Oceanport Native Daniel Flannery Awarded Fred Rogers Memorial Scholarship

On Sunday, July 31^st, Daniel Flannery of Tufts University was awarded a Fred Rogers’ Memorial Scholarship by The Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Foundation. Other recipients included Seth Ring (Montana State University), Christina Farrell (New York University) and Aubry Alvarez (Northwestern University).

This scholarship, named after the star of “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood,” honors students who have devoted their time towards improving the state of children’s media. Besides receiving $10,000, each winner will be designated a mentor by the Television Academy’s Children’s Programming Group.

Three of the scholarships are sponsored by Ernst & Young, while the fourth is a special award to a Pittsburgh student from The Grable Foundation. After being notified that he was a finalist and passing a phone interview, Daniel received the phone call that he was being honored while visiting his dad in a hospital in Rome.

Currently residing in Medford (Massachusetts), Daniel Flannery grew up in Oceanport. He was a student at both schools in Oceanport, and . Enrolled in Graduate courses and teaching Preschool at Tufts’ Educational Daycare Center, Daniel received this honor in regards to his proposal for a children’s television show which would incorporate a songwriting workshop.

No stranger to interacting with children, Daniel (along with his brother Mike) has recorded Children’s CDs as The Flannery Brothers, which can be sampled at www.flannerybrothers.com . 

“‘New Explorers Club’ was the #6 album last year at Amazon.com,” explained Flannery, talking about their latest release which contained infectious cuts such as “Pirate Or Parrot?,” “Kitchen Floor” and “Hi 5 Dance.”

“Swallowed A Bug” is the defining moment of “New Explorers Club,” with lyrics that include “I swallowed a bug and it was totally gross. But it was better than the time that one flew up my nose.”

Growing up among a musical family, Daniel’s father introduced him to the piano so as not to compete with his older brother’s guitar accomplishments. The younger Flannery can also play the accordion, ukulele and bass guitar. “With the exception of some Raffi, there wasn’t a lot of children’s music when I was a kid,” stated Daniel. As a family, the entire Flannery clan performed at the Clearwater Festival one year, while Daniel and Mike were still children.

“I learned how to play the ukulele because the guitar intimidated me,” continued Daniel. “One year, a neighbor in Maine had given me an accordion with the promise that I never sell it and I learn how to play it.”

With his parents still living in Oceanport, Daniel makes frequent trips back home. A recent visit had The Flannery Brothers performing at Wolf Hill Elementary School. “The music teacher there [Erica Siegel] taught the kids the words to our songs,” stated an impressed Daniel. “350 kids sang along with me to ‘Broccoli Yet.’ We also had a dance-off to ‘Sunglasses.’”

“Around the year 2000, I realized that I was really good at relating to children,” stated Daniel. He was a member of Mee Wee, which presented hip-hop music for young children. “Music is an area of study that combines elements of math, creative writing and social interaction,” related Daniel.

Currently studying Child Development with a concentration on arts and media, Daniel explained, “I am refining my approach. Before Graduate School, there was guesswork involved. I am honored to be recognized for what I do but my biggest reward is finding out that a student learned how to play an instrument. I want kids to have more opportunities to explore the world and have a great time!”

Daniel has also won a John Lennon Songwriting Contest for his children’s number “One Wasn’t Enough.” While the accolades aren’t as important to Daniel as his kids are, he does understand that they assist him in carrying out his vision.

Daniel compared his relating to his students to the drawing of sheep in “The Little Prince.” “You have to create a situation as to how they can imagine it,” stated Daniel. He went on to say that the routine that Fred Rogers had on every episode of his program ensured that the kids watching it felt comfortable.

As we wound up our phone conversation, Daniel related to me what the two highlights of his week were going to be; his accordion lesson with his teacher and his ukulele lesson with his student. If that’s not dedication, I don’t know what is!