Mr. Rogers and The Garden of Your Mind
Fred Rogers was a Presbyterian minister serving in the Pittsburgh area who was dissatisfied with television programming for children and decided to do something about it. His “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” ran for nearly 35 years, influencing a generation of children, including me.
A week ago PBS released a remix of several scenes from his shows entitled “The Garden of Your Mind.” It’s already garnered more than 4 million views and seemed like a good pre-Father’s Day selection. The YouTube description closes with the invitation, “If you like this video, please support your local PBS station.” Indeed.
Speaking of support for PBS, Open Culture pointed me to this video of Fred Rogers’ now famous testimony before the Senate to fund public television and, in particular, the need to support children’s programs. And it worked! Though the Senate had planned on cutting a proposed grant to fund public television from $20 million to $10 million, after this testimony they restored the full funding. The power of passion and humility at work.
Note: if you are receiving this post by email, you may need to click here to watch the videos.
I immediately started singing the neighbor song from the show when I read this post. If we could only live by these words, where would the world be?? “Let’s make the most of this beautiful day, and since we’re together we might as well say, would you be mine, could you be mine, won’t you be my neighbor.” What great memories! Thanks David!
As you’ll probably have to hear from all of us Western PA types, Pittsburgh has an “h” at the end and, by statue, is the only “Burg with an H” in the entire Commonwealth. As the next Churchwide Assembly will be held there, might as well work on “the H thing” right now. 🙂
Thanks for your always-thoughtful reflections.
Having grown up in Lancaster, PA, Scott, I definitely should have known that! I’ll fix it now. 🙂
David, thank you sooooooo much for posting this! I keep watching it over and over and discovering something new each time I do! I have a brand new respect for Fred Rogers now because of how PBS has put a new spin on what he stood for so many years ago. I also watched his testimony on your website and I came away with chills after watching him being so sincere and genuinely interested in children having an opportunity to learn how to handle every day things that would affect them the remainder of their lives. He was a genius innovator, advocate of all children and an inspiring role model for peace and unity for all people, beginning with our most precious future…..the children of the world. Thank you, I’ve really been moved by listening to these two clips today!
Beautiful,thoughtful, truly caring. I have often enjoyed it as an adult.
This is powerfully inspiring! I teach kindergarten in an educational system that seems more interested in test scores than people. Mr. Rogers nails what we need to reform education – care, respect, acknowledgement that individuals each have something to offer, and that we need to be present to embrace all that it is. Oh, and that kids can be the real teachers! What do I do with the mad in my head???
I came across that video remix too, and I was struck by not only it, but by his speech in front of the US Senate panel. I was amazed at the way he was able to turn what seemed to be a hostile group into one that fully backed him by the end of the short video clip. Many of his thoughts I now find echoed in folks like Sir Ken Robinson who advocate for not just an evolution to how we teach and how we learn, but for a revolution. Thanks again for the post, because this man was a truly inspiring figure with an inspiring message by doing the simple and powerful vocation to which he was called.
I come late to your blog and to this post, but I’m so glad I found both. I watched Mr. Rogers as a child and watched it with my own chidlren. When I read Fred Rogers’ biography, I was surprised (and pleased) to discover the extent to which my own personal philosophy and theology have been shaped by what I learned from him. People chuckle when I tell them Fred Rogers is my hero…but he is truly the wisest, most loving, and most authentic human I’ve ever “known.” If only every child could be exposed to his television show, with a loving adult by his or her side to talk through the what Mr. Rogers had to share, we could change the world.