When you think of Mister Rogers, what words come to mind? Kind? Yes. Nurturing? Of course. Master of debate? Wait…what?
Oh yeah, Fred Rogers was a whip-smart debater who quietly unleashed his masterful use of rhetorical tools when he was tapped to defend public broadcast funding before a U.S. Senate subcommittee.
Let’s set the stage. In 1967, President Lyndon Johnson signed into law the Public Broadcasting Act to establish a funding path to help support public broadcasters, like PBS and NPR.
In 1969, President Richard Nixon was now holding office and proposed cutting Johnson’s public broadcasting budget from $20 million to $10 million.
Cue Mister Rogers.
Rogers was asked to speak on behalf of program creators. In just under 7 minutes, he’s able to win over a gruff Sen. John Pastore and secure the bag:
Oh, this is so awesome! I love Mr. Rogers! He makes me cry every time I watch him. In fact, I had to wait to see the Tom Hanks movie until I could watch it at home and cry as much as I wanted to. :-). My comp kids will be starting a persuasive writing unit next, so this will be perfect.
Yup, Jenny, I’m right there with you. I think we all need more tenderness and gentle compassion in our lives. Glad this will be a good match for your unit and I hope your kids will love Mister Rogers as much as we do. ❤️
Why did his testimony make me cry?
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I know, atoney. I know. I’ve probably watched this 20 times as I built this lesson and he gets me every time. Every. Time.
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Oh, this is so awesome! I love Mr. Rogers! He makes me cry every time I watch him. In fact, I had to wait to see the Tom Hanks movie until I could watch it at home and cry as much as I wanted to. :-). My comp kids will be starting a persuasive writing unit next, so this will be perfect.
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Yup, Jenny, I’m right there with you. I think we all need more tenderness and gentle compassion in our lives. Glad this will be a good match for your unit and I hope your kids will love Mister Rogers as much as we do. ❤️
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