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The American public has spent the last nine years bombarding Britney with criticism and ridicule. Then, recently, as she was carted away in an ambulance, we did an about face, and now everyone is offering to help. Dr. Phil tried to help, albeit clumsily. Heidi Klum offered to let her crash at her house. Justin and Timbaland are offering to help Brit rebuild her career. Everybody, it seems, wants in on the action. So why not you?

Do you want a piece of the save-Britney-from-herself pie? If so, you have two options: 1) get really famous and/or rich so the media cares about what you say (even though you really have no credibility) or 2) become a true expert in the following fields, charge onto the scene, and take care of business. Chances of achieving the first are minimal. So I recommend pursuing the latter. Brit will need help from the following types of professionals in the next few years:

1. Lawyer – Clients like Britney are a dream come true for lawyers: she’s always in trouble with the law and she has plenty of money to keep a lawyer working on her cases. In the last year alone, Britney has accumulated more than her fair share of legal woes.

Would you like to be the next in line to keep Britney out of the slammer? Consider a career in the law. Besides, if Britney ever straightens out her life, there will always be other screw-up celebrities to keep you employed. Classes and Careers can help you get off on the right foot with Legal and Paralegal Studies Degrees.

2. Psychiatrist – Having been groomed, enhanced, and told she wasn’t good enough and, simultaneously, she was the center of the universe since she was eleven years old, Britney has some deep-seated issues to work out. After the dust has settled from custody cases and drug rehab, Britney will still likely need psychiatric help.

Help lift Britney out of that deep, dark hole and become a psychiatrist. Exercise caution, however. Don’t, for instance, visit her at the emergency room and then, against all rules of patient confidentiality, relate to the press the graveness of Britney’s mental state. Find out more about how to become a Doctor in Psychology.

3. Rehab counselor – First things first, Britney needs to learn to just say no. You can be there for her by starting a career in rehab counseling. Teach Britney to pass on grass and all the other crazy stuff she’s been using and you will be a hero of the “Save Britney” community. Then we can all go back to mocking her without feeling guilty. All thanks to you! Find out what it takes to become a rehab counselor with a Master’s in Community Counseling.

4. Social worker – No, social workers don’t just take people’s kids away from them. They also take struggling parents under their wing and teach them how to be better moms and dads. As a social worker, you could teach Britney how to boil spaghetti noodles or make Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes- all the things she missed while she was being pushed to be a global superstar. How do you become a social worker? Social Sciences Degrees.

5. Parenting specialist – Social workers can only do so much. Parenting specialists teach parents how to teach, nurture, and discipline their kids appropriately. If you want to get those kids back from that lousy K-Fed, help Britney learn to be Mom of the Year. Find out how to become Britney’s parenting specialist by acquiring a Master’s in Marriage and Family Counseling.

We can all do our part to help Britney put her life back together. If you’ve got the desire, Classes and Careers can help.

College is a ceaseless barrage of assignments, deadlines, and papers. Somehow, between running to classes and pounding out essays, you have to actually absorb the deluge of information being thrown your way, to say nothing of maintaining your sanity and sense of normalcy.

Although learning styles differ, it has been found that certain techniques almost universally help students learn and retain knowledge better and faster. Check out the following five ways to improve your study skills:

1. Repetition. Repetition. Repetition. Did I mention repetition? That’s probably because “repetition is the mother of knowledge.” It was true when you were a newborn babe, and it’s true now. Humans learn by being exposed to things again and again and again. Research has found that humans, on average, must encounter information seven times before they commit it to long-term memory. Other research has found that frequently returning to the same information greatly increases retention.

How does this apply to you? It means that attending lecture isn’t enough. It means that you need to increase the number of times you see and think about the things you are learning. This may be as simple as reviewing your lecture notes the next day, reviewing material in a study group, or doing assigned homework exercises. The more you return to the information, the greater your chances that the information will be in your head when you need it.

2. Take notes. Something magical happens in the brain in the process of taking spoken information into the ears and translating them into words on the page. The brain has to process the information once when it hears it and then once more when it sends the signals to the hand to write it. The result: your brain thinks twice about information it is receiving, which is a good thing!

So, don’t substitute the digital recorder for taking good notes. Notes go a long way toward increasing retention. Returning to your notes can recall important memories of lectures and intuitive links made during those lectures. They are an essential companion to repetition.

To increase the power of note-taking, don’t just write down rote what the professor has on the board. Change up the wording. Put it in language you can understand and will easily recall later. This adds one more opportunity for your brain to process the information before moving on to the next item.

3. Diagram it. Before letters and words came along, man started his communications career using pictures to convey feelings, stories, and information. It seems the human brain is just hardwired to understand the world through pictures. So, you might as well use this unique ability to get through school.

When studying complex concepts, try sketching out diagrams that explain them in succinct but correct ways. Put these diagrams in the margins of your notes, over your Gene Simmons poster, or somewhere else where you will see them often. You will be amazed at how these diagrams pop right back into your head during exams or even later during crucial job interviews- instead of, say, pictures of Gene Simmons.

4. Create a space. Maybe as important as how you study is where you study. Places with lots of noise or activity create traffic jams in your brain with only limited amounts of desired information making it to your memory banks. On the other hand, places with lots of room and peace and quiet let you focus solely on the information before you and ensure maximum retention.

Experts recommend that you find your temple of study, a place that you can return to again and again with the sole purpose of studying. Look for a place with the following characteristics: good lighting, good ventilation, a comfortable (but not too comfortable) chair, and a desk large enough to spread out your materials. Some things you want to avoid: a view of activities that you want to be involved in, a telephone, a loud stereo, a TV, and a talkative friend. Pretty much anywhere in your dorm is a bad place to study.

Remember, you’re trying to train your brain to go into study mode every time you enter this space. So, don’t do anything else in your study temple but study. Some good candidates for study temples: libraries, wilderness areas, and study rooms/carrels.

5. Budget your time. Adequate study takes time and won’t usually happen accidentally. This means you’ve got to keep a planner, schedule in times to study, and stick to your schedule.

Having a consistent study schedule, like having a consistent study temple, helps your brain get used to studying intensely at certain times. This makes it easier for your brain to absorb maximum amounts of information.

The human brain is a powerful thing, and there’s a lot you can do to unlock its potential. What do you do to get the most out of your studying? Any tips for us? Let us know below…

College is an awesome way to learn, grow, and, of course, improve your future. You meet wonderful people and get exposed to things you never otherwise would have. You get challenged and earn your stripes, so to speak, in the real world. All good things. But I just hate some things about it.

This might seem like a funny thing to write on a website about education. However, after six years of higher education- just keeping it real here-, there are some things I will never get used to. In fact, leaving school and then returning for a master’s degree has not made it any easier. You know the whole absence-makes-the-heart-grow-fonder thing? Well, that’s not true with college.

So, in the spirit of complete honesty, I just wanted to gripe about college-related things I just can’t stand. I am hoping, obviously, that others out there will share my frustrations with the whole university experience. I also wince at the prospect that I am just being a big wimp about the whole ordeal and this will broadcast that wimpiness across the expanse of cyberspace, a risk I am willing to take. For your reading pleasure, following are the five things I hate about school. You’ll notice that most of these stem from my belief that universities should operate more like free market businesses and less like the stuffy universities of two centuries ago:

1. Expensive textbooks – Okay, nothing says ‘Welcome to a new semester of school!’ like paying several hundreds of dollars for books that you will go through in three to four months and never read again for the rest of your life.

Universities make very little effort to rein in money-hungry publishers and make things a little easier for students who are already paying out the yin-yang just to pay tuition and rent. The university holds our arms behind our backs while the publishers sock us in the stomach.

2. Grades (especially on the curve) – News flash: in the real world, there are no grades. Especially, people are not graded on the curve and they sure as heck aren’t graded on how well they tell the professor what he wants to hear. In fact, the most successful organizations are those which create win-win environments where all participants achieve their potential.

The university grading system is still around because, well, it’s just always been there and that’s what people expect to see. It’s high time this relic of a performance measure was retired and sent to a cold, lonely grave.

3. Anal professors – It’s no secret that professors often regard their classes as their own personal kingdoms, their word as gospel, and opposing viewpoints as a threat to their authority. Running ironically contrary to the supposed goal of universities to foster debate and free thought, these powermongers too often suppress their students merely for the pleasure of hearing themselves speak. Their lust for power is also manifest in their unwillingness to compromise with students on test scores or assignments.

Not every professor is this way, but too many are. Last time I checked, I was the customer, the one forking out the dough to consume their service. Shouldn’t they cater to me, instead of the other way around?

4. Anal students – Especially in groups, these students become extremely annoying. These students have bought into the false sanctity of grades, GPAs, perfect scores, and the pot of gold they will receive for graduating magna cum laude.

Were they to see how very little grades and test scores matter after school, they might loosen up and enjoy the company of their fellow students, stop and smell the roses. Sadly, their fate will be to tear through college only to enter the workforce and be shunned by their co-workers because of their lack of interpersonal skills or perspective.

5. Clueless professors – You walk into class one day only to find your classmates taking an unexpected midterm. When you ask the professor about it, she remarks, “Oh, I mentioned it two weeks ago in the middle of my lecture on tenant farming in the 17th century. You must have missed it.” Professors who are too laid back or who offer excessively ambiguous syllabi also can make your college life miserable. These professors make it virtually impossible to stay on top of the work in their class. The worst of these evaluate your work with a much more critical eye than they do their own.

There it is! I said it. Just had to purge there for a moment. Education is a wonderful time in your life full of discovery and inspiring teachers (except for all those things I just mentioned). Tell us your college-related gripes below…

You’ve probably heard people talk about going green as of late. It has become quite the fashionable phrase to throw out during newscasts, parties, and presidential campaign speeches. If you want to appear progressive, trendy, or world-wise, you talk a lot about going green. Companies who want to shed the typical capitalistic, earth-pillaging corporate image are jumping on the green bandwagon.

For the uninitiated, ‘going green’ refers to reducing or eliminating your use of non-eco-friendly materials. That means petroleum-based products, especially plastics and harmful chemicals, are out. Recycled or organic products are in. Fueled by rising fears of global warming, going green represents an important shift in thinking toward being more responsible in the way we use our resources.

Going green, however, also means that things will change. Some of the comforts we are used to may fall by the wayside. Even at the workplace, employees will be feeling a dramatic difference. If your company is going green, here are some of the disadvantages to look forward to (and just remember: it’s worth it!):

1. Recycled toilet paper – One word: ouch! Recycled paper will never be as refined and soft as regular paper. Unfortunately, this goes for toilet paper, too. Employees at green companies are in for a rough ride when they visit the restroom.

2. Organic cafeteria – For those who like their steaks thick, juicy, and as enhanced as possible, the company cafeteria is about to become a bit less appealing. Use of growth hormones and other food-enhancing chemicals is becoming an endangered practice, viewed as bad for people and bad for the environment. Start bringing your lunch or get used to tofu.

3. Rain-water cooler – The blue bottle/central gathering place may soon be replaced by a faucet from a tank that collects rainwater. The rainwater is filtered, of course, but that familiar sterilized taste will likely be gone. The thought of drinking rainwater may be unsettling to some, especially if you live in an area known for air pollution. Just gulp down the bugs and the taste of exhaust with a smile, knowing you are doing your part to save the planet.

4. Bamboo office chairs – Most of today’s well-supported, well-cushioned office chairs are composed of plastics and other synthetic materials. Look for companies to ditch those for more plant-based materials. Bamboo is popular but not very friendly to backsides. You might have grounds to get your boss to provide an on-site chiropractor.

5. Biodegradable food containers – Plastics tend to overstay their welcome in the environment, hanging around for several millennia. To remedy this, companies are providing food containers made from sugar cane waste in their cafeterias and break rooms. The problem: these containers break down (within 90 days) considerably faster than their plastic counterparts. The result: don’t be surprised if your leftovers from the company Christmas party suddenly collapse into a pile of mush.

Which green changes are you dreading? Which ones are you looking forward to? Tell us about it below…