Dad Doesn’t Want Kids Going To College: What He Says It Lacks

Does it sound the slightest bit odd that a dad doesn’t want his kids going to college? It probably does because parents typically do everything they can to encourage their children to further their education after high school. In this case, one father goes against conventional thinking.

David T. Fagan isn’t keen on any of his kids heading off to college because he feels the focus is too much on getting a “piece of paper and not enough focus on self-reliance.” Opposing Views emphasizes in its report that those who attend college earn up to 84 percent more money in their lifetime over those who don’t pursue a degree. Despite this, Fagan, who’s a marketing entrepreneur and author, feels his children would be better off spending their time elsewhere.

In an interview with The Washington Post, Fagan explains why he’s not a fan of college. He thinks the system lacks a “customized education” for individuals.

“College isn’t necessarily bad – it can be quite good – but it quite often needs to be customized. Kids are spending hundreds of thousands of dollars. Many times, that money could be spent differently and more efficiently in helping people become truly self-reliant.”

This dad has even pulled his daughter out of school to just travel around while he’s been on business so she can see it all works in the real world.

“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 says it’s not really “about just money” when it comes to his attitude about his kids going to college. He thinks the mindset of teaching kids to figure out how to get what they begins at “a year-and-a-half, two-years-old.” He fully supports his sons and daughters if any of them choose to attend college for reasons they feel are in their best interest for their career; he just won’t be paying for it.

The concept of college makes little sense to Fagan.

“So what are you going to do? You’d better get a scholarship, you’d better get good grades. I think we’re putting the emphasis on the wrong thing. The emphasis is on ‘you’ve got to go to college.’ You’ve got to become self-reliant. You’ve got to take care of yourself.”

Fagan and his wife share more about their views on college in their book, Guerilla Parenting. It’s set for release in January 2015.

[Photo Credit: Chris Kaiser via The Washington Post]