<p>@consolation
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<p>Wow, just wow. This father is supporting his 8 kids and frankly that is infinitely preferable to someone with 1 or 2 who is expecting someone else to pick up the tab. Just wow. </p>
<p>I am the youngest of 6 kids and my parents did not feel they had any responsibility to help us with college. The oldest kids got merit and need-based aid, but by the time I got to college there was not much family need. I did not have any ECs my last 2 years of high school because I was working to make money for college. I got some scholarships and loans and co-op jobs to get through. I picked a major I did not like to be able to pay the bills. When we had kids I absolutely said we will pay for college. Besides being much more expensive now, it is a priority for us.</p>
<p>What an inaccurate title to the article. It’s more like that he will not pay for his kids’ college education but still would consider paying for classes it if they made a good pitch to him about why it was worth it…</p>
<p>He does support college for those of his kids for whom it is a fit.</p>
<p>I do not think he is an articulate writer or a consistent thinker: these deficits may or may not reflect his own educational level.</p>
<p>I raised my kids in a similar fashion: each of mine was homeschooled for a year, separately, when they needed that. Two went to top colleges because that is what they needed, and the third is on a different, equally worthwhile path. So I do see where he is coming from, but I think he is a bit arrogant about it. It’s not that earth-shattering for a parent to try to stay attuned to each kid :)</p>
<p>My worry is whether his own income means no financial aid for his kids. I know too many teenagers and twenty-somethings whose parents won’t pay for their college. These kids get stuck in restaurant jobs, taking one class at a time, and the net result is that short-term money at working class wages becomes a priority to live, preventing any focus on long-term opportunities that would bring more security and more satisfying work.</p>
<p>If he can help each of the 8 kids find the path that most supports their development, then I am all for it, but it is unclear what he plans and what he is able to pay for. The younger kids in the family may very well want to go to college, but that is not yet clear to him either.</p>
<p>There is another article floating around by the mom of a large brood, who believed in paying for music, art, theater, and other lessons and activities to develop her children’s interests and talents, rather than saving for college. This was a smarter approach that nevertheless drew a lot of criticism. Her kids had a lot of opportunities for self-exploration and discovery, versus money-making, and will no doubt end up with both financial aid and merit aid. Like it or not!</p>
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<p>I agree that self-reliance is what he is really trying to promote in his kids. But, his oldest is 17 and his youngest is 2. It is difficult to pass yourself off as someone whose different approach is noteworthy when the entire discussion is hypothetical. He doesn’t have any kids who are actually not school-age to demonstrate his philosophy lead to his kids successfully forging their own paths independently as adults. 10 yrs from now he might have a perspective and his kids might have perspectives about what worked and what didn’t that might be worth sharing.</p>
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Scariest two sentences I’ve ever read on this board. </p>
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<p>I agree. I wouldn’t have responded to this thread at all if I hadn’t read those sentences. I deleted all my snark bc those two sentences really don’t need anyone highlighting the bigotry of the poster. The poster did it quite successfully on her/his own.</p>
<p>I think the guy is not so much a conman as he is an itinerant preacher. My guess is he doesn’t have a lot of depth, but firmly believes what he’s saying, and after a while he begins to grate so he moves on to the next thing. </p>
<p>I actually know several rich people who don’t believe in paying for their kids’ college educations. Most of the ones I know commute to Temple, but some have full ride athletic or merit scholarships. </p>
<p>I do agree with him that a person is much less likely to get rich while working for The Man. </p>
<p>I do think that parents who have a lot of kids tend to rationalize why they haven’t been able to save for/pay for college. We made a conscious decision to stop at 2 partly because we did not think we could afford to give 3 or more the things we thought our kids should have (namely a great education). I am sure if we had more (coulda happened by accident, if nothing else!) we wouldn’t trade our additional kid(s) for anything and our kids would still have gone to college. But it is a choice, and people DO rationalize that their path is “best” when in fact they have made personal choices (having a lot of kids) that meant they didn’t really have other economic choices (like saving for/paying for college). This guy is just making money off his rationalization. And who knows… lots of kids aren’t cut out for college – it isn’t for everyone, and maybe he has several kids who wouldn’t attend anyway (or graduate) even if he did have the money for it.</p>
<p>It is a long ways from the scariest two sentences I’ve read on this board, but I applaud all my friends with large families. It is a different kind of lifestyle choice. If the author had given reasons why large families can be a very good thing for individual families and for society, even if it means individual children will have to be largely responsible for their own college costs - I could respect that.</p>
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<p>Clear your browsing history. You might also need to restart your computer.</p>
<p>“One question I’d have for him would be what do you think justifies having 8 children? I wonder if he’s a Mormon.”</p>
<p>As long as he’s not on my dime, he really doesn’t need to justify to me or anyone else how many children he has. </p>
<p>He may have a perfectly good reason for having 8 children. Or he may have dropped out of school before the segment in Health class about birth control.</p>
<p>I note in passing that if he only had two children nobody would be interested in his story.</p>
<p>I envy those with really large families. Not sure I have the temperament for 8 but 5 would have been nice. </p>
<p>^ I really wanted 6. It took me along time to get over it.</p>
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<p>Yeah, like that isn’t insulting.</p>
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They might if he actually had a story to tell. If he had 2 kids and held the exact same position (which seems completely irrelevant to family size btw), and had adult children who had taken the proposed path and who were now operating successful businesses, THAT story might actually be a story. Currently all he is is someone who is presenting a hypothetical position with hypothetical outcomes. </p>
<p>*</p>
<p>I note in passing that if he only had two children nobody would be interested in his story.*</p>
<p>Including his publisher.
;)</p>
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I suspect that he’s just making a virtue of necessity.</p>
<p>What are typical perfectly good reasons for having 8 kids?</p>
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I guess coming from a big family, and having enough money and time to support all of them are the best I can think of. Some people don’t believe in birth control; whether that’s a good reason is in the eye of the beholder.</p>