Lessons from Mr. Rogers

I was hunting for an article that I read a while back and I couldn't remember the title, so I did a Google search. What I found was something better that spoke to me so strongly that I have wanted to send it out for three days now. Instead of the article I was looking for, I found an article entitled, "Seven Lessons from Mister Rogers That Can Help Americans Be Neighbors Again." The article was written in 2018, but the lessons there sounded like something we all needed to hear today. Here are the seven lessons (click the link above for the full version):

1. It's ok to feel whatever it is that we feel. 

2. But our feelings aren't an excuse for bad behavior.

3. Other people are different from us - and just as complex as we are. 

4. It's our responsibility to care for the most vulnerable.

5. We can work to make a difference right where we are.

6. It's important to make time to care for ourselves.

7. We are neighbors. 

As I read through the explanations of these simple lessons from the man that sang while he changed his shoes, I saw the faces of staff members. So many of you have been doing a great job of taking care of one another in this time of stress and adversity. This year has made every one of us a first-year teacher all over again. No matter what you knew about Canvas, blended instruction, or communicating with students, this year is different and difficult. While I expected so many of you to be overly frustrated, instead I watched you treat each other as neighbors. You helped one another and you are making a difference where you are. And in case you read the previous sentence and thought that it may not be ok to feel frustrated, look back at lesson #1. It's ok and I've certainly been there too. We all have. 

I never found the original article that I was looking for, and I'm glad that I didn't. Maybe something led me to the Mr. Rogers article or maybe I was looking for a metaphor for how proud I am of all of you right now. Either way, these lessons are here for us as reminders of what taking care of ourselves and each other looks like. Thanks for being good neighbors.