The better choice!

[DaveF]

From today's Wall Street Journal http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142 ... inance_PF5

As I sat at our dining table last month writing out two fall-semester checks--one for Isaac and one for his older brother, Luke--my mind drifted in a dangerous direction: What else could Karen and I have done with this cash? ...(snip)... Either of them would have been a huge addition to the church offering plate or a contribution toward a world relief organization. Put together, the fall-semester dollars could have bought me a decent used Cessna 170.

[W.J.Langholz]

Dave
Funny you should write this, our son was home today and he starts his 3 year out of 5 tomorrow(double major) and my wife and I were talking about the same thing. What we could do with the extra money. The school has a funds held account so we put some in every month......doesn't bite as hard that way He worked full time all summer too. I was #7 of 8 kids in our family so when i went off to college I was on my own. I made a promise then that someday if I had kids I would help them with atleast books and tuition. I keep on telling him, he is my retirement account

w.

[jrenwick]

My father paid for my college education, because it was something he absolutely believed in. (He was a college professor.) The first real windfall I ever got, before I had kids, I bought my J3 -- $2200 in 1971. Later when my career started to really pay off (I've been very lucky), the first big windfall from stock sales went straight into college-fund accounts for my two kids. It never even crossed my mind what else I might be able to do with the money -- I was just so delighted that their education was going to be substantially provided for. After good health food, clothing and shelter, nothing is as important in life as a good education, IMHO.

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

Presenting the other side of the coin. I believe it is important to earn and pay your own way through college. Paying for it is part of the education.

My father and mother, both college graduates did not have enough money to pay for my four sisters and my college education. I'm not sure they would have if they had the money. What they did was encourage us to follow a path and college could be a big part of that but it was not the end all. They supported us the best they could and as we all now there are LOTS more expense to college than just tuition. My sisters tell the stories how Dad would send them a $5 or $10 bill with his weekly letter. I did not go to college instead following in the path of four generations before me in the printing trade. For me at the time college was a waste of time and money and I'm glad it wasn't there with pressure to waste it.

My daughters knew they would be paying for their college education from early on. It was just part of the program and part of the check and balance. They had to decide if the education they would get was worth their money.

Daughter one graduated in 3.5 years starting a job in her field the week before she graduated. Daughter two went to college for two semesters and decided at that time the money spent was not worth the education path she chose. She dropped out and went to work in the field she thought she wanted to pursue while taking some courses. Both daughters are now mothers at home with their kids and I'll bet they wouldn't want to do it over different if I payed for it this time around.

[Hineywheel Bill]

Amen Bruce! That's the way it worked at my house too, and I seem to have made it just fine, my kids made out OK as well. I learned a lot of important lessons about life while trying to stay alive and pay for college at the same time. Some of those lessons served me well later on while trying to stay alive in some places in the desert where people were trying to kill me. Self reliance and responsibility... pretty handy things to have. (Though, I'm not necessarilly saying that others who had their education provided for them don't also have those characrteristics.)

BTW, my wife and I plan to have another 170 before too long. We've already started looking around.

[cessna170bdriver]

I did go to work to help my folks put me through college, but ended up spending it on learning to fly. Learning is learning, right? At least the work was an internship in my chosen field...

[wingnut]

I second the Amen Bruce!
Although my parents offered, I declined the offer to go to college. I don't regret it. My kids also know if they choose college, they will work their way through. I have 3 that have graduated high school. The oldest chose to go straight to work. The next is paying his way in the local community college, and working for his dad, so I guess in a way I'm paying for his education (here at the hangar anyway ). Any my daughter is paying her way through a trade school and working full time too. That doesn't mean we don't help when they truly need help, and when we can afford to. But it is easier to help your kids when you know they are helping themselves by really trying to accomplish something in life. Only 3 more to go

[Bruce Fenstermacher]

I didn't present the other side of the coin to say which was right or wrong. My choice was just different than presented, probably because of my personal experience growing up. I bought a Cherokee which lead to the Cessna 170 and my daughters learned from their experience having an airplane in the family. So I would say it is not clearly a better choice to send the check to college than buy an airplane or some other experience that is shared.

[markeg1964]

My daughter just graduated from Portland State, the university mentioned in the article. I paid for her collage but am not sure it was the right thing to do. She also just got married and it sounds like I will be paying for her health insurance and who knows what else for the next year or so. Yet the newly married couple can afford new iPhones and just returned from a honeymoon in the Bahamas. I’m afraid my generation has made things too easy for our kids. I worked full time while attending college and wanted to make things easier for my daughter. I’m guessing something in-between would have been best. Although, as I think about it; I would probably do everything the same if given a second chance.

[jrenwick]

I don't disagree with Bruce, but college costs have been increasing at a rate much greater than the cost of living for quite a number of years now. Many kids today are completing college with debts far beyond their ability to pay, especially in today's job market, where a post-graduate education might include learning how to say "small, medium or large?" or "would you like fries with that?" I always thought it my responsibility as a parent to provide some help with education (my kids didn't get free rides) before spending big money on my personal hobbies.

[wingnut]

And I hope that by agreeing with Bruce, and by giving my own theory, I did not cause anybody to think that I think my chosen method of raising my kids is the only way. College is great for some, and more than pays off. For others it's not so great an option. Depends on what the young person really wants, I think. We're faced with so many options and variables being a parent, and there are always family and friends that like to point out "if I were you, I would...."
I also did not intend for anybody to reflect on how they may have done different, or not. Lord knows hindsight's 20/20, me included.

Andy: I thought you were spose to be home cleanin the garage?

Opie: I need to talk to ya bout something important.

Andy: Must be pretty important for ya to peel away from a job like that.

Opie: It’s been prayin on my mind pa.

Andy: Well, okay, you did the right thing by comin down. Now sit down, what’s goin on inside that head a yers?

Opie: Are there rules for pa’s and son’s?

Andy: Rules? What kinda rules?

Opie: The 75 cent rule.

Andy: 75 cent rule? I don’t bleve I’ve ever heard a that rule.

Opie: Ya see, that’s what I thought. How it is now, kids get 75 cents a week, instead a 25 cents, and they don’t have to work for it neither.

Andy: And who’s this “they” yer talking about?

Opie: Oh, Arnold Winkler an everbody.

Andy: Winkler, Arnold Winkler, do I know him?

Opie: No, there new from Raleigh.

Andy: Oh, I see, and the Raleigh rules say 75 cents and no work do they?

Opie: Ahuh, they get it too pa.

Andy: Oh, I see. So, you want it straight don’t ya?

Opie: Yeh

Andy: Well, here’s how it works. There are no rules for pa’s and son’s. It works like this; each father, or mother, whichever may be the case, raises his son or daughter however they see fit, and I think you ought to get 25 cents a week and work for it. You see, when you work for something, and get something in return, it makes you feel good inside. You do feel good don’t you?

Opie: Yeh, good’n tired

Andy: Well, you just think about that for awhile.

Opie: Makes me kinda sad pa.

Andy: The thing to do when your sad is shoot for the good feelin.

Opie: Clean the garage?

Andy: And as you get older, you’ll do more and more work for more and more return. All clear to ya now?

Opie: I’m not gonna get the 75 cents.

Andy: No

Opie: And I have to work for the 25

Andy: I think you got it

Opie: The older you get the tireder you get.

[GAHorn]

As Andy said, "It works like this; each father, or mother, whichever may be the case, raises his son or daughter however they see fit.."

My parents saw fit to finance my first two years in college. I squandered it out at the airport instead of in classes so they closed their wallet and, pretty much flunking out from lack of attendance and while on scholastic probation was re-classified from my student-deferment to 1-A in the draft for Viet Nam. My pre-induction physical (and an older brother in the Army at Quang Tri) pretty much convinced me to stay in college.

I paid for the next 6 years of college myself, working as a mechanic, taking flying lessons, and (eventually) as a pilot. Since I was now paying the bill I made mostly A's and B's and a few C's.

I haven't got a clue what a degree in History does for a career in aviation, but everyone said I'd need a degree so I got one.

[Robert Eilers]

Paying for college educations is really a personal parental choice. Many familys just cannot afford to pay for college tuitions - whether they would like to send their children to college or not. Today, I believe, you either must have a college education or skill worth something to others. Growing up in East Texas, in a big family, the idea of going to college just did not occur to any of us. Money was always tight and priorties narrowed considerably. My uncles, who were are mechanically gifted as a result of doing whatever was necessary to keep farm machinery working, went into either elictrical contracting, construction, or heating and air conditioning, and they all served in one military service or another benefiting greatly from their MOS and the GI Bill. All of them are doing well today - without college educations. I did essentially the same thing, Army Infantry from 1969 to 1971, GI Bill to finish my flight training, and then lucrative professional pilot positions all paying $10.00 an hour or less. In 1975, the Oil Embargo finally conviced me I was not going to be able to raise my family as a professional pilot - that and the fact that my wife taped the Deputy Sheriff position announcement on the wall across from the toilet. My wife was a Marine Corps brat so she also came up the hard way. Never-the-less, we felt it was important to give our children a college eduation and at least the opportunity to make a life choice, rather than allowing life to decide for them. It was tough - like buying a small car a year for eight years - and we could not have done it if she had not gone back to college herself and to work after graduation. I grunted it out and did the best I could with the Sheriff's Office - which in the long run has placed us in a better position than my retired United Captain buddy. So, in short, we are glad that we were able to provide our children with college educations - but, my life experience has taught me, you don't have to have a college degree to succeed, but you must have motivation, recognize your responsibilities, and and possess a positive attitude.

[Kyle Wolfe]

As others have said, there's no right/wrong approach.....

My mother was a college grad (over 60 years ago) who felt it right for her kids to go to college. My father was an uneducated independent business man who thought it also made sense to go to college, but to earn one's way. His message to me was that if I paid for college he would pay for my flight instruction. I worked summer jobs building grain bins and finished college in 3 & 1/2 years paying my way. And I got my pilot's license too!

Looking back, my father was quite smart when offering me that challenge. We both got something far more important than the paper certificates - we got the satisfaction of earning something we wanted. That's a lesson that's not shared enough today.

And just a couple of days ago I had the chance to take the individual who was my dad's partner in the airplane I used for learning how to fly (it was a 48 C170 and I was in college back in 1978). My dad's friend, Forry, is now 88 and had not flown in years. We were no more than off the ground and he commented "Gosh, I forgot how wonderful this is and how beautiful it all looks". He flew for almost 2 hours and we had a ball. I asked him "What would ever posses you to allow your partner's young college kid to learn how to fly in your airplane?" He just smiled and said "That's just how it was and that's what friends do". I told him that we'd go fly anytime he wants.

Thanks Dad for the education you provided!

[W.J.Langholz]

Maybe it's just the "M.E. and E.E." classes but 1 class for this next semester the books and lab fees alone were over $1,000 bucks, thats aside from the tuition fee at a public college and as I said that's just 1 class.
I don't know what wages for college students are in your area but in this economy in our area 10 bucks and hour gross is top wage, now that's about 3 weeks of work for just the books and lab fees , (for 1 class)........back in the early 70's when I went i had atleast half a chance to make enough during the summer to pay for most of school and took a student loan for the rest....not the case anymore.

Ya I know I heard all the stories and lived some myself....had to walk 3 miles to and from school everyday and it was uphill both ways.....during the winter the snow was as high as the telephone poles....(what's a telephone pole ) yada yada yada and no it didn't hurt me none but just becuase it "Was" doesn't mean it "Has to Be Again" If I have a finacial stake in my son's education I will be taking and active role and continue to coach him in life. If he pays the other half then he will learn the value of the dollar spent.

However one chooses ....the most important thing is to give encouragement and support (by what ever means) in whatever they decide to pursue in life and enjoy every moment.....life is short........

All that being said...a new tube and tire for that 170 isn't all that spendy

"History" serious.....


W.