Listen to Fred Rogers' inspiring commencement address from 2002
"Our world hangs like a magnificent jewel in the vastness of space. Every one of us is a part of that jewel. A facet of that jewel. And in the perspective of infinity, our differences are infinitesimal. We are intimately related. May we never even pretend that we are not."
When my daughter was a preschooler, even as a toddler, she loved to draw and paint (she, in fact, grew up to be an artist). I still remember one day as she was using her markers and large poster-sized paper which she had laid out on the floor. With some large, rather abstract sweeps, she said, “This is Mister Rogers. He has long arms.” I was glad to see my daughter thinking of Mister Rogers in her creative moments. I could not help thinking as well that Fred Rogers did indeed have long arms – figuratively as well as literally. He reached so many people in positive ways during their formative years.
Won’t You Be my Neighbor? is a new documentary about Fred Rogers that is coming to theaters this weekend. I look forward to seeing it. Just as I was happy to see my daughter fondly thinking of him all those years ago, I am also quite grateful that Mister Rogers is being remembered now, 15 years after his death.
If you look to the top of my blog page, you will see a “Heroes” tab. If you go to that page you will see a list of heroes, and Fred Rogers is right there at the top of the list. There you will see the essay I wrote in 2012, which I share again below:
Finding Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood
One of the happy asides for me that came with being a father was having the opportunity to visit Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. As soon as my daughter was old enough to pay attention to television, we started tuning in to Fred Rogers’ program on Public Television. In fact, for all of my daughter’s pre-school and early elementary years, TV viewing for her was limited to PBS children’s programming, and a few other children’s programs at places like The Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon and on video tape.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, however, was the best thing ever developed in children’s programming. It was something my wife and I always enjoyed watching with our daughter. Once my daughter started preschool, I began taping Mister Rogers. I found that I could get a week’s worth of programming on one VHS tape (this was before TiVo, DVDs, etc.). That way she (and I) were able to watch the show later if the broadcast was missed. We loved the pace of the shows, and parents could learn about interacting with children by watching how Mister Rogers talked to children and what things he chose to talk about with children.
I learned some things myself about zoos and aviaries, about how graham crackers are made, how poets deal with words, and how musicians ply their talents, and many other fascinating things from Fred Rogers’ field trips. Above all, it was reassuring to watch him and understand that I could make it as a parent in spite of my doubts and worries about whether I could get this parenting thing right. A self-actualized person
Fred Rogers may have been one of our best examples of a healthy, well-rounded life – a self-actualized person. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines self-actualization as “to realize fully one's potential.” It is a term coined by psychologist Kurt Goldstein and also used by psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. It carries the connotation that one is living fully within one’s potential and has made full use of that potential. Once I was taking a graduate course dealing with developmental psychology and the topic of self-actualization was discussed. The instructor asked us to name some examples of people who were self-actualized. Since I had spent some of my daughter’s formative years watching Mister Rogers' Neighborhood with her, I immediately put Fred Rogers' name to the class as one whose life was a prime example of self-actualization. The professor had a look of surprise, then of awareness. “I think he is a good example," the professor said. "Usually in class students will mention names like Jesus Christ, the Buddha, or Mahatma Gandhi, but Fred Rogers is certainly a good example of what we are talking about.” A good neighbor
Fred Rogers was definitely a gift to all who encountered him, whether in person or on television. He showed us how to talk to children and he taught us how to be a good neighbor. You can read another writer’s reflections in an article, “15 Reasons Mr. Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever.” There is also a wonderful video on You Tube in which John D Boswell (melodysheep) has done an auto-tune digitalization for PBS of some wonderful moments with Mister Rogers. You can see that delightful and inspirational video below.
[The following essay is a re-post from June 12, 2012. I share it again today because his was a life fully lived and fully realized that offers us hope in our own life endeavors. ~ CK]
One of the happy asides for me that came with being a father was having the opportunity to visit Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. As soon as my daughter was old enough to pay attention to television, we started tuning in to Fred Rogers’ program on Public Television. In fact, for all of my daughter’s pre-school and early elementary years, TV viewing for her was limited to PBS children’s programming, and a few other children’s programs at places like The Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon and on video tape.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, however, was the best thing ever developed in children’s programming. It was something my wife and I always enjoyed watching with our daughter. Once my daughter started preschool, I began taping Mister Rogers. I found that I could get a week’s worth of programming on one VHS tape (this was before TiVo, DVDs, etc.). That way she (and I) were able to watch the show later if the broadcast was missed. We loved the pace of the shows, and parents could learn about interacting with children by watching how Mister Rogers talked to children and what things he chose to talk about with children.
I learned some things myself about zoos and aviaries, about how graham crackers are made, how poets deal with words, and how musicians ply their talents, and many other fascinating things from Fred Rogers’ field trips. Above all, it was reassuring to watch him and understand that I could make it as a parent in spite of my doubts and worries about whether I could get this parenting thing right.
Fred Rogers may have been one of our best examples of a healthy, well-rounded life – a self-actualized person. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines self-actualization as “to realize fully one's potential.” It is a term coined by psychologist Kurt Goldstein and also used by psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. It carries the connotation that one is living fully within one’s potential and has made full use of that potential. Once I was taking a graduate course dealing with developmental psychology and the topic self-actualization was discussed. The instructor asked us to name some examples of people who were self actualized. Since I had spent some of my daughter’s formative years watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with her, I immediately put Fred Rogers' name to the class as one whose life was a prime example of self-actualization. The professor had a look of surprise, then of awareness. “I think he is a good example," the professor said. "Usually in class students will mention names like Jesus Christ, the Buddha, or Mahatma Gandhi, but Fred Rogers is certainly a good example of what we are talking about.”
Fred Rogers was definitely a gift to all who encountered him, whether in person or on television. He showed us how to talk to children and he taught us how to be a good neighbor. You can read another writer’s reflections in an article, “15 Reasons Mr. Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever.” There is also a wonderful video on You Tube in which John D Boswell (melodysheep) has done an auto-tune digitalization for PBS of some wonderful moments with Mister Rogers. You can see that delightful and inspirational video below.
I remember many happy times spent when my daughter was young and we watched Mister Rogers' Neighborhood together. As a new father, I learned a lot from watching how Fred Rogers talked to children, and I loved the way he showed children many enriching and encouraging things. Just one example is the day Wynton Marsalis visited the program. He is accompanied by Johnny Costa, jazz pianist, who provided background music for Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Also featured are Joe Negri on guitar, Bobby Rawsthone on drums, and Carl McVicki, Jr. on the bass. The music was written by Fred Rogers. Scroll down below the video if you want to see the lyrics.
It’s You I Like
By Fred Rogers
It's you I like,
It's not the things you wear,
It's not the way you do your hair--
But it's you I like
The way you are right now,
The way down deep inside you--
Not the things that hide you,
Not your toys--
They're just beside you.
But it's you I like--
Every part of you,
Your skin, your eyes, your feelings
Whether old or new.
I hope that you'll remember
Even when you're feeling blue
That it's you I like,
It's you yourself,
It's you, it's you I like.
One of the happy asides for me that came with being a father was having the opportunity to visit Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood. As soon as my daughter was old enough to pay attention to television, we started tuning in to Fred Rogers’ program on Public Television. In fact, for all of my daughter’s pre-school and early elementary years, TV viewing for her was limited to PBS children’s programming, and a few other children’s programs at places like The Discovery Channel, Nickelodeon and on video tape.
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, however, was the best thing ever developed in children’s programming. It was something my wife and I always enjoyed watching with our daughter. Once my daughter started preschool, I began taping Mister Rogers. I found that I could get a week’s worth of programming on one VHS tape (this was before TiVo, DVDs, etc.). That way she (and I) were able to watch the show later if the broadcast was missed. We loved the pace of the shows, and parents could learn about interacting with children by watching how Mister Rogers talked to children and what things he chose to talk about with children.
I learned some things myself about zoos and aviaries, about how graham crackers are made, how poets deal with words, and how musicians ply their talents, and many other fascinating things from Fred Rogers’ field trips. Above all, it was reassuring to watch him and understand that I could make it as a parent in spite of my doubts and worries about whether I could get this parenting thing right.
Fred Rogers may have been one of our best examples of a healthy, well-rounded life – a self-actualized person. The Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines self-actualization as “to realize fully one's potential.” It is a term coined by psychologist Kurt Goldstein and also used by psychologists Abraham Maslow and Carl Rogers. It carries the connotation that one is living fully within one’s potential and has made full use of that potential. Once I was taking a graduate course dealing with developmental psychology and the topic of self-actualization was discussed. The instructor asked us to name some examples of people who were self actualized. Since I had spent some of my daughter’s formative years watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood with her, I immediately put Fred Rogers' name to the class as one whose life was a prime example of self-actualization. The professor had a look of surprise, then of awareness. “I think he is a good example," the professor said. "Usually in class students will mention names like Jesus Christ, the Buddha, or Mahatma Gandhi, but Fred Rogers is certainly a good example of what we are talking about.”
Fred Rogers was definitely a gift to all who encountered him, whether in person or on television. He showed us how to talk to children and he taught us how to be a good neighbor. You can read another writer’s reflections in an article, “15 Reasons Mr. Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever.” There is also a wonderful video on You Tube in which John D Boswell (melodysheep) has done an auto-tune digitalization for PBS of some wonderful moments with Mister Rogers. You can see that delightful and inspirational video below.
