#143DayEdu: A Day of Kindness in Education in Honor of Mister Rogers

By Sean Gaillard and Jennifer Williams

A renaissance for kindness has surfaced within the last few years as a vital component of a schoolhouse’s culture. Educators in classrooms all around the world are finding ways to slow things down a bit and take notice of acts of kindness and goodwill -- prioritizing relationships and making memories together along the way.
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Fred Rogers, children’s broadcasting icon, promoted kindness for 31 seasons in a simple and sincere way on the television masterpiece, “Mister Rogers Neighborhood.” In honor of Mr. Rogers, the state of Pennsylvania has designated May 23 (the 143rd day of the calendar year) as #143DayinPA. This stands as a tribute to homestate hero, Fred Rogers, and his favorite number. “143” is numeric code for “I Love You.” We thought it would be fitting to extend the 143 culture of kindness to education with the #143DayEdu hashtag.

#143DayEdu
Using the #143DayEdu hashtag, we are encouraging all educators to share examples of kindness happening on May 23. To join in on the fun, simply use #143DayEdu to promote acts of kindness and compassion happening in the schoolhouse. You are also invited to join us this Thursday, May 23 at 8:30 - 9:00 p.m. EDT for a special Twitter Chat where we intend to promote positivity and celebrate the enduring legacy of Fred Rogers.

Here are the questions and times for Thursday night’s Twitter chat. To join, simply head over to Twitter by clicking HERE at 8:30pm ET and watch for the Qs from @smgaillard and @JenWilliamsEdu.
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Q1: Thinking back to Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood, what are some of your fondest memories of the show? (8:35 pm ET)
Q2: What lessons can we learn from Mr. Rogers that we can apply to the classroom? (8:40 pm ET)
Q3: How did you promote kindness in your school recently? (8:47pm ET)
Q4: What are some ways we can finish the school year promoting kindness with our school communities? (8:53 pm ET)

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Pass it on
As we prepare for #143DayEdu and the #143DayEdu Twitter chat, we invite you to consider this quote on kindness from Mr. Rogers along with these related resources. Please feel free to share the invitation for a Day of Kindness -- pass it on! We look forward to this special week and the opportunity to celebrate you -- just for being you!

Imagine what our real neighborhoods would be like if each of us offered, as a matter of course, just one kind word to another person.

WSKG (PBS/NPR), our #143DayEdu partner: Blog post
Thank you, Mr. Rogers: Blog post
#143DayEdu Official Adobe Spark page