Longtime 'Mister Rogers' director will visit Cape

A member of "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" will be in Cape Girardeau this week to talk to parents and educators about topics ranging from dealing with anger to science and math with children.

Hedda Sharapan, director of early childhood initiatives with The Fred Rogers Co., began with the late public television children's show host 47 years ago and has been speaking nationwide since 1970 using an interactive approach. Her engagements in Cape Girardeau will be from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Friday and two workshops Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon and from 1 to 4 p.m. The events will be at the Centenary Life Center, 300 N. Ellis St., and are sponsored by Community Day School and Christian School for the Young Years.

"What Do You Do with the Mad That You Feel?" is the topic of Friday's presentation.

The Saturday workshops will cover Rogers' approach to helping children become readers and writers and how to encourage a love of words, books and print.

The first workshop is titled "From Lullabies to Literacy" and the second -- which deals with promoting science, technology, engineering, arts and math, or STEAM -- is called "Fred Rogers and STEAM."

The cost of each workshop is $25.

Sharapan, after earning a psychology degree from Carnegie Institute of Technology (now Carnegie Mellon University), was figuring out whether to go to graduate school. Before doing that, she looked into what she could do if she didn't pursue an advanced degree. She went to television station WQED in Pittsburgh, Pa., and asked whether there was anything she could do for the station that had to do with children. The man who interviewed her said he didn't have anything for her, but referred her to Fred Rogers, who was waiting for funding for his children's television program.

Rogers advised Sharapan to get a master's degree in child development "so you can understand the children you're communicating with."

Following his advice, Sharapan enrolled in graduate school at the University of Pittsburgh, which was where Rogers had received some of his training. The second year she was in graduate school, Rogers was awarded funding for his "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" program and asked her for her help.

"There was no staff and no pay," Sharapan said in a phone interview Wednesday with the Southeast Missourian. "They were taping at night, so it fit in with my graduate schedule. I was assistant director, which meant keeping track of what was going on in the studio. There was a lot of math involved. I had to figure out how much time till the end and what the problems were that would make the budget go over."

Through working with Rogers, Sharapan said she feels she grew professionally and learned to better understand who she was as a mother, professional and person. She has two daughters and two grandchildren.

She described Rogers, who died in 2003 at age 74, as an "extraordinary communicator" who understood the needs of people and children.

"He had a great sense of humor and was also very warm and encouraging for our family lives," Sharapan said.

Rogers wrote more than 900 scripts and 200 songs for "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" and did all the puppeteering and voices for his characters from the Land of Make Believe, which was part of the show. His bachelor's degree was in music composition. He went to NBC after college to learn about TV, and in 1953 helped develop the first program schedule for WQED, the nation's first community-sponsored educational station, according to The Fred Rogers Co. website.

At the same time, Sharapan said, Rogers attended Pittsburgh Theological Seminary to earn a master of divinity degree. He was ordained a Presbyterian minister with the special charge of serving through television, Sharapan said.

"I worked on the viewer mail, and I saw what an impact he made on young people and old," she said.

"Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" still is shown on some public TV stations on weekends. Episodes also are available on pbs.org and for download through Amazon.com.

Sharapan writes a monthly online newsletter, which can be found at fredrogers.org.

The Fred Rogers Co. produces the animated show "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood." Daniel Tiger was one of the characters from the Rogers' Land of Make Believe, and the show is being produced in association with Out of the Blue, led by Angela Santomero, who produced "Blue's Clues."

"We're still keeping some of this legacy alive, trying to bring to children some of the same social, emotional messages," Sharapan said.

Julie Albertson, director of Community Day School, said she and several teachers heard Sharapan speak at a National Association for the Education of Young Children conference, and two more of the school's teachers heard her speak at an award ceremony. Sharapan was contacted, and the workshops were arranged.

"We have six centers who are sending staff to the professional development workshops on Saturday, and about 50 people have responded to the parent event. We would love to have as many people in the community benefit from these workshops as possible," Albertson said in an email to the Southeast Missourian.

rcampbell@semissourian.com

388-3639

Pertinent address:

300 N. Ellis St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.