Posts by Adam Starks

I have a confession to make: the title of my autobiography, Broken Child Mended Man, doesn’t tell the whole story. In essence, the mended man didn’t come until much later in life. The concepts of self-discovery and self-love were unknown to me as I sought to achieve material wealth and acceptance toward feeling some sense…

The acronym for my upcoming application represents the complexity of supporting and ultimately healing students who have experienced adverse childhood experiences (ACES) throughout their formative years. There are many apps to address a child’s various needs throughout their K-12 education, such as tutoring, communication, or even different teletherapy options. Still, none of them are multi-pronged…

“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality, and freedom for their spirits.“ – Martin Luther King, Jr. As the nature or nurture debate continues, nurturement tends to be the more hopeful path since it’s within our…

Several years ago, I read a fascinating article in The Intelligent Optimist titled, Your Brain Is a Rain Forest, and it led me to a better understanding of the different intellectual strengths within our brains. While both nature and nurture impact our ability to succeed in life, it doesn’t mean the potential to learn and thrive within those…

As a father, some of my favorite memories are the joyous sounds of my children interacting with others on playgrounds without a care in the world. Yet, I can’t help but wonder how to ensure that more children have access to these experiences. In an ideal setting, a newborn child should signify hope for the…

“Many of our kids aren’t going from 0 to 100 in the blink of an eye like we think. In fact, they’re really going from 80 to 100, because their adverse childhood experiences don’t allow them to get to zero. Knowing and understanding this will shift our approach in working with them.”  -James Moffett Jr.…