Father of 8 explains why he's not saving for college
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Anonymous
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From the Post:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/get-there/wp/2014/10/28/a-father-of-eight-explains-why-he-hasnt-saved-a-penny-for-his-kids-college-education/?hpid=z5 Yikes. It's really more than he hasn't saved - it's that he won't PAY for his kids college, because he's not convinced College is worth it, that kids need to build the drive and determination themselves to get what they want out of life. He has some interesting ideas, I'll grant you that. But overall I'm not a fan. I do think "we" (privileged, generally white, upper middle class) tend to not push our kids enough, but his attitude is too much. But I think there's a lesson here for me, at least, to expect more from my kids and not coddle them entirely. My parents always told me it was 4 years of college, and that was it. My brother sister and I all have master's degrees. My rather and sister did the master's with loans - I was in the sciences and worked as a research assistant and had a stipend. I also worked every summer, every break, and throughout the school year - and while I'd like my kids to have it slightly easier, it is also true that working teaches you lessons that are valuable. |
Anonymous
| LOL, when I read the title I thought you were talking about Jon Gosselin. |
Anonymous
| He sounds like an ass. What happens if a kid doesn't want to be an entrepreneur? |
Anonymous
| The dad obviously has a different perspective on the world than most of DCUM and is willing to ignore the statistical odds. Frankly, I think it's pretty darn irresponsible to have 8 kids in this day and age. |
Anonymous
| Did his wife benefit from a college education? |
Anonymous
Exactly. I have enormous respect for people who can be successful entrepreneurs, but it really does require a very specific skill set + specific personality type. If your child goes to college, there are hundreds of different career options that are open to them. I have heard of some parents who save money for kids, then tell them they can use it for 1. College 2. Seed money to start a business Seems like this would have been a better approach for this guy to take. |
Anonymous
Anybody can afford 2 years cc and 2 years state u. And do anything they want in life. |
Anonymous
| he's full b.s & contradictions. |
Anonymous
| I worked my way through college and still have $35k in debt. I make less now than I did before college but have all this debt. I totally get where he's coming from. A college degree alone is not useful. A college degree in something specific, like nursing or engineering is useful, but not everyone is cut out for the sciences. |
Anonymous
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I have no idea what is in my DNA, but I have two other siblings. None of us 3 finished college. Two of us completed "some" college and one none.
Both of my siblings own successful businesses. I'm an executive with over 250 people under me as according to the company org chart and make a pretty large salary. My lack of degree has never gotten in my way. Clearly there is something about the 3 of us kids that all made us beat the odds. Our parents had a very hands off approach and never really focused much on grades and never once fought our battles. Once we turned 18, we were without ceremony dumped into the world. However, books were a huge part of our daily family life and politics were hotly debated. There was always talk at the dinner table about what was going on in the world. We were raised to ask questions, find answers, and be generally curious about how the world around us worked. I will be paying for my kids college, but we already put heavy focus on entrepreneurial skills and strong work ethic. |
Anonymous
| Colleges are going more and more to on line courses in the manner of MOOCs because it has become so expensive to maintain buildings and feed students despite the huge tuitions. I suspect many of your children will not attend college in the same way you did. |
Anonymous
| I completely understand the way he's thinking. I'm a non college educated person, doing just fine. Started a small business out of high school and grew that. Parents had no money for college or heck - birthdays gifts at that. I didn't want to be weighted down by loans and just saved to start a business on a shoe string budget while renting a basement with one other person. It made me a better person, and made me understand work ethic and trying your best. |
Anonymous
| Actually, it's not such a bad decision. If all of his kids do ROTC, the Army, Navy or Air Force will pay their college tuition. |
Anonymous
| OP's gratuitous reference to race ( i.e., "generally white") was totally unnecessary and reflective of the weird white guilt so many in this area suffer from. |
Anonymous
| He sounds like an idiot. |