Just recently, Stephen Hillenburg died of ALS. He was the creator of SpongeBob Squarepants.

I loved SpongeBob for a couple of reasons. First, I watched SpongeBob videos with my grandchildren and we laughed together, inspired by SpongeBob’s relentless optimism. Second, I saw the Broadway show, “Spongebob Squarepants” and loved it–I saw it not once, but twice! The first time I wanted to see why it won 12 Tony nominations. The second time I took the grandchildren. It was the best musical I saw all season, the happiest, the most cheerful, the most inspirational, the most delightful, the wackiest. If the producers take it on tour, be sure to see it.

This is an article about the beginnings of SpongeBob Squarepants and Stephen Hillenburg’s creation of a fresh character, who is hopelessly optimistic and innocent.

I was touched by his death because in the last few years, two friends died of this dread disease: Vivian Connell, whose blog was posted here, about the progression of the disease and her determination not to let it define her. When NPE held its annual conference in Raleigh, N.C., a group of us–Bertis Downs, Phyllis Bush, Colleen Wood, and I– went to visit Vivian, an experience I will never forget. Bertis, a dear friend of Vivian, brought her a first edition of one of her favorite books, To Kill a Mockingbird.

And I also want to remember my friend Harold O. Levy, who was one of the best chancellors of the New York City public school system, who died only days ago of ALS. This is how I met Harold Levy. I wrote an op-ed criticizing some decision he made, and at 8 a.m. that morning, he called me at my home and invited me to his office. I dropped everything and went to meet him. We talked and became fast friends. How easy it is to bridge differences when you share a cup of coffee and a smile. That was Harold Levy.

As it happened, Valerie Strauss interviewed the writers of SpongeBob just a few years ago.

You will learn from her interview what advice SpongeBob offered on the subject of education.