Mr. Rogers and The Self Esteem Movement - Good, Bad, In-Between?

[Jason76]

I saw the movie about that came out yesterday and it was awesome. Anyway, though, I'm cynical about his worldview though I highly admire him. Well, it's not a good idea to tell kids their special too much - cause they might get thrown out in a world of mean kids and adults - and they won't be able to handle. It reminds me of the situation recently of the disabled teen who won a court case - and the money made others jealous enough to mock her strongly - and then the disabled teen commited suicide.

Well, what should be the way to raise children?. Well, obviously they are special for who they are - as Rogers said - but you know, such a simplistic message isn't enough.

Other Downside of the Self-Esteem Movement

It fosters an attitude of not caring what others think to the point of being outrageous and abusive. As the late comedian George Carlin sort of said, "Serial killers, bullies and the like all have high self-esteem.".

 

[Lamb]

As a kid who grew up watching Mr. Rogers, I'm not sure he made a huge impression about self-esteem that it influenced people to not care what others think...that doesn't come until you hit the age of 40, btw

I always considered Mr. Rogers somewhat fake. It always felt like he was holding back who he really was.

 

[Jason76]

I don't think shy kids will ever be accepted - even 1000 years from now. In that case, schools need to encourage kids to be more outgoing - not anti-bullying programs.

Anyway, bullying that seems to be about being fat or something - is really about being shy. Honestly, a lot of bullies are so-called "degenerate" themselves".