Mr. Rogers

I'm taking a break from my usual format. Because today is the birthday of the late Fred Rogers. One of the best human beings to have lived. I honestly have more respect for Mr. Rogers than I do for Jesus, cause he never yelled at a fig tree (at least as far as I've read). He was a paragon of all that was good in humanity and devoted his entire life to not only educating children, but to making them feel like they were worth something. There are entire generations of adults now who know the warm sound of his sincere greeting. He gave a gift to millions of children. He gave them an adult, a man, who cared about them.

I don't say that Mr. Rogers is why I got into education. Though I'm sure there are many many people who can say that. He was a part of my childhood, I watched a great deal of his show when I was younger, but I wouldn't say he was a foundation of who I am. I remember looking forward to my sick days when I was little cause I could watch all the educational TV I wanted. (Also some of the daytime talk shows, cause I liked looking at the women on them). But I always was glad to watch Mr. Rogers. There was something magical about the way that he would listen to children.

And that is almost more important that caring about them. If you take the time to listen to a child. To hear their stories and words, you've given them something truly amazing. And that's the true beauty of what he did and what he gave to so many. He made everyone who listened to him feel like they heard and cared for. And that's truly something.