, the teacher dismissed him with an, "I love you Jaden. Keep my friends safe."

I saw this process repeated with several more children throughout the day, although not with every incident. She had an eye for sorting the overly excited and rough children, or the merely mildly irritated ones, from the children with big feelings welling up that needed addressing at their root. When I said something to her about it, she said, "When a child acts like that, they have forgotten that they are loved. If they never hear it anywhere else, make sure they hear it from us."

I learned today that violence is a cry for love.

---

I am grateful to the person who shared this experience. I am grateful to the teacher who is getting to the heart of the matter and is reminding kids what love is and that they are loved. Today may be cloudy, the world may be acting ugly, but we just have to remember that today provides us with more opportunities to express our true nature - to share our love. Please share this beautiful and inspirational story with others. This teacher's lesson is one we can all learn and benefit from.

 I Love You -  Adrienne :)