蜜桃影视

Never underestimate Fred Rogers.

With his cardigan, close-cropped hair and soft voice, it鈥檚 easy to imagine that the kind and gentle Mister Rogers belongs to a bygone era. Yet he never did quite fit in. The children鈥檚 television icon premiered in 1968, a year that saw the assassinations of Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr. as well as intensified protests against the war in Vietnam. Even in a show aimed at youngsters, kindness and gentleness stood apart from the times.

A new book, , shows that these qualities never go out of style, in part because they never have fully taken hold. Gregg Behr and Ryan Rydzewski not only make the case for Fred Rogers鈥檚 genius鈥攚e鈥檒l come back to that word鈥攂ut for his continued relevance today. He set a lofty but attainably homespun example for parents and teachers that continues to light the way nearly two decades years after his death. 鈥淲ho better to turn to when kindness seems lacking than the kindest person we鈥檝e known?鈥� asks Joanne Rogers in her foreword.

This isn鈥檛 a standard text on bringing up children. (The word discipline appears only once; love and loving appear dozens of times.) Joanne Rogers鈥� foreword calls it 鈥渢he blueprints my husband left us鈥濃�攖he blueprints for enabling kids to discover the finest adults they might become, and helping them fulfill their purpose. Follow these blueprints and children can grow up to be, in Behr and Rydzewski鈥檚 words, 鈥減eople who can build stronger, more inclusive communities and a more just and loving world.鈥�

Although it serves as blueprints for raising children anywhere, When You Wonder, You鈥檙e Learning is, like the man who inspired it, a proud product of Pittsburgh. The authors both live in Mister Rogers鈥� Neighborhood, so to speak. (Behr, the director for the and founder of , advises the .)

Mister Rogers鈥攁nd this book celebrating his vision of child development, still matter for all of us鈥攑arents or not. The subtitle points to three landmarks along a journey from childhood to adulthood and from a broken society to one that lives up to our highest ideals.

• Creativity: We aren鈥檛 just talking about the Magic Marker drawing stuck to the refrigerator. Defined here as 鈥渢he ability to generate new ideas and synthesize existing ones,鈥� creativity is the most vital way to approach life and one another, and the authors cite Barack Obama and others to show its value to society. Human beings, Behr and Rydzewski note, are born creative. Children instinctively make 鈥渋llogical鈥� connections and expect stories to veer in unexpected directions. Yet creativity is a fragile commodity that can drain away as early as fourth grade.

The authors quote a warning from Mister Rogers: 鈥淲hat happens if children hear that their mud pies are no good and their block buildings have no importance? That their paintings and dances, and made-up games and songs, are of very little value?鈥� This grave scenario might be coming into existence. Research by Kyung Hee Kim and E. Paul Torrance indicates a growing creativity crisis. The book highlights thinkers, including and , and institutions (such as Pittsburgh鈥檚 Carnegie Library) putting into practice insights for nurturing and sustaining creativity.

• Curiosity: In a world where technology promises an app for everything, the man the authors call 鈥渃uriosity鈥檚 most famous televangelist鈥� reminds us that learning comes down to asking and answering questions. 鈥淕iven ample opportunities and encouragement,鈥� Behr and Rydzewski, write, 鈥渒ids will ask questions about just about anything.鈥� Unfortunately, home and especially school can sometimes squelch their natural curiosity, as adults focus on their own priorities and curricula.

The authors highlight 鈥渁 disconnect between what kids naturally do (ask questions that interest them) and what they actually do (work within the confines of an adult鈥檚 plan).鈥� Wonder isn鈥檛 about spacing out. It鈥檚 about finding our own way to connect to the world around us. Adult-driven certainty鈥攖he opposite of wonder鈥攊s inhospitable soil for curiosity, and adult-driven agendas often crowd out this seemingly aimless but actually critical activity. The solution is as simple as it is maddeningly elusive: unhurried, open-ended conversation.

• Caring: Bill Strickland, founder of the in Pittsburgh and a frequent guest on Mister Rogers鈥� Neighborhood, stresses to the authors that the host was 鈥�always And he demonstrated by his life that no matter how you look or where you came from, you were a member of the Neighborhood. That鈥檚 the reason I built this place: I wanted to give kids that same feeling. I wanted to be Fred Rogers.鈥�

In the vision of kindness espoused by Mister Rogers and celebrated in this book, kindness is considerably more than not bullying. It鈥檚 an active, inclusive pursuit鈥攁 cornerstone of citizenship. Of course, we all want our children to be nice to their sibling and classmates, but the times demand an expansive definition of neighborhood. They demand that we instill what the authors of a call 鈥渋dentification with all humanity.鈥�

Fred Rogers was nothing if not humble, and, true to his spirit, this book doesn鈥檛 dwell on his considerable gifts as a media visionary or education innovator. It adheres to the idea that he was one of us.

As the authors explain, 鈥淣o one in the Neighborhood is a 鈥榥atural鈥� or a 鈥榞enius.鈥� Some might have aptitudes for one thing or another, but their worthwhile achievements always come down to effort.鈥�

But if they won鈥檛 say it, I will. The man was a genius鈥攁ll the more so because of his humility. He embodied and espoused a revolutionary vision for living in a neighborhood as big as the planet.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on 蜜桃影视. Learn more here.