Karen

Written by a Shiminly Educator with expertise in life skills and global education. Storytelling is one of the most powerful teaching tools for cognitive, emotional, and social development. This article explains how stories shape imagination, empathy, language skills, and moral reasoning. It includes practical storytelling activities for classrooms and guidance on how educators can integrate

Written by Russ Gadzhiev, PhD “Be yourself. Don’t worry about what other people are thinking of you, because they’re probably feeling the same kind of scared, horrible feelings that everyone does.”  – Phil Lester   “Most people are not really free. They are confined by the niche in the world that they carve out for

Written by Russ Gadzhiev, PhD “It is critical that parents and other trusted adults initiate conversations with kids about underage drinking well in advance of the first time they are faced with a decision regarding alcohol.” – Xavier Becerra    “Addictions … started out like magical pets, pocket monsters. They did extraordinary tricks, showed you things

Written by a Shiminly Educator with expertise in life skills and global education. Life-ready skills prepare students for real-life challenges. This article provides five practical tips for integrating life-ready competencies such as communication, decision-making, and resilience into school curriculum through projects, activities, and cross-subject integration. “I think it just helps to be very aware that

Written by Russ Gadzhiev, PhD   “You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write.” – Annie Proulx   “Read, read, read. Read everything–trash, classics, good and bad, and see

Written by Russ Gadzhiev, PhD “Research is seeing what everybody else has seen and thinking what nobody else has thought.” – Albert Szent-Györgyi   “Research is formalized curiosity. It is poking and prying with a purpose.” – Zora Neale Hurston   “I believe in innovation and that the way you get innovation is you fund research and

Written by Russ Gadzhiev, PhD “Whether you have been the target of aggressive behavior or the aggressor, this event does not define you. Every day brings a new opportunity to start again.” – Jessica Speer    “The aggressive person fights. The passive one runs away. But the assertive person stands ground, assesses the situation, adapts, and