Mister Rogers’ World and Peacebuilding
It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood,
A beautiful day for a neighbor.
Would you be mine?
Could you be mine [1]?…
These lyrics were made famous from the TV-show that still rings a bell for many people who lived out their childhoods in the 1970's and ’80's. Fred Rogers was a puppeteer and ordained minister who was born in Latrobe, Pennsylvania in 1928 [2]. Later in his life he became the host of the television program for children entitled “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” As he was also a music composer, he wrote two hundred songs for his show. Among those songs, “It is a beautiful day in Neighborhood” became a theme for the show [3]. People remember him as a gentle, patient, wise and empathetic person and in one article from The Washington Post, Maura Judkis, whose family knew Rogers personally, says that Rogers had the same characteristics in real life [4]. In this way, his work earned the hearts of children and spread a culture of peace.
In implementing nonviolence means of communicating with others, the focus most often lies in educating young people and children. Often, instances of violence stem from unhappy or traumatic experiences in childhood. Learning how to communicate in a peaceful way from an early age is essential for peacebuilding, and using education as a tool for peace provides children the opportunity to be change-makers and make long-lasting, positive impacts on our world. Teaching peace in elementary school curriculums can be one effective practice, but this method involves only the way we build children’s perception of the world and teaching them what is good and what is not. If we want children to learn peace, we need to touch their hearts as well as their minds. Mister Rogers was one of the few people who could communicate with children effectively and teach them about peace through his television program — both motivating children to be the best versions of themselves and touching their hearts with his amiable songs and videos. As some governments make school children sing their national anthem before the start of the class to breed a sense of nationalism, peace can be incorporated the same way into the minds of children so that when they grow up they will have a clear understanding of its value. According to research on children’s early perceptions conducted by Michigan University, “shows with a prosocial message can have a positive effect on kids’ behavior; programs with positive role models can influence viewers to make positive lifestyle changes” [5].
In the case of Mister Rogers, teaching peace to children was not just telling them how wonderful the world is if they behave well; the core of his teachings relied on exposing children to harsh realities and at the same time being so kind that children believed in the values of kindness and peacefulness and its impact on the world. Rogers’s TV show for children was a very powerful tool for spreading peace around the world and we remember his profound impact on the minds of millions. Mister Rogers’ kindness is especially needed during difficult times like ours when tension, bitterness, and conflict feel more prevalent than peace in political administrations and policies.
If Rogers lived now, he would have certainly been concerned about current political climates and conflicts facing the United States and countries around our world. While it is certainly sad that there are no more TV shows for children that teach them to be peace-loving as effectively as Rodgers’, there are still organizations such as The Rogers Foundation and The Fred Rogers Center that work to educate thousands of children across the United States to be effective peacebuilders and advocates for change. Explore the resources below to learn more about Fred Rogers and his lasting impact on peace. You can also watch the video of Mister Rogers’ singing “Would you be my neighbor?” to feel how he was impacting children’s perception of peace by following these links: http://bit.ly/2EPCVNn and http://bit.ly/2VdTpUn.
Resources
[1] Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. 2018. https://www.misterrogers.org/
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid.
[4] Judkis, M. June 8, 2018. “My family knew Mister Rogers. And yes, he was like that in real life.” Washington Post. https://wapo.st/2zYJEAo
[5] Boyse, K & Bushman, B. August, 2010. “Television and Children.” Michigan Medicine; University of Michigan. http://www.med.umich.edu/yourchild/topics/tv
