College Degrees in Europe for FREE!!!

Comments by Barry Brown - Make A Way & The Student-Athlete Playbook

Parents, I am sharing the article below with you because I believe that we should look at as many options as possible to set our kids up for SUCCESS! The article below discusses attending college abroad because it may be a less expensive option, plus an opportunity for tremendous personal growth for our young adults.

Americans are moving to Europe for free college degrees

by Katie Lobosco   @KatieLoboscoFebruary 23, 2016: 11:24 AM ET

Chelsea Workman went to Ohio State University because it was her cheapest option. But she still had to take out student loans and work to make ends meet.

By the middle of her sophomore year, she'd had enough. She dropped out and moved to Germany to finish her degree where college is free.

Hunter Newsome, from California, decided to go to college in Estonia rather than the University of California, Davis -- at the very last minute. He's saving more than $10,000 a year on tuition, and he'll earn a bachelor's degree in three years rather than four.

There are at least 44 schools across Europe where Americans can earn their bachelor's degree for free, according to Jennifer Viemont, the founder of an advising service called Beyond The States.

All public colleges in Germany, Iceland, Norway and Finland are free for residents and international students. And some private schools in the European Union don't charge for tuition either. Many are going out of their way to attract foreigners by offering programs taught entirely in English.

Hannah Remo, Hunter Newsome and Chelsea Workman all moved to Europe to get their college degrees.

When they do charge for tuition, the bill is paltry compared to the U.S. The average cost of tuition here (without room and board) is currently $9,410 at public colleges and $32,405 at private colleges, while a majority of programs in Europe charge less than $2,225 a year, according to Viemont. Some of the highest tuition for international students is in the Netherlands, but it still tends to be less than $9,000.

Of course, a lot of American students don't pay full price for tuition. For those getting a big scholarship at home, moving to Europe might not be that great a deal. Those at public schools end up paying less than an average of $4,000 when you account for scholarships and grants. Still, that doesn't beat free.

"The cost is what makes people think about going to college abroad, but then they start to see the other benefits like learning a new language, travel opportunities, and being prepared to work in a global economy," Viemont said.

It's not for everyone, though. You won't find frat parties, sorority houses, or football games overseas.

And it might not be the right fit for someone with their heart set on immediately returning home after graduating. There aren't very good stats on how many Americans are getting degrees abroad (there were 47,000 in 2012 compared to 20 million in the U.S.), let alone how employable they are back home. The unique experience might be to your advantage, but it could be hard to find fellow alumni to help with a job hunt in the States.

Overseas, you'll probably have to find your own housing. On average, room and board costs about $10,000 at American colleges, but the students CNNMoney spoke to for this story pay much less in rent in Europe.

They don't have dining halls to go to for meals, though. And they also have to apply for a residency permit or visa, and -- depending on the country -- may have to pay for health insurance.

But these things don't bother these three Americans who are currently getting their college degrees abroad.

Chelsea Workman 
Studying: International Management in a 3.5- to 4- year bachelor's program. 
Is it really free? She paid about $220 a semester for tuition when she first arrived, but Germany has since made tuition free at all public colleges. Now she pays a $58 administrative fee each semester, about $90 a month for health insurance. Her rent is about $330 a month. 
Biggest challenge: "You need to be prepared to study 10 hours a day, and there's probably not time for a job in addition to your studies. I take seven or eight classes a semester." 
Future plans: "I don't really have any plans to go back to America. I don't really want to. My sister moved to Germany before me, my brother is here studying now and my dad is on the way over." 
What she misses: "Diverse culture and food. Every restaurant here has the same food on the menu."

Hunter Newsome 
Studying: International Relations in a 3-year bachelor's program. 
Why he moved: "It was my Dad's idea and I thought, why the hell not? My Mom was skeptical at first but she started researching and found out it was going to be a lot cheaper." 
Forget spending on text books: "Last semester I only had to have a single book and I checked it out of the school library. For some professors, a lot or all of the material is online, and for others you have to be in class to receive the knowledge." 
On finding housing: "It could be difficult around this school, but in my case my parents helped me with that. I pay 230 euros ($256 USD) a month and have a balcony with a nice view of the forest. It's really a beautiful city."

Hannah Remo 
Studying: European studies (EU politics) in a 4-year bachelor's program. 
Who she had to persuade: "I had to sell my Dad on it. I told him if I stayed in the U.S. I'd want to go to Colorado or California, which is more or less the same plane flight from New Jersey to Europe." 
On the application: "It was relatively painless. I had to submit my high school transcript, a recommendation, and an essay. SATs don't exist here and it's the most beautiful thing." 
Future plans: "I 100% have my heart set on staying in Europe. I disagree with the way a lot of things are run at home. It blows my mind that college is so expensive in the U.S., it makes me think that I don't want to raise a family there." 
Favorite thing about her new home: "Whether you're the child of a doctor, lawyer or garbage man, you'll have the same opportunity and the same education here."

CNNMoney (New York)First published February 23, 2016: 10:16 AM ET

Do you believe it is a good idea for schools to monitor students' Social Media accounts?

*Thoughts by Barry Brown - The "Make A Way" Education Program; http://www.makeawaynow.com

As we continue to advance in society and seemingly create wealth out of the thin air, there is something very valuable that is falling through the cracks. OUR CHILDREN!!!

We are seeing more and more instances of young people plotting and actually following through with murderous schemes at our schools across the country. We have to start implementing better strategies to find out information prior to these tragedies instead of just reacting. It's called being proactive!

We cannot continue to chase money as adults and parents, and ignore our children that need our love, attention, structure, discipline & guidance. We are obviously ignoring signs that may be right in our face because we are not eating dinner with our children, we are not going to the park and playing with our children, and we may not even talk with our children when we are driving them to school or another activity. At the end of the day, we do not know what are children are doing in their daily lives. We see them everyday and believe everything is ok. PARENTING YOUTH TODAY!!!

Parents, if we allow tv, movies, music and everyone/everything else to raise our children, what could we possibly think our children are going to grow up to be?

Let's be proactive in our parenting which leads to being proactive in our schools, and let's be the change we want to see! Checkout the article below ........................................................

One Love!

At some schools, 'Big Brother' is watching

By Kelly Wallace, CNN

updated 9:31 PM EDT, Fri March 28, 2014

Schools to monitor student social media

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• A California school district hired a tech firm to monitor students' social media posts
• Schools are also using technology to track suicide signs, cyberbullying, drug use
• Legal questions remain about schools' authority to screen kids off-campus and online
• "Most school districts don't want to become NSAs," said a superintendent representative

Editor's note: In March 2014, a Minnesota student was awarded a $70,000 settlement after her school district forced her to turn over passwords for her Facebook and email accounts, according to theAmerican Civil Liberties Union of Minnesota. As part of the settlement, the school district has agreed to change its policies to better protect students' rights. Last year, CNN Digital Correspondent Kelly Wallace examined how a growing number of schools are monitoring students' social media accounts and the legal and privacy implications of such moves.

(CNN) -- Just as parents are grappling with how to keep their kids safe on social media, schools are increasingly confronting a controversial question: Should they do more to monitor students' online interactions off-campus to protect them from dangers such as bullying, drug use, violence and suicide?

Last summer, the Glendale school district in suburban Los Angeles captured headlines with its decision to pay a tech firm $40,500 to monitor what middle and high school students post publicly on Facebook, Twitter and other social media.

The school district went with the firm Geo Listening after a pilot program with the company last spring helped a student who was talking on social media about "ending his life," company CEO Chris Frydrych told CNN's Michael Martinez in September.

"We were able to save a life," said Richard Sheehan, the Glendale superintendent, adding that two students in the school district had committed suicide the past two years.

"It's just another avenue to open up a dialogue with parents about safety," he said.

The Glendale school district is not alone. David Jones, president of the firm Safe Outlook Corporation, said two school districts and three schools pay, on average, between $4,000 to $9,000 per year for one of his technology products called CompuGuardian and that he expects the number of schools participating to go up. (Jones said he was not at liberty to reveal which schools work with his company.)

Parents, beware of bullying on sites you've never seen

School hires firm to monitor kids online

Social media and schools

Low-tech school gains high praise

Preventing cyberbullying

Cracking down on bullying

His product gives schools access to, among other things, reporting tools that allow users to search key words connected to cyberbullying and drug use, and to see whether students are researching topics about dangers such as school violence.

"You can identify a student, and you can jump into their activity logs and see exactly what they've typed, exactly where they've gone, exactly what they've done, and it gives you some history that you can go back to that child and use some disciplinary action," Jones said. "You can bring in the parent and say, 'Hey, look, this is what your child's doing. You need to talk to them about it.' "

Florida suicide sparks questions for schools

The issue of just what kids may be doing to each other online gained even more attention after a 12-year-old Florida girl, Rebecca Sedwick, who was repeatedly cyberbullied, jumped to her death in September.

Two girls, ages 12 and 14, were arrested and charged with aggravated stalking, accused of sending Sedwick messages such as "Why aren't you dead?" and "Wait a minute, why are you still alive?" (Those charges were eventually dropped.)

Wayne Blanton, executive director of the Florida School Boards Association, said the school was aware of on-campus bullying of Sedwick and dealt with it by separating the students and putting them in different classes, but it was not aware of the off-campus bullying -- online -- that was taking place.

Under a Florida law that went into effect in July (PDF), before Sedwick's death, if parents or students notify a school about suspected bullying off-campus, the school has the authority to look at a student's Facebook posts and e-mails, according to Blanton.

"The key to everything is, we have to be notified ... because there is no way we could monitor all the Facebook accounts and e-mail accounts and tweets and Twitters and all that," Blanton said. "We have 2.8 million students, but if it's reported, our teachers, our principals, our school resource officers are receiving extensive training and acting immediately on that."

"A gray area that could ... lead to a lot of litigation"

Blanton said school administrators are talking, especially after the Sedwick case, about what more they can do in terms of monitoring kids' social media but said that besides the logistics of keeping tabs on millions of students, there are big legal questions about a student's privacy rights.

Where are your kids talking?

"I think that's the biggest issue you're wrestling with when you start intercepting someone's messages," Blanton said. "Should I intercept your messages based on certain words? You're really getting into a gray area that could potentially lead to a lot of litigation."

Daniel Domenech, executive director of the American Association of School Administrators, the school superintendents association, said it's "not always clear" legally what can be done and what is within the scope of the district's authority.

"In one state, the court will support the district and say, 'absolutely, you have the right to do that.' In a very similar situation in another court, the court will rule 'absolutely not, it's freedom of speech,' " Domenech said. "So the whole legal issue right now is very much up in the air."

Cases in point: In September in Nevada, a federal appeals court backed school officials in the suspension of a high school student who allegedly threatened his classmates with violence on Myspace. But in Indiana in 2011, a court found that school officials had violated students' free speech rights when two girls were suspended from extracurricular activities for posting pictures of themselves with phallic-shaped lollipops.

"I think the best guideline we can give school districts is to always go back to the issue of the safety of the students uppermost," Domenech said. "If the safety of a student's involved and you are not necessarily sure whether the district has the authority to do it or not, well, you know what, go out on a limb at that point, because if you are talking about saving a student's life then you'd rather be safe than sorry."

Teacher suspended after giving student a Twitter lesson

Balancing safety with not "recording their every move"

John Palfrey Jr., head of the boarding school Phillips Academy in Massachusetts, said he and his colleagues try to strike a balance between ensuring students' safety and not having them feel "like we are recording their every move."

CNN's Kelly Wallace says many parents are unaware of some of the sites kids are now using to bully online.

If a student follows him on Twitter, he will follow them back, but on Facebook, teachers don't accept friend requests from students or extend them, and they don't "go hunting around" to see what students are saying on the social networking platform.

"We see certain spaces that they're communicating with their friends as akin to what they might be saying ... behind closed doors in a dorm room and I think that's a place where we, as administrators, don't belong," said Palfrey.

Public largely critical of school monitoring

How much to monitor students' social media is not just an issue fraught with logistical and legal challenges. There is also the court of public opinion, which leans heavily to the "schools are overreaching" side of the equation, according to comments we received on CNN's Facebook page.

"Schools need to respect boundaries and the First Amendment," Tom Gayda, who is director of student publications for an Indianapolis high school, wrote in an e-mail.

"Kids needs to be free to say (something) without feeling like the school is watching them 24/7," Gayda later said in an interview. "My concern is if a kid goes home and writes 'the school lunch sucks,' and the next day they're brought in and in trouble for complaining about school food."

Stay in touch!

Don't miss out on the conversation we're having at CNN Living. Follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest stories and tell us what's influencing your life.

Opinion: Don't ban social media from schools

But Lauren, a 20-year-old college student who only wanted to use her first name, believes that schools should be monitoring social media content posted by students because many times, she said, parents aren't aware of what their children are up to.

"I recently found my 13-year-old sister's Tumblr with the title 'Depressed but well dressed,' " Lauren said. "It immediately made me take action, let my parents know and make sure she got the help she needed.

"Had the situation been any different, the outcome might have been tragic," she said. "I support this measure and believe more schools should follow."

Social media monitoring: Wave of the future?

Domenech, who represents public school superintendents, said that at this stage, he thinks only a "very small number" of districts are actively monitoring students online, primarily because they don't have the staffing or the money to hire a firm to help.

Instead of more schools trying to follow the Glendale district's lead, Blanton of the Florida School Boards Association believes schools should mount a major public relations campaign targeting students and parents, letting them know it's OK to report anything of concern they see online.

Are we too quick to cry 'bully'?

He compares it to an ad campaign in Florida from about 15 years ago encouraging students to report any weapons they see on campus. Now, 90% of guns found on school premises in the stateare reported by students, he said.

"We have to get to the same point with when you see a student (or) another student sees a student being bullied, or a parent knows about a Facebook account, they have to let us know," Blanton said.

In the end, prevention is better than high-tech surveillance, said Domenech.

"I think most school districts don't want to become NSAs," he said. "We don't see that that is really our role."

Follow Kelly Wallace on Twitter, and like CNN Living on Facebook.

THANK YOU NELSON MANDELA!!!

Thoughts by:  B. Brown


I had to wait a few days before I commented on the passing of one of the world's most endearing political figures --- NELSON MANDELA!!!

I had just arrived back in Atlanta, GA, and as I was walking to baggage claim, I saw on one of the tv monitors that the great South African leader had passed. I immediately said wow, and thought what a loss to the world! Then I felt great about the life he led and the legacy that he has left! I thought about the movie Invictus. My feelings went from sadness to a feeling of happiness for a man that lived to be 95 years old and contributed so much to this world which has helped me live the way that I live now!

To stand up against apartheid and to be imprisoned for 27 years because of racism, and then to be released and become the 1st Black President of South Africa is an amazing journey!!!

I had just told my oldest daughter who Nelson Mandela was during the Soul Train Music Awards as Idris Elba spoke about portraying him in the upcoming film about his life.

He is admired by so many great leaders from around the world, and he set the stage for so many great injustices around the world to be corrected and set right!!!

I would like to impress upon all parents and educators alike to make sure that all our children know who Nelson Mandela is and what he stood for while he lived!!!

As our world and domestic leaders grow older, the torch is being passed down; and we must continue to develop our young people and arm them with the knowledge and support that they need to become the great young men and women that we need them to be in order to move forward spiritually, economically and politically!!!

Thank you Mr. Nelson Mandela for being one of the brightest lights to have illuminated this planet!!!

We love you!!!

Another Tragedy in our Schools!!!

By: Barry Brown

I personally had to wait and let some time past before I could write about what happened in Newtown, Connecticut. It is another tragedy that has rocked our nation, and it is truly sad.

From my experience in education and formerly working at a school on a daily basis, this truly unfortunate incident has made me look back on some of the situations I was in during a school day, and I thank God for keeping me safe along with the other staff members and students at the school. We experienced 10 students fighting at one time, drive by shootings, unauthorized visitors, confiscating drugs and weapons from students and the list goes on in reference to the dangerous situations that arose on almost a daily basis.

When you look at a school, you automatically want to believe it is a safe place to be, and in most cases, a school is a relatively safe environment. However, a few things have changed over the years that have changed the dynamics of school and what actually takes place at school in this day and age. One of the most powerful things that has been taken out of schools is Prayer. Is there anything Spiritual covering over our public schools today? The other interesting piece that is missing in the majority of our public schools is adapting to the times. We are in 2013!!! The majority of the schools that I have visited over the years are still teaching the way they taught in the 50's & the 60's, and of course we don't have those type of students anymore. As of matter of fact, a lot of parents introduce their children to adults by using the adults first name (that's not good). You see, we don't necessarily have "Leave It To Beaver," yes sir and yes ma'am children anymore. Society has changed tremendously and our education system has to change with it!!! The safety of the staff and students has to be first and foremost because how can teaching and learning take place if no one feels safe in the so-called learning environment? There are a lot of parents that are not sending their children to school to learn, the children are basically coming to school to be babysitted and then the parents assume the school is going to teach the child everything that the child is supposed to know ... manners, life skills, etc. It's an amazing idea, let me as a parent not prepare my child for school in no form or fashion, and then send my child to school and expect the school personnel to teach my child how to do everything. Wow!!!

I remember and actually still have the proposals that my co-worker and I submitted to several Superintendents of the school system that we were working in at the time. We actually met with those Superintendents to present and discuss our proposals of increased security and school-education based community outreach, and each time, nothing materialized. What we have seen is the continuous decay of a lot of our public schools across the country because no one (including myself) has truly attempted to breakdown the status quo. It is time to take a stand. A new model for operating schools must be created to work hand-in-hand with what is going on in our overall society for us to see a significant difference. --- http://www.reachthemtoteachthem.com

Let's spend the money on more security at our schools. One Police (Resource) Officer is usually not enough to stop any attack. With the overwhelming influence of violent video games, movies, music, reality tv, social media, the internet in general, etc.; the parents and children of today are faced with far greater challenges then parents and young people of just 10 - 20 years ago.

We definitely have to look at mental illness and how we address it across the board because we have a lot of adults and youth alike that are suffering in silence, and when they hit the point of no return, it can be a terrible situation not only for themselves, but for others too.

I am staying optimistic because I have tremendous FAITH in GOD, and I believe that we are going to close the gap on mental illnesses and troubled souls so that incidents like what happened at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, CT will not happen on a daily, weekly, monthly or even yearly basis. These type incidents need to be significantly rare in occurrence.

My Prayers and Love are with the families of the victims and the entire town of  Newtown, CT. May God Bless you and keep you!!!

Happy Holidays to All!!! 

2012 National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE)

Thoughts by: B. Brown


I had the awesome pleasure of attending the 40th Annual Conference of the National Alliance of Black School Educators (NABSE) - November 14 -18, 2012 in Nashville, TN!!!

It is always great to network & connect with educators that are working toward a solution for our students in today's learning environment.

NABSE's theme for the conference this year was "Teaching & Learning: What is Working in America's Classrooms that Impacts the Success of Children of African Descent?"

My Hustle University - http://www.hustleuniversity.org family and I take pride in presenting fresh, relatable content and learning tools for schools (Elementary, Middle & High Schools). From our Scholars Make Dollars Program all the way to 10 Things Every Leader Must Know, we believe that an educator must "reach them to teach them!" Our non-traditional & real-life approach to staff trainings, and motivational presentations to both the staff & students is what makes us stand out!

Below are some of our products:

Scholars Make Dollars is an interactive literacy based coloring book series that teaches valuable life-lessons, the importance of education, strong values and leadership characteristics that help them not only become successful entrepreneurs, but also great community youth leaders.

Keep It Movin' is a users guide for the daily defense against life's most common pitfalls and problems. The masterful techniques in Keep It Movin' aid in anger management, stress/anxiety reduction, conflict resolution, depression and problem solving, ultimately turning the reader into an Immovable Object and an Unstoppable Force!

Bored of Education addresses the question by a young person, "Why should I go to school?" Bored of Education is the answer that parents, educators and youth service providers have been looking for to give a response to the young people. It's written in such a straight-talk manner, it simply makes sense!

10 Things Every Leader Must Know curriculum was developed by educators and entrepreneurs to provide a holistic approach to effective leadership. It is a contemporary self-empowerment book for today's generation. It often draws comparisons to other notable empowerment classics such as: Think and Grow Rich; Chicken Soup for the Soul; and 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

I would like to thank each and every educator and conference attendee that purchased a book or bundled package from Hustle University during the conference! We look forward to visiting your school or school system in the near future to help re-connect Administration, Teachers, Students & Parents into a streamlined, well communicating & effective learning system.

"If we can't find a way, we all must make a way!!!" - http://www.hustleuniversity.org


One Love!

Why are our young people so violent?

Thoughts By:  B. Brown (BREG)


On June 23, 2012 when my brother and his family were in town visiting, we went down to Underground Atlanta to get something to eat, checkout some vendors and hangout.

As we were preparing to leave, we saw a large gathering of young people coming together and then we saw two female teenagers begin to argue with each other and then of course a fight broke out.

Now, I understand that some fights are totally unavoidable, but the overwhelmingly majority of them are very avoidable, and we as adults have to teach our young people how to walk away from confrontations and live to see another day of life. When our young people fight in this day and time, they usually want to literally kill the other person because that's their mentality. So there's a high probability that someone may pull out a gun or a knife and end someone's life. As in the case of Bobby Tillman in Douglasville, GA, he got "stomped" to death by several male teenagers while over 70 people watched. What does that say about our mentalities and the value of life in general?

I don't know about you, but I am going to really start focusing on teaching my children about loving themselves and loving, respecting and caring about other people because if they love themselves and feel good about themselves, there's a great chance that they won't be so eager to end the life of another person because they value their own lives.

I have a speaking engagement coming up in August and I am going to highlight "Teen Violence" in my keynote address and challenge the young people and their parents alike to love themselves and to love others in spite of hard times and confrontations.

We can collectively stop the violence in our homes, communities and schools if we actively communicate with each other better, be honest with each other and love each other on a daily basis!

Yo, we can do it!!! Let's go ........!!!  

Parents, are we too hard on ourselves?

Thoughts By: B. Brown of Bar-Red Entertainment Group (BREG)


As parents, we have egos that can be larger than any pro athlete or entertainer in the world when it comes to dealing with our children. The mantra is usually "Do what I say because I'm your father or mother!" Have you heard that before from someone you know very well?

The truth of the matter is that we as parents and adults make mistakes, and we have to learn how to cope with those mistakes so that we become better because we made the mistake. I do not believe it is healthy for us to dog ourselves out totally and then be no good to anybody.

My suggestion is that we acknowledge the mistake, analyze and determine what we could have done better and then move forward to a solution that helps all parties involved. This way, we are setting a great example for our children, and keeping everything moving forward.

Checkout the outstanding article below from Makayla Sadamori! I'm sure you will find it to be very interesting!

One Love!

Parent! Don’t Judge Thyself

Written by Makayla on July 7, 2011 · 1 Comment

If there was a parenting Bible the title above would be a part of its Holy Commandments! As parents we are all bound to make mistakes. After all we are human and as such we are not perfect. We are actually expected to make mistakes because that is what leads us to look at what we don’t like in ourselves as parents and what corrections we want to make. Unfortunately most of us are conditioned by our own parents and by society that mistakes are bad and the only way to pay for the sin of making them is to feel bad, incapable and guilty. In fact we often feel the more severely we judge ourselves the more we show how regretful we are of what we have done.

Unfortunately, falling into the trap of judgments leads to no good end. The only effect it has on us is that it throws us into negativity and brings our emotional tone down. On the other hand, allowing the impact of a mistake to lead us to a desire to correct it allows us to improve our situation. In the mode of correction, we tend to focus on the desire to improve, which helps us release our guilt and put our energy into the betterment of the situation at hand.

Allow yourself to compare how you feel when you judge yourself for the mistakes you have made and how you feel when you focus on the desire to be a better parent to your child. Which of the two feelings inspires you to change and improve? Which one of them comes from your heart and gives you hope and joy? Which one of them will you choose to align to and follow?

Parents, be kind and loving to yourselves, especially when you feel you need correction. The love and compassion you find for yourself when you err will help you be even more loving and compassionate to your children when they err too.

By Makayla Sadamori, Joy Parenting Coach

http://coachmaven.com/conscious-parenting/parentdontjudgethyself