In all the years that I worked with Fred, one of the things I came to appreciate is that he encouraged us to be “mindful” – and that was long before it was a part of our vocabulary.
Fred helped us all, young and old alike, to slow down and savor the moment. So I wanted to give you a gift of a video that you can just sit back and enjoy.
It’s one of our favorite musical moments with a young Wynton Marsalis. To give you some background, the scene on this video from 1986 takes place in Negri’s Music Shop. Fred started his conversation with Wynton asking when he began playing the trumpet and then, as he often did, let us know that music can be a helpful and healthy way to express our feelings.
Gina Beneccio: As a Fred Rogers Scholar, I have had the opportunity to research and learn about the many topics Fred found important. During my time as an undergraduate education student at Saint Vincent College, I was always interested in the work Fred accomplished in disability awareness and inclusion.
When I was a young child I often played "teacher." I loved to line up my stuffed animals and dolls and read to them the way my teacher read to my class. I loved the idea of grading papers with a red pen and singing songs at circle time. Author: Jenny Baumgartner
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