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Summer was over, and with students starting another school year, Mister Rogers had something to say.

The television host entered the set the way he always did: He changed his shoes, zipped his sweater and spoke directly into the camera. 鈥淚鈥檝e just come from the neighborhood school,鈥� he told his TV neighbors. 鈥淚鈥檓 trying to learn the Greek language, and I have a really splendid teacher.鈥�

On a legal pad, he carefully wrote 补驳谩辫别, his favorite Greek term for unconditional love. 鈥淭here are so many ways 鈥� so many ways 鈥� of learning things,鈥� he said. 鈥淎nd do you know what the best way is? To have somebody you love help you.鈥�

For Fred Rogers, 补驳谩辫别 seemed a natural way to start . The whole premise of his program 鈥� the very blueprint from which he鈥檇 built Mister Rogers鈥� Neighborhood 鈥� was that learning and love are linked. Close, caring relationships, Rogers believed, could accelerate learning, catalyze healing and provide a foundation for children鈥檚 success.

Thirty years later, science is proving him right. In fact, amid a lingering pandemic, the still-unfolding horror of Uvalde and skyrocketing rates of and , 补驳谩辫别 may be more essential in the coming school year than it was when the program aired.

For example: A study calculated 鈥減ositive childhood experience鈥� scores for more than 6,000 adults, based largely on participants鈥� relationships. As children, had they felt free to fully express their feelings? Had they felt a sense of belonging at school? Had caring grownups taken a genuine interest in them? The more participants answered 鈥測es,鈥� the more they flourished as adults 鈥� even if they鈥檇 also experienced trauma.

Another study suggests that even minor efforts can make a major difference. In 2018, that when teachers greeted middle schoolers at the classroom door, student engagement surged by 20% while disruptions dropped by 9%. A simple show of 补驳谩辫别 had added, in effect, an extra hour of learning to the school day.

Young people themselves now rank close, caring relationships at the top of their list of needs. In a recent report by 鈥� a Pittsburgh-based network of in- and out-of-school educators that one of us co-chairs and the other has covered as a reporter 鈥� researchers asked students a simple question: How can adults best support you in the school years to come?

The , from safer classrooms to more mental health support to better school food. But what they wanted more than anything was 补驳谩辫别: to know the adults at their school would accept them just the way they are. 鈥淭he best teachers,鈥� said one student, 鈥渉ave promised to be proud of me, even if I mess up.鈥�

The assertion might cause some readers to bristle 鈥� proof, in their view, that the feelings of students have trumped more important matters like learning to read and write. (Rogers drew similar criticism throughout his career and.) 

But contrary to well-worn concerns about participation trophies, 补驳谩辫别 doesn鈥檛 mean kids want to be told they鈥檙e perfect. It doesn鈥檛 mean they want adults to lower the bar. It means only that they want adults to see them 鈥� regardless of their achievements or aptitudes or appearance 鈥� as human beings worthy of care. They want to feel, as Rogers assured them, that their full, flawed, complicated selves warrant inclusion in the neighborhood. 

That feeling doesn鈥檛 replace great learning 鈥� it enables great learning.

With that in mind, we humbly offer a Rogers-inspired resolution at the start of another school year: Consider, in all the places where young people learn, how adults might nurture 补驳谩辫别 for students and those who care for them.

For example, what if every student had an individualized education plan, one informed by and responsive to their interests, needs and dreams? That鈥檚 what鈥檚 happening in the , not far from Rogers鈥� real-life neighborhood of Pittsburgh. 鈥淲hy not ask the kids, 鈥榃hat are you interested in?鈥� and then design their learning experiences around that?鈥� asks Laura Jacob, the district鈥檚 superintendent. It鈥檚 not easy, she admits, 鈥淏ut my gosh, it鈥檚 been so rewarding.鈥�

What if all students had trusted mentors and trained counselors to whom they could turn 鈥� and ? What if state legislatures changed the conditions that leave ? And what if politicians, rather than , gave educators the time and tools to earn parents鈥� trust, whether through or ? 

As a nation, we might be surprised what 补驳谩辫别 can do.

鈥淵ou鈥檒l find the people who love you best are the ones you learn the most from,鈥� Rogers said in the Neighborhood. 鈥淎nd the more they teach you, and the more you learn, the better feeling you have about yourself and the world we live in!鈥�

Here鈥檚 to more of that much-needed feeling in the school year to come 鈥� for students and for every splendid teacher.

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