Keeping Up with the Neighborhood: Knowledge from Fred Rogers

Note: This post was inspired by a wonderful teacher, Talia Hurwich

"When I was very young, most of my childhood heroes wore capes, flew through the air, or picked up buildings with one arm. They were spectacular and got a lot of attention. But as I grew, my heroes changed, so that now I can honestly say that anyone who does anything to help a child is a hero to me."
From The World According to Mister Rogers (Kindle Locations 501-503).

Read the full text here: http://mentalfloss.com/article/31936/20-gentle-quotations-mister-rogers#ixzz2OCMH4tW2
--brought to you by mental_floss!

In an earlier post, "Promoting Expressions of Care...Or... Where Has Mister Rogers Gone?" I posted a clip of Fred Rogers championing public television and his mission of "Expressions of Care"  when fighting bullies, dealing with disappointments, and when dealing with frustration.  I've often reflected on Mr. Rogers and Mister Roger's Neighborhood - how it was so soothing (while on the other hand there were those terribly entertaining SNL / Eddie Murphy spoofs and Jimmy Fallon's more recent spoofs).

The thing is though, that he really did care and we need champions like Fred Rogers so much more today. Interestingly, after the Newton horror, PBS quotes and images of Mister Rogers went viral:

"On Friday[PBS] posted the image and quote ["when I was a boy and I would see scary things in the news....']. since then, the post has been seen by hundreds of thousands of people and shared more than 90,000 times on Facebook." (posted PBS.org "Mr. Rogers Post Goes Viral December 18, 2012)

Fred Rogers so deeply understood the need for compassion towards others to not only build a better world but to better ourselves.  And, he understood the for loving each other as we are and the need for play as learning and not just for a release or reward.  The bottom line is that he knew kids  and the trials and tribulations of childhood and did so much to help build a strong, healthy neighborhood.

It's up to us as adults and parents now to model respect and expressions of care while raising our kids and students.  In honor of what would have been Mr. Roger's 85th birthday (March 20, 2013) and inspired by a super post by Dave Stopera at buzzfeed.com "15 Quotes That Show That Mr. Rogers Was A Perfect Human Being" here is a tribute to and from the ultimate champion of  kids, Mister Rogers:

 On Helping:

From: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151563693650329&set=a.90324480328.112010.21898300328&type=1

On the Importance of Play:

From:http://christopherjonesart.tumblr.com/post/45791793119

From: http://girltomom.com/fumbling-towards-ecstacy/inspirational-quotes/mr-rogers-quote-play

On Childhood:

From: http://www.pbs.org/misterrogers/share/

On Friendship:

From: http://lemonyandbeatrice.tumblr.com/post/44165978506

On Reflection and a Sense of Humor:

via: http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/mister-rogers%27-neighborhood

On Growing and Life Lessons:

From: http://abcpastor.wordpress.com/2008/03/19/wont-you-be-my-neighbor/

On Individual Contributions:

From: http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Quotes-About-Helping-Others-Quotes-About-Making-a-Difference/9

On What Ultimately Matters:

From:http://i.imgur.com/

 On the Power of Love:

From: Kootation.com

And in closing from PBS digital studios:

"Do you ever imagine things?...Did you ever pretend about things?... Did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind?  You can grow ideas in the garden of your mind... It's good to be curious...All you have to do is think and they'll grow... There are so many things to learn about in this world and there are so many people who can help us learn!!! "

Thank you for your visit.

Please share your memories, quotes or Mr. Roger memories in the comments.