I wasn't a Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood kid; I was a Sesame Street kid. I know that many kids watched both, but I never did. I probably saw every single episode of Sesame Street in the late '60s and early '70s, but I've only watched a handful of Mr. Rogers episodes over the years. And some of those I watched as an adult to see what I missed.
Still, I have to disagree a bit with this article at The Wall Street Journal Online. It pretty much says that Mr. Rogers is to blame for the attitudes that young adults have today and the entitlement they feel. The article uses examples from colleges (students asking for extra points and time for assignments) and from psychologists (kids shouldn't call adults by their first names).
Some of this advice is dead-on, but I think they're blaming the wrong people.
Mr. Rogers telling kids they were special just the way they are isn't what screwed up people. Honestly, did Mr. Rogers influence anyone beyond the age of five? Can you remember any actual lessons or attitudes you learned from Mr. Rogers, besides "won't you be my neighbor," "try hard," "music is nice," and "putting on sneakers and a sweater will make you more comfortable?" I would say it's how parents interpreted what Mr. Rogers (and other TV icons) said to their children and explained it to their children (if they did, which I doubt - too many parents are clueless when it comes to television).
As for the part about kids calling adults by their first name...where is this done where it is so widespread? The nephews and nieces and younger relatives that I have still call adults by their "Mr." or "Miss" or "Mrs." title, whether it's a teacher, a friend's parent or a complete stranger. Is it done? Yeah, I'm sure it is, but I bet it's like the people who try to tell you every year that Christmas is being attacked and "no one is saying 'Merry Christmas' anymore." It's BS and blown out of proportion.
There's a ton of screwed up teaching going on in the world, in high school, college, and the workplace. But to go back decades and read something else into what people like Mr. Rogers was trying to say is pushing it.
Besides, let's put the blame where it really rests: Oprah and Dr. Phil. They've screwed up more people than Fred Rogers ever could. And that continues into adulthood.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
7-06-2007 @ 3:15PM
Liz Newcomb said...
I would be very surprised to find out that the majority of today's college students were watching "Mr. Rogers" when they were kids. I grew up during the heyday of "Mr. Rogers" and I'm well past college-age. I think Fred Rogers doesn't deserve any part of the blame, while the parents of these students do.
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7-06-2007 @ 3:21PM
Secret Asian Man said...
Aw, Hell naw! No one disses Mr. Rogers. Notice we call him 'Mr. Rogers" and "Mr. McFeely?" Ain't no damn first name calling taught here.
Mr. Rogers was the dad I wish I had. He taught me stuff without being all gay and blabbering gibberish jibber-jabba like the Teletubbies. The Picture-Picture segment of how stuff was made was awesome and gave me an appreciation of everyday objects. He interacted with you without awkward pauses like Blue's Clues or Dora The Explorer.
The real culprit is freakin;' Barney.
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7-06-2007 @ 3:45PM
C.G. Blogs said...
I read this article yesterday and I didn't think it blamed Mr. Rogers at all. I thought it blamed the parents more than it did him. Entitlement, as they call it, comes from the parents - which they write about. The whole basis of the article was from some post on Yahoo on how HE (Fred Rogers) liked us just for being us - who we were. Nowhere does it say Mr. Rogers said you deserve anything for being who you are. Professor Chance is using an easy target. He's blaming Mr. Rogers when he should be blaming his students' parents; the article ends on how PARENTS can prepare their children for the future and reverse the narcissism that they created by catering to their every whim.
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7-06-2007 @ 3:47PM
Carissa said...
Seriously? Talk about a stretch. I'm 42 and grew up with Mr. Rogers, as well as Sesame Street (before it became the politically correct mess it is today), The Electric Company and Zoom. What great times! Somebody's missing the boat if they think Mr. Rogers was saying that you are special no matter what you do. He said you are special for who you are, but the lessons he taught were about being kind to each other, knowing your neighbors and being interested in other human beings.
Jeff Zaslow needs to look at things a little differently. Parents today don't know how to be parents. Too many of them work first, and then raise their kids second. They treat them like little adults in conversation and dress. They have their time scheduled out so that 100% of a childs time is used for planned activities. What about imagination, running around the neighborhood playing kickball in the street? They will never have an opportunity again for unscripted time, and yet their parents don't allow them any when they can.
I don't know which child psychologists first determined that talking to children as adults was the right thing to do, but just listen to Mr. Rogers - he is no way speaks like he is talking to a fellow adult. I don't know him as Fred, but as Mr. Rogers. Even the cat was "Miss Kitty."
This is one of those topics that drives me nuts. I know some of the best parents in the world, and they are only that way because parenting is their first choice. They work full time jobs, but take time to really know their children and to discipline them when necessary. The others just aren't interested and blaming Mr. Rogers or any other tv show isn't going to remove the focus of bad parenting.
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7-06-2007 @ 4:43PM
mseve68 said...
I wasn't a big fan of Mr. Rogers and only watch a few episodes. I was a big Sesame Street, Electric Company and Zoom watcher. But, what in the hell is this society coming to when he is being blamed for the young adults of today being screwed up! Next thing you know Big Bird ans Snuffalapagus will be blamed for the same young adults abusing drugs and alcohol or Bert and Ernie promoting homosexuality! WTF!!
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7-06-2007 @ 5:03PM
Kendall said...
Here is a great article on Mr. Rogers.
http://www.mentalfloss.com/blogs/archives/5943?rss
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7-06-2007 @ 7:31PM
Keli said...
I live in Oklahoma and no one I know calls anyone "Mr" or "Ms" except teachers and a few, well respected older folks.
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7-07-2007 @ 10:12AM
shannon said...
I live in the Boston area and almost everyone I know calls adults by their first names. Even teachers names are being cut down to just a last name or a shortening of a last name, even in adresses by students. It is something my parents have been talking about forever, but I don't think it is the end of the world, just an evolution.
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7-07-2007 @ 12:45PM
Adam said...
Mr. Rogers did not screw people up and, surprisingly, I don't think many parents did either (although, a lot could have done a far better job). I think the blame rests with all the other television shows and cartoons that have been made in the past two decades. I mean, what is the difference between Bugs Bunny and some of the crap they have on Saturday morning cartoons now? Bugs Bunny was simple humor with no strings attached, while the cartoons of today focus on the "issues" that kids have, such as parents that "don't understand", sibblings that are difficult, and teachers that are mean. It's shows like these that have pushed kids into thinking they can do whatever they want because, hey, the kids in the cartoon can talk back to their parents and it is okay.
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7-07-2007 @ 10:53PM
BStu said...
Is children calling adults by their actual names really that much of a tragedy? I'd rather a kid call me Brian. That's the name that personalizes me. While I like my family, the adult males with the same last name are all very different people. Why the heck should we all be called the same thing?
Frankly, I'm beginning to suspect that the whole entitlement generation thing is yet another media created epidemic. Kids have always been asking for more time to finish their assignments. I'd at least allow that the concern over helicopter parents is something new, but suggesting that kids trying to get out of work is a new phenomenon is just media generation baiting. EVERY generation says the same darn things about "the kids these days". For gosh sakes, has anyone every watched the 1950's scare films? The teens of the 50's were consistantly portrayed as dangerously reckless and lacking the good values of their parents and grand parents. Now THOSE people are just saying the same things about today's kids. Either them or the reckless hippy youth of the 1960's, the useless stoner youth of the 1970's or the cocaine soaked youth of the 1980's. The song always remains the same.
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