Most parents try to plan for their child’s future. We worry about their success, push them to do well in school and hope for them to continue on to a college education. Most of us even put aside savings to help them succeed, and to keep them from getting in to debt.
One father, refuses to save for his childrens’ education, in fact, he is hoping they don’t go to college at all.
David T. Fagan and his wife live in California with their eight children. Fagan is a Marketing Executive and says that he and his wife have taught their children from very young ages to get out and start businesses of their own. If their children are set on going to College (as their oldest, who is currently a High School Senior) is, they expect them to save up/or receive scholarships to pay for it. Fagan refuses to help financially. They also expect them to have a plan laid out so that their major will ensure that they have a career when they graduate, so they don’t end back on Fagan’s couch.
Fagan tells the Washington Post, “I think we’re putting the emphasis on the wrong thing. The emphasis is on ‘you’ve got to go to college.’ The emphasis should be on, ‘You’ve got to become self-reliant. You’ve got to take care of yourself.”
Fagan teaches his children to be self sufficient from the time they are toddlers. He explains when they are at a restaurant and their children want something like water or a certain dish or request, they have to do the talking. They are encouraged from a young age to do things outside of their comfort zone, and to communicate with others.
Because of this parenting style Fagan says that his oldest started her own business in middle school. He took her on the road to conferences with him, and she learned how to communicate with adults and make money from a young age. He tries to plant that entrepreneurial spirit in all of his kids.
Fagan says, “Mark Twain had a famous quote, ‘I have never let schooling interfere with my education.’ And I just love that quote because it’s so true. There’s just so many things that can’t be done in the classroom. There’s so many things about the school system that are broken. That’s not news to anybody it’s just nobody’s brave enough to do something different.”
Fagan and his wife have a new book coming out in January called Guerrilla Parenting which teached parents how to teach their kids to be self sufficient from early ages.
What do you think about Fagan’s parenting style? Do you expect your children to go College? Why or why not?
image credit: Chris Kaiser
