The documentary about Fred Rogers is not over-rated.
I was probably a little too old to fully appreciate Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood when it ran on our local PBS station, but I certainly know all the characters: Daniel Strip-ed Tiger, Rex the Owl, Henrietta Kitty, Lady Elaine Fairchild, Handyman Negri, Lady Aberlin, Mr. McFeely, King Friday the 13th. I know all the words to the opening and closing songs, know the bench, the sneakers, the closet, the sweaters. I remember Picture, Picture and the thrill of the Trolley entering the tunnel on the way to the Land of Make-Believe.
Mr. Rogers himself was always a bit of a mystery to me: how could anyone really be that nice? But by all accounts, he really was that nice and that sincere. He purposely set out to create a show that was an oasis for children in the turbulence of television, and later, the world. One that would remind them that it was okay to be who they were, even when it didn't always feel like it. And any doubt about the timelessness of his message was erased with the information that the very first episodes of the show had King Friday closing the border and building a wall around the castle to keep out change.
His message that no matter how the world changes, kids are the same inside resonated with my inner teacher and made me promise myself to channel my inner Mr. Rogers a little more in my classroom, especially in these trying times.
I was probably a little too old to fully appreciate Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood when it ran on our local PBS station, but I certainly know all the characters: Daniel Strip-ed Tiger, Rex the Owl, Henrietta Kitty, Lady Elaine Fairchild, Handyman Negri, Lady Aberlin, Mr. McFeely, King Friday the 13th. I know all the words to the opening and closing songs, know the bench, the sneakers, the closet, the sweaters. I remember Picture, Picture and the thrill of the Trolley entering the tunnel on the way to the Land of Make-Believe.
Mr. Rogers himself was always a bit of a mystery to me: how could anyone really be that nice? But by all accounts, he really was that nice and that sincere. He purposely set out to create a show that was an oasis for children in the turbulence of television, and later, the world. One that would remind them that it was okay to be who they were, even when it didn't always feel like it. And any doubt about the timelessness of his message was erased with the information that the very first episodes of the show had King Friday closing the border and building a wall around the castle to keep out change.
His message that no matter how the world changes, kids are the same inside resonated with my inner teacher and made me promise myself to channel my inner Mr. Rogers a little more in my classroom, especially in these trying times.
When I say it's you I like, I'm talking about that part of you that knows that life is far more than anything you can ever see or hear or touch. That deep part of you that allows you to stand for those things without which humankind cannot survive. Love that conquers hate, peace that rises triumphant over war, and justice that proves more powerful than greed."
~Fred Rogers, Dartmouth Commencement Address, 2002
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