Fostering Curiosity in Education: Insights from Mister Rogers

If you are reading this post or following my work, you are most likely an educator or someone who serves the field of education. As a result, you know all about pre-service. It is that annual ritual of welcome back meetings, technical briefings, and keynote speakers intended to launch us into the new school year with fresh energy and a renewed sense of purpose. This year was no exception.

My school district invited Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski, the authors of When You Wonder You Are Learning: Mister Rogers’ Enduring Lessons for Raising Creative, Curious, Caring Kids, to provide our keynote. It was a thoughtful presentation that left me reflecting on how much education continues to evolve, even as its foundational core stays the same.

There were four central concepts in their presentation. Schools, as a system, need to foster curiosity, creativity, communication, and collaboration. While schools strive toward all four, kindergarten classrooms often lead the way in making them visible every day.

These practices also belong far beyond early elementary walls. In any building, we pour immense energy into communicating and collaborating around student needs. When a learner requires a wrap-around team involving general education teachers, special education staff, the nurse, and paraeducators, we work hard to align our logistics and create actionable support plans.

Where we often feel the squeeze, particularly at the secondary level, is around curiosity and creativity.

That is not an indictment of secondary educators. I work alongside brilliant, imaginative colleagues every day. But between rigid pacing schedules, graduation requirements, and the sheer volume of daily demands, the space for unhurried wonder gets tight. Mister Rogers reminded us of the power of meeting students where they are, building on what they already know, and expanding their world through shared experiences.

We already have the capacity to do this. We do not need to add another five-step framework or hours of planning to our overflowing plates. But we do need the cognitive space to pause and notice the sparks. That is the real challenge when the school day feels like a series of fast pitches coming straight at us.

If we want to cultivate creative, curious learners, we have to protect that same spirit within ourselves. That means intentionally giving ourselves room to breathe, step back, engage our own minds outside of school tasks, and connect as people. When we run on empty, the first thing to vanish is our own capacity for wonder, and our students can sense that absence immediately.

This school year, my goal is to commit to a steady practice of weekly rejuvenation and mindful pause, keeping that spark alive for the long haul. I hope you will join me in holding space for that reflection in the weeks ahead.