The EQ Child

This graphic makes the point. Parental self awareness is critical when we look at the behavior of our children.

Thank you Karim Saidi (FB: Karim saidi-art), for this powerful image.

We believe that children are inherently good, and when children become cruel, we need to look in the mirror and be curious if that was modeled in the home. Maybe not towards them, but in the conversations caregivers have about others, how they treat their spouse, how siblings are treated, or how a parent even treats people at the grocery store.

Our children are always watching. Be the person who you want your child to become.

Check it out! Lots of amazing items that will support Girls on the Run programming!

Our Girls on the Run online auction is open for bids now through 10pm on Thursday, March 30th! All proceeds support program development and participation scholarships, helping us reach more girls in more communities with inclusive, accessible and empowering Girls on the Run programs. Get your bids in now: https://bit.ly/3TwEMtU

Love this from —a great visual reminder to support our interactions with children as well as other adults 💗 I like to ask the question ‘is it an emergency?’ If it’s not a situation where someone can get hurt, a strategy of ‘delay’ can help us choose our response to a situation.

We are looking for a new Executive Director for Girls on the Run of Greater Hartford. If you know of someone who might be interested in the position and is passionate about supporting girls please encourage them to apply and pass it on!

Girls on the Run of Greater Hartford is currently seeking an Executive Director. Join our team and help create a world where every girl knows and activates her limitless potential and is free to boldly pursue her dreams! Click link in bio or visit gotrgreaterhartford.org/work-with-us to learn more.

What a beautiful reminder from that relationships are at the heart of learning. The photo and the caption really resonated with me as we think about the language we use to describe our teaching model or schools.

This story. Such a poignant reminder of how our ‘why’ as educators drives us. What is your ‘why?’ And is it possible to make a visual representation of it? A powerful PD session or opportunity for staff connection and discussion. I can’t wait for this children’s book to be published 🧡 Link to article in bio 👉

Can’t say enough about this. The countdown till the end of the school year is REAL for educators and administrators. But how can we take the time to finish the year with compassion, intention and reflection. What is one thing you’re proud of this year? About yourself? Your colleagues? What can we improve upon for next year? What is one thing we can work on this summer? Making the time for these conversations and reflections is so critical before the school year closes.









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For educators and parents, such an interesting article to help us think about different types of rest and how we can help identify what we need for restoring balance and energy.

The 7 types of rest that every person needs Are you getting your seven or eight hours of sleep a night — yet you still feel exhausted? Here’s why that could be happening, according to physician Saundra Dalton-Smith.

Girls on the Run is growing in Westport and plans for next season are already in the works! Join our Zoom Info Session on May 19th and learn how to bring the fun and inspiring Girls on the Run experience to your school!
Learn more: gotrgreaterhartford.org/our-programs

Such a beautiful story that speaks to the power of using your voice and being an advocate, the importance of representation and the beauty of storytelling to allow people to empathize and imagine possibilities.

On July 31, 1968, a young, black man was reading the newspaper when he saw something that he had never seen before. With tears in his eyes, he started running and screaming throughout the house, calling for his mom. He would show his mom, and, she would gasp, seeing something she thought she would never see in her lifetime. Throughout the nation, there were similar reactions.

What they saw was Franklin Armstrong's first appearance on the iconic comic strip "Peanuts." Franklin would be 50 years old this year. (2018)

Franklin was "born" after a school teacher, Harriet Glickman, had written a letter to creator Charles M. Schulz after Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was shot to death outside his Memphis hotel room.

Glickman, who had kids of her own and having worked with kids, was especially aware of the power of comics among the young. “And my feeling at the time was that I realized that black kids and white kids never saw themselves [depicted] together in the classroom,” she would say.

She would write, “Since the death of Martin Luther King, 'I’ve been asking myself what I can do to help change those conditions in our society which led to the assassination and which contribute to the vast sea of misunderstanding, hate, fear and violence.'”

Glickman asked Schulz if he could consider adding a black character to his popular comic strip, which she hoped would bring the country together and show people of color that they are not excluded from American society.

She had written to others as well, but the others feared it was too soon, that it may be costly to their careers, that the syndicate would drop them if they dared do something like that.

Charles Schulz did not have to respond to her letter, he could have just completely ignored it, and everyone would have forgotten about it. But, Schulz did take the time to respond, saying he was intrigued with the idea, but wasn't sure whether it would be right, coming from him, he didn't want to make matters worse, he felt that it may sound condescending to people of color.

Glickman did not give up, and continued communicating with Schulz, with Schulz surprisingly responding each time. She would even have black friends write to Schulz and explain to him what it would mean to them and gave him some suggestions on how to introduce such a character without offending anyone. This conversation would continue until one day, Schulz would tell Glickman to check her newspaper on July 31, 1968.

On that date, the cartoon, as created by Schulz, shows Linus meeting a new character, named Franklin. Other than his color, Franklin was just an ordinary kid who befriends and helps Linus. Franklin also mentions that his father was "over at Vietnam." At the end of the series, which lasted three strips, Linus invites Franklin to spend the night one day so they can continue their friendship. I just thought this was a good re-introduction of Franklin to the rest of the world - "I'm very glad to know you."

There was no big announcement, there was no big deal, it was just a natural conversation between two kids, whose obvious differences did not matter to them. And, the fact that Franklin's father was fighting for this country was also a very strong statement by Schulz.

Although Schulz never made a big deal over the inclusion of Franklin, there were many fans, especially in the South, who were very upset by it and that made national news. One Southern editor even said, “I don’t mind you having a black character, but please don’t show them in school together.”

It would eventually lead to a conversation between Schulz and the president of the comic's distribution company, who was concerned about the introduction of Franklin and how it might affect Schulz' popularity. Many newspapers during that time had threatened to cut the strip.

Schulz' response: "I remember telling Larry at the time about Franklin -- he wanted me to change it, and we talked about it for a long while on the phone, and I finally sighed and said, "Well, Larry, let's put it this way: Either you print it just the way I draw it or I quit. How's that?"

Eventually, Franklin became a regular character in the comic strips, and, despite complaints, Franklin would be shown sitting in front of Peppermint Patty at school and playing center field on her baseball team.

More recently, Franklin is brought up on social media around Thanksgiving time, when the animated 1973 special "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" appears. Some people have blamed Schulz for showing Franklin sitting alone on the Thanksgiving table, while the other characters sit across him. But, Schulz did not have the same control over the animated cartoon on a television network that he did on his own comic strip in the newspapers.

But, he did have control over his own comic strip, and, he courageously decided to make a statement because of one brave school teacher who decided to ask a simple question.

Glickman would explain later that her parents were "concerned about others, and the values that they instilled in us about caring for and appreciating everyone of all colors and backgrounds — this is what we knew when we were growing up, that you cared about other people . . . And so, during the years, we were very aware of the issues of racism and civil rights in this country [when] black people had to sit at the back of the bus, black people couldn’t sit in the same seats in the restaurants that you could sit . . . Every day I would see, or read, about black children trying to get into school and seeing crowds of white people standing around spitting at them or yelling at them . . . and the beatings and the dogs and the hosings and the courage of so many people in that time."

Because of Glickman, because of Schulz, people around the world were introduced to a little boy named Franklin.

From The Jon S. Randal Peace Page

Learn more about the experiences of people of color at https://www.netflix.com/title/80091741
or free on YouTube
https://youtu.be/krfcq5pF8u8

♥️ The World would be a better place if we could see it through the eyes of a child ♥️