Stop Blaming Mr. Rogers
This piece -- from the Wall Street Journal -- is ridiculous. It blames Mr. Rogers -- he of the tennis shoes and red sweater -- for the obnoxious entitlement mentality manifested by many of today's young people.
Let's put it this way: If one half-hour program can have that kind of an impact, it's time to turn off the televisions across this nation and throw them away forever. Telling children they are special, as Mr. Rogers did, is a good thing. But it's up to parents to make sure they know that, although they are special and God loves them, there are still certain standards they are supposed to meet.
The kind of grade-grubbing referenced in the linked piece doesn't result from watching Mr. Rogers. It results from a lifetime of a specific kind of parenting, coupled with an educational establishment that emphasizes "self-esteem" over achievement -- apparently ignorant of the simple truth that self-esteem results from achievement . . . it doesn't lead to it.
Let's put it this way: If one half-hour program can have that kind of an impact, it's time to turn off the televisions across this nation and throw them away forever. Telling children they are special, as Mr. Rogers did, is a good thing. But it's up to parents to make sure they know that, although they are special and God loves them, there are still certain standards they are supposed to meet.
The kind of grade-grubbing referenced in the linked piece doesn't result from watching Mr. Rogers. It results from a lifetime of a specific kind of parenting, coupled with an educational establishment that emphasizes "self-esteem" over achievement -- apparently ignorant of the simple truth that self-esteem results from achievement . . . it doesn't lead to it.
posted by LadybugUSA at 9:38 AM
1 Comments:
Mr. Rogers was one of the few shows I enjoyed WITH my kids. I felt that he was a positive role model.
When my sister-in-law died suddenly, it was Mr. Rogers who made it easier for my kids to accept it.
NOTHING will ever replace good parenting. But to blame poor parenting on Mr. Roger, Mr. Zaslow - Shame on you
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