Jessa, Ben and Their Brood: Making a (Diaper) Mountain out of a Mold House

[babyhouseman]

On 11/24/2020 at 3:12 PM, Nysha said:

I don't think Bin is racist,

I wonder if he's still friends with Flame. 

[SMama]

2 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

Just an FYI but Jordan was on RFP's lastest podcast and she confirmed that Bin is the head teacher at the TTH.  

How proud must Pa Seewald feel. He sold his kid into eternal slavery to JB because he thought he’ll get more hits on his blog.

Nothing wrong with teaching but Ben once upon a time had ambition.

[emmawoodhouse]

Not going to watch the video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CICP0O7jVeI/?igshid=4l2mgntm2i2y

Edited November 26, 2020 by emmawoodhouse

[Nysha]

2 minutes ago, emmawoodhouse said:

No it going to watch the video.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CICP0O7jVeI/?igshid=4l2mgntm2i2y

It's mostly some still shots set to music. Siah and Lauren came up with an idea to have a fall festival/Duggar County Fair with pie eating, skillet tossing, and other 1900's farming fun. It's actually kind of creative, so I'm sure Lauren did most of the thinking for it. Too bad we're in the middle of a pandemic and this is exactly the type of family super spreader event we're supposed to be avoiding.

[farmgal4]

2 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

Just an FYI but Jordan was on RFP's lastest podcast and she confirmed that Bin is the head teacher at the TTH.  

He has to be miserable. 

[BitterApple]

If we weren't in the middle of a pandemic, the fall festival would've been a cute idea. In the current environment, it's pretty stupid.

[Nysha]

7 minutes ago, farmgal4 said:

He has to be miserable. 

I think it depends on how much autonomy he has. If he has JB, Michelle, Jana, Anna, and Josh wandering in and out, making changes, and criticizing how he's teaching, then he is probably miserable. But if he's able to set the agenda and he can keep the rest of the family away while they're doing school, he might not be that unhappy. And since he's more educated than the Duggars, the Lost Girls and the grandkids have a better chance at being able to read above a fifth grade level.

[iwantcookies]

1 hour ago, SMama said:

How proud must Pa Seewald feel. He sold his kid into eternal slavery to JB because he thought he’ll get more hits on his blog.

Nothing wrong with teaching but Ben once upon a time had ambition.

And now JB pawned off Justin who is as young as Ben was. These parents are fools.

[DangerousMinds]

copied from FB:
 

https://youtu.be/8ohGCWWo7rk

Jessas latest vlog featuring practically everyone including Kendras family & I think Laurens Dad. 

For those who don’t care to watch -

1) Not one person wearing a mask
2) Hinting Jed might be courting someone (mentions a sweetheart)
3) Lauren Duggar wearing Jeans at the big house (yay!) 
4) Jana holding all the babies as per. 
5) kite making, pie eating & candy apple making.
6)the kids are singing on a haystack tractor ride and Kendras dad leading them in prayer toward the end.

Edited November 26, 2020 by DangerousMinds

[riverblue22]

Bin is probably a better teacher than any of those Duggar girls had.  He could have a whole career ahead of him with all of those grandchildren that can be dropped off at the Duggar "school."  Too bad he will never have the guts to try teaching at a real school--where he could also be a coach.

[BigBingerBro]

26 minutes ago, riverblue22 said:

He could have a whole career ahead of him with all of those grandchildren that can be dropped off at the Duggar "school."

I just thought that he most likely teaches the M kids too.  Anna has a pretty cushy life in the warehouse Annex.  Now I know how she has the time for all that braiding and matchy-matchy effort with the clothing.

[dargosmydaddy]

45 minutes ago, riverblue22 said:

where he could also be a coach.

Hey, maybe the deluge of girl babies (who of course could never be interested in playing organized athletics.../s) will be followed by a string of boys, and Ben could coach a Duggar super-team. 

Seriously, though, maybe he could get involved in some kind of youth coaching when Spurgeon and Henry are old enough to be interested in peewee football or Little League or whatever. Probably Jessa would never let that happen, but you never know.

[PikaScrewChu]

1 hour ago, DangerousMinds said:

copied from FB:
 

https://youtu.be/8ohGCWWo7rk

Jessas latest vlog featuring practically everyone including Kendras family & I think Laurens Dad. 

For those who don’t care to watch -

1) Not one person wearing a mask
2) Hinting Jed might be courting someone (mentions a sweetheart)
3) Lauren Duggar wearing Jeans at the big house (yay!) 
4) Jana holding all the babies as per. 
5) kite making, pie eating & candy apple making.
6)the kids are singing on a haystack tractor ride and Kendras dad leading them in prayer toward the end.

So the over/under on when the next courtship will be announced?

I thought it was Jer courting tho?

[iwantcookies]

1 hour ago, riverblue22 said:

Bin is probably a better teacher than any of those Duggar girls had.  He could have a whole career ahead of him with all of those grandchildren that can be dropped off at the Duggar "school."  Too bad he will never have the guts to try teaching at a real school--where he could also be a coach.

To be a teacher in a public school he needs a master degree. No chance he will do all that education.

[emmawoodhouse]

1 hour ago, riverblue22 said:

Bin is probably a better teacher than any of those Duggar girls had.  He could have a whole career ahead of him with all of those grandchildren that can be dropped off at the Duggar "school."  Too bad he will never have the guts to try teaching at a real school--where he could also be a coach.

Arkansas doesn't even require a teaching credential. Just a bachelor's. Moody is accredited, so Ben's covered there. His only drawback is not having a major conducive to education.

Edited November 26, 2020 by emmawoodhouse

[Zella]

3 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

Arkansas doesn't even require a teaching credential. 

I don't believe that's true. Or, I should say, there's quite a bit of extenuating circumstances around people without credentials teaching. 

You can work on your certificate while teaching, technically, but I'm not aware of the state just letting people who don't have one or who are not actively working on a certificate teach. 

I was actually just talking to someone about this a couple of weeks ago. If you don't have an education bachelor's and a certificate, then none of the good school districts are interested in allowing you to work for them while you earn your certificate. They don't care if you have an MA (which the person I was talking to had), let alone a bachelor's. They snap up education majors with certifications who are already ready to go. 

As I mentioned, there is a way to get licensed while working in the classroom technically--it takes a year or two--but most school districts aren't interested, and apparently you don't get very far in the hiring process that way. If you do, you're either being looked at by the not-great districts that are desperate for warm bodies OR it's a charter/private school. 

A lot of the NWA metro school districts are considered quite good. Bentonville and Fayetteville schools in particular are consistently considered some of the best in the state. The area also has a readymade supply of all those U of A education majors. So, I don't think Ben has a chance in hell of being hired at one of the public schools or any of the good charter schools with his Moody bachelor's.

Here's actually the website for alternate certification: http://dese.ade.arkansas.gov/divisions/educator effectiveness/becoming-a-teacher-or-school-leader/become-an-arkansas-teacher/alternative-routes-to-licensure There are multiple paths to getting one of those certifications, but I don't see any indication that someone without a certificate who was not participating would be allowed to teach. 

This doesn't count substitute teaching.

 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Zella

[iwantcookies]

What college degrees does Ben have?

[SMama]

41 minutes ago, iwantcookies said:

What college degrees does Ben have?

Bible studies and depending on JB for life.

I think his Community College degree was in political science or business.

[GeeGolly]

I wonder how Jessa makes her decisions on when to post what. Michelle is shown in the IG post and we know she's been in LA for at least a few days.

We know Jessa likes to grab the attention back when its focused elsewhere, so did she wait until EJ was born?

[Churchhoney]

On 11/24/2020 at 3:12 PM, Nysha said:

I don't think Bin is racist, I think he is extremely intolerant of other religions. It wouldn't surprise me if TLC put a bug in JB's ear, who multiplied it for Jessa's ear, who then passed it on to Bin that they needed to be a bit more subtle because they were trying to pass for actual Christians, not bigoted morons.

I do think one of the major reality hammers for Derick and Bin were how much of their "truth" would have to be whitewashed for the show. Bin had to be cautioned not to spill, in front of the camera, all the hateful beliefs prevalent in their bubble. Derick had to film the lie about their dating/courting timeline and follow their courtship rules that he's still not willing to come out and say are damned stupid for a grown-ass man to follow. 

This seems right to me.

The only one I see having been a happy TeeVee hypocrite from the beginning is Jeremy. And he's managed to fool pretty much everybody into believing that whitewashed Jer is real.

But really, as we've said before, all the marryers in are pretty much the same when it comes to their various beloved bigotries and stone age beliefs, like their views of women.

Unlike the tv audience, they didn't get fooled into hooking up with completely intolerant idiots when they ran to the Duggars. They saw from afar that that's what the Duggars were -- and the Duggars were FAMOUS!!!! too!!!  (and rich???) -- and they flew to them like iron filings to a 100-tesla magnet. 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Churchhoney

[Churchhoney]

Wonder how much they pay Bin for doing all this teaching. He's got one family in there with no breadwinners, so I assume the Joshley clan attends free. And of course we know how generous JB and M are, and how much they value education.......

I suppose they just shove to Bin as much money as they figure he and his family require to live on.....But the financial arrangements will likely change when all the actual Duggarlings are done with their nonschooling schooling, I expect.  wonder what'll happen to Bin's "salary" when it's only third-generation kids in the "school"? ... 

Mike Seewald sold his son to be a house-elf, in exchange for fame for Dad that never happened.

"I was sold into house slavery by my father and all I got was this lousy sex with Jessa." 

Edited November 26, 2020 by Churchhoney

[SMama]

39 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Wonder how much they pay Bin for doing all this teaching. He's got one family in there with no breadwinners, so I assume the Joshley clan attends free. And of course we know how generous JB and M are, and how much they value education.......

I suppose they just shove to Bin as much money as they figure he and his family require to live on.....But the financial arrangements will likely change when all the actual Duggarlings are done with their nonschooling schooling, I expect.  wonder what'll happen to Bin's "salary" when it's only third-generation kids in the "school"? ... 

Mike Seewald sold his son to be a house-elf, in exchange for fame for Dad that never happened. "I was sold into house slavery by my father and all I got was this lousy sex with Jessa." 

Wish I could ❤️ and 😂 at this a thousand times for each.

[ozziemom]

42 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

Wonder how much they pay Bin for doing all this teaching. He's got one family in there with no breadwinners, so I assume the Joshley clan attends free. And of course we know how generous JB and M are, and how much they value education.......

I suppose they just shove to Bin as much money as they figure he and his family require to live on.....But the financial arrangements will likely change when all the actual Duggarlings are done with their nonschooling schooling, I expect.  wonder what'll happen to Bin's "salary" when it's only third-generation kids in the "school"? ... 

Mike Seewald sold his son to be a house-elf, in exchange for fame for Dad that never happened. "I was sold into house slavery by my father and all I got was this lousy sex with Jessa." 

So Jordyn said Bin was the head teacher, does that mean there are other teachers? That he is the boss of? No wonder Jessa has never mentioned any of this. Very strange. It sounds right that the Seewald family probably just receives whatever they need for their bills. And Boob is the one in charge of doling out the $$. School doesn’t seem to run on any kind of schedule either.

[crazy8s]

Jessa and Bin seem to spend a bunch of money - so I don't think JB is too stingy with them. Jessa shops at the giant children's clothing thrift store fairly often, posts her amazon purchases, sent mom and dad seewald on a trip etc. Probably no mortgage, cars from Jed they surely don't pay for and all.

My guess is JB will keep paying Bin to keep up the illusion of their superior home schooling/fooling for the next generation. He doesn't want any more of them following Jill and Derick;'s lead and sending their kids to the evil public schools. It would make JB and Meech look like they failed and their kids picked something better

[dargosmydaddy]

1 hour ago, ozziemom said:

So Jordyn said Bin was the head teacher, does that mean there are other teachers?

Well, we know Jana teaches watercolors!

Didn't Laura used to "teach" at the Duggar house, too? Or am I thinking of someone else? I would imagine one of the older girls still does music lessons, if that's considered part of "school." Maybe whoever happens to be visiting at the time gives guest lessons. I doubt anything is very organized, and they probably still do the one-sized-fits-all lessons. I wonder if the current Duggar students know about "perpendicular"?

10 hours ago, iwantcookies said:

To be a teacher in a public school he needs a master degree.

That's definitely not a requirement in all states, and as others have mentioned, there are alternate route programs to get accredited. And honestly he'd probably be better suited for a private school or charter school job anyway, and those would still pay more than Duggar Academy. But I don't see Ben having the gumption to make that move (which would either require permission from Jessa and JB, or defying them), so yeah, I don't think he'll ever be a "real" teacher rather than House-Elf-Educator-in-Chief. 

[lascuba]

13 hours ago, Nysha said:

I think it depends on how much autonomy he has. If he has JB, Michelle, Jana, Anna, and Josh wandering in and out, making changes, and criticizing how he's teaching, then he is probably miserable. But if he's able to set the agenda and he can keep the rest of the family away while they're doing school, he might not be that unhappy. And since he's more educated than the Duggars, the Lost Girls and the grandkids have a better chance at being able to read above a fifth grade level.

No way any of them care that much about the kids' educations. As long as there are copious mentions of Jesus, they'll leave him alone. And considering he graduated from Moody, I'm guessing he primarily teaches religion.

2 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

Wonder how much they pay Bin for doing all this teaching. He's got one family in there with no breadwinners, so I assume the Joshley clan attends free. And of course we know how generous JB and M are, and how much they value education.......

I suppose they just shove to Bin as much money as they figure he and his family require to live on.....But the financial arrangements will likely change when all the actual Duggarlings are done with their nonschooling schooling, I expect.  wonder what'll happen to Bin's "salary" when it's only third-generation kids in the "school"? ... 

Mike Seewald sold his son to be a house-elf, in exchange for fame for Dad that never happened.

"I was sold into house slavery by my father and all I got was this lousy sex with Jessa." 

Yeah, I just can't see them paying Ben much for teaching. They're used to having random fundies come to the house to teach for free--the Query girl, Tabitha Paine, etc. JB would balk at having to start paying anyone to teach.

[ozziemom]

And I’m sure Bin gives them plenty of Bible passages to copy and memorize. That qualifies as higher education in TTH

[louannems]

2 hours ago, crazy8s said:

Jessa and Bin seem to spend a bunch of money - so I don't think JB is too stingy with them. Jessa shops at the giant children's clothing thrift store fairly often, posts her amazon purchases, sent mom and dad seewald on a trip etc. Probably no mortgage, cars from Jed they surely don't pay for and all.

My guess is JB will keep paying Bin to keep up the illusion of their superior home schooling/fooling for the next generation. He doesn't want any more of them following Jill and Derick;'s lead and sending their kids to the evil public schools. It would make JB and Meech look like they failed and their kids picked something better

What irritates me so much is how how all the Duggerlings drive nice SUVs with no jobs.  When we were busy raising our kids, both working full time, and still we were always broke in those early years of marriage.  We seemed to spend so much money on car insurance, health care insurance, and life insurance, and house insurance, none of which I'm sure the Duggerlings pay for.

[SMama]

1 hour ago, louannems said:

What irritates me so much is how how all the Duggerlings drive nice SUVs with no jobs.  When we were busy raising our kids, both working full time, and still we were always broke in those early years of marriage.  We seemed to spend so much money on car insurance, health care insurance, and life insurance, and house insurance, none of which I'm sure the Duggerlings pay for.

Ben and Jessa appear to share an older model mini van. Not to negate your point. I’ve been curious as to why. 

[crazy8s]

31 minutes ago, SMama said:

Ben and Jessa appear to share an older model mini van. Not to negate your point. I’ve been curious as to why. 

they all drive older model vehicles for the most part. (public record, personal property tax) Cars JB or a howler bought at an auction filtered through Jed's Champion Motor Cars is my guess there. Justin, aka Dudley Dooright certainly got his from Jed and left a review. Justin's truck showed as one of Jed's sold vehicles for a while. I never thought to look, or cared enough to look, if most of Jed's "sold" vehicles were the vehicles his siblings have .

[Nysha]

Plus, the Duggars do work. TLC is not paying them to pretend to be interesting out of the goodness of their hearts. They're getting paid by TLC to be filmed in a scripted reality show or at least TLC pays JB and he distributes it so everyone has enough money to pay bills, get manicures, and buy lattes. TLC is obviously making enough money from Counting On to continue renewing it. I personally don't think what they do is worth what they make, but I also don't think what Elon Musk does is worth what he makes. It's all just a matter of scale. 

[GeeGolly]

Do we know for sure that Jessa and Ben only have one car? 

Not including the Dillard's brief housesitting stint in the Mcmansion, only Josh and Anna have lived in any type of expensive home, until they starting hiding their assets from lawsuits. Well, and Grandma Mary too, for a few years.

So it seems they all prefer to save money on homes and cars, to have money to spend elsewhere. 

I do wonder when the Seewalds will move though. They've outgrown the home they have now.

[SMama]

12 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

Do we know for sure that Jessa and Ben only have one car? 

I do wonder when the Seewalds will move though. They've outgrown the home they have now.

I don’t have personal knowledge about sharing the van. It’s why I said it appears they do. Unlike Derick and Jill who post pictures in different vehicles, I’ve only seen that same white van in pictures.

Perhaps the Seewalds are competing with the Paines as to how many kids they can cram into a two bedroom home.

[Zella]

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

Do we know for sure that Jessa and Ben only have one car? 

Not including the Dillard's brief housesitting stint in the Mcmansion, only Josh and Anna have lived in any type of expensive home, until they starting hiding their assets from lawsuits. Well, and Grandma Mary too, for a few years.

So it seems they all prefer to save money on homes and cars, to have money to spend elsewhere. 

I do wonder when the Seewalds will move though. They've outgrown the home they have now.

Personal property tax is a public record in Arkansas. According to that, they only have a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. But 2015-2019 records also show a 2001 Toyota Tacoma, so it looks like the one vehicle state is new. They may well have acquired something else, but it won't pop up until next year. The vehicles are only in Ben's name. Jessa does not seem to have ever assessed a vehicle.

Clarification: usually a married couple's property assessment comes up under both names. The fact it is only Ben's name stands out to me and makes me think the vehicles are only registered to him. 

[SMama]

2 minutes ago, Zella said:

Personal property tax is a public record in Arkansas. According to that, they only have a 2011 Dodge Grand Caravan. But 2015-2019 records also show a 2001 Toyota Tacoma, so it looks like the one vehicle state is new. They may well have acquired something else, but it won't pop up until next year. The vehicles are only in Ben's name. Jessa does not seem to have ever assessed a vehicle.

Could the Tacoma be the red truck Ben had when he moved in with the Duggars? Weird that Jessa is not on the van tittle. She does know she and JB own the poor guy so maybe she doesn’t care.

[Zella]

3 minutes ago, SMama said:

Could the Tacoma be the red truck Ben had when he moved in with the Duggars? Weird that Jessa is not on the van tittle. She does know she and JB own the poor guy so maybe she doesn’t care.

It doesn't list colors, but I suspect you are right. 

[madpsych78]

At about 14:20 in the video is a girl with shoulder-length brown hair who I don't recognize as a Duggar, a Caldwell, or a Swanson, nor is it Emily...and she's standing not far from Jed.

[xwordfanatik]

9 minutes ago, madpsych78 said:

At about 14:20 in the video is a girl with shoulder-length brown hair who I don't recognize as a Duggar, a Caldwell, or a Swanson, nor is it Emily...and she's standing not far from Jed.

I didn't watch.  Since it was Lauren's idea, was it perhaps one of her friends?  Is she a matchmaker, like when Benessa fixed up Jin and RFP?

Jed is NOT the twin I'd go for.  He appears like a smug asshat.  Jeremiah is much better looking, without the smug face of his twin.

[emmawoodhouse]

I think it might be Katey Nakatsu (sp?). There was a pumpkin painted with her name on it.

Edited November 28, 2020 by emmawoodhouse

[GeeGolly]

12 hours ago, emmawoodhouse said:

I think it might be Katey Nakatsu (sp?). There was a pumpkin painted with her name on it.

https://www.nakatsus.com/author/katey/

All these families are interconnected. Abbie's family and the Wallers are in the Big Sandy pictures.

[GeeGolly]

At around the 23 minute mark in Jessa's video, Michelle is sitting across from someone and they're both wiping their eyes like they were crying. Can anyone figure out who she's talking too?

[Churchhoney]

I'm so glad Bin'll never get the chance to destroy the education of anybody's kids other than the Duggarlings, whose education is destroyed anyway, simply by their parents' attitude toward it. 

I was a teacher for a long time, and in my experience kids don't benefit from having ignorant idiots teach them, no matter how "nice' and "fun" those people may be -- because it models for them a really really bad way to live in the world.  And it turns them off to the things that schools are there to teach, i.e., how to use your brain and how to become skilled at things. 

Kids don't even like having ignorant idiots teaching them -- even the "nice" and "fun" ones. Because ignorant idiots make things of the mind, no matter how simple or how important, confusing and dull. Hours of confusing, dull lessons do nothing but school haters make. 

We saw in his preaching-on-the-internet days how incapable Bin is of expressing or explaining virtually anything in an understandable way. I have no doubt that his "teaching" is exactly the same. He's certainly paid tons more attention to his biblical stuff than he has to anything else he'd be "teaching" at the SOTDRT. So I'd hate to hear him try to explain long division or prepositional phrases or the water cycle.

I suppose all this makes him an ideal "teacher" in JB's and M's eyes, though, just as I guess Jessa was. Having your teacher spout boring, impenetrable crap all day is a recipe for making kids hate anything to do with education, and that's certainly their parents' goal. So, yay, Bin. You've found your rightful place in the world of education. 

Edited November 30, 2020 by Churchhoney

[ginger90]

2 pictures:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIOqvlRrCqI/?hl=en

[Oldernowiser]

3 hours ago, ginger90 said:

2 pictures:

 

https://www.instagram.com/p/CIOqvlRrCqI/?hl=en

Christ that’s terrifying.

6 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

At around the 23 minute mark in Jessa's video, Michelle is sitting across from someone and they're both wiping their eyes like they were crying. Can anyone figure out who she's talking too?

Her Valium connection?

[Bridget]

8 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

I'm so glad Bin'll never get the chance to destroy the education of anybody's kids other than the Duggarlings, whose education is destroyed anyway, simply by their parents' attitude toward it. 

I was a teacher for a long time, and in my experience kids don't benefit from having ignorant idiots teach them, no matter how "nice' and "fun" those people may be -- because it models for them a really really bad way to live in the world.  And it turns them off to the things that schools are there to teach, i.e., how to use your brain and how to become skilled at things. 

Kids don't even like having ignorant idiots teaching them -- even the "nice" and "fun" ones. Because ignorant idiots make things of the mind, no matter how simple or how important, confusing and dull. Hours of confusing, dull lessons do nothing but school haters make. 

We saw in his preaching-on-the-internet days how incapable Bin is of expressing or explaining virtually anything in an understandable way. I have no doubt that his "teaching" is exactly the same. He's certainly paid tons more attention to his biblical stuff than he has to anything else he'd be "teaching" at the SOTDRT. So I'd hate to hear him try to explain long division or prepositional phrases or the water cycle.

I suppose all this makes him an ideal "teacher" in JB's and M's eyes, though, just as I guess Jessa was. Having your teacher spout boring, impenetrable crap all day is a recipe for making kids hate anything to do with education, and that's certainly their parents' goal. So, yay, Bin. You've found your rightful place in the world of education. 

I'm a teacher (I'm credentialed K-12, but 8th grade English is my absolute favorite class to teach!) and I love every single word of your post.

I'm the first teacher to bend over backwards to accommodate a student if they truly are in need of XYZ, but I'm also really strict when it comes to things like deadlines and student behavior. I'm not mean by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always had really high expectations for my students. It's my job to set them up for success just as it is to teach them to eradicate the word "like" from their vocabulary.  I am fully aware that there are students who don't like me because I require them to do awful and horrible things like participating in class (!!!!!!!!) and turn off their cell phones (!!!!!!!!!!), but I've never been so proud to be the recipient of many letters that begin with, "Dear Miss __________, I wasn't a big fan of yours at the beginning of the year, but now that it's June,......"

Damn straight! I'm so proud! :)

Students need/crave boundaries, structure and routines. Lord knows they have 5-6 other teachers during the day who are pushovers, so I take my responsibility as an educator really seriously. Anecdotal evidence has proven that students of all ages appreciate and respect their teachers who weren't trying to be their BFFs. 

[Churchhoney]

11 hours ago, Bridget said:

I'm a teacher (I'm credentialed K-12, but 8th grade English is my absolute favorite class to teach!) and I love every single word of your post.

I'm the first teacher to bend over backwards to accommodate a student if they truly are in need of XYZ, but I'm also really strict when it comes to things like deadlines and student behavior. I'm not mean by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always had really high expectations for my students. It's my job to set them up for success just as it is to teach them to eradicate the word "like" from their vocabulary.  I am fully aware that there are students who don't like me because I require them to do awful and horrible things like participating in class (!!!!!!!!) and turn off their cell phones (!!!!!!!!!!), but I've never been so proud to be the recipient of many letters that begin with, "Dear Miss __________, I wasn't a big fan of yours at the beginning of the year, but now that it's June,......"

Damn straight! I'm so proud! 🙂

Students need/crave boundaries, structure and routines. Lord knows they have 5-6 other teachers during the day who are pushovers, so I take my responsibility as an educator really seriously. Anecdotal evidence has proven that students of all ages appreciate and respect their teachers who weren't trying to be their BFFs. 

I heartily agree. And congrats on those notes--those are so much the best kind! (I've never taught 8th-grade English. But 9th-grade English was one of my very favorite courses to teach. Kids around that age are especially ready to be excited by the world of language, I always found)

And it's not that I want to utterly disparage Bin. But likeable as the kids may find him, there's no way he isn't somewhat confused by and fearful of a lot of the subjects they're supposed to be learning, whether or not he realizes that's the case. And when you're a teacher those attitudes inevitably leak onto your students, even if you never openly express them. (Maybe especially if you don't openly express them, in fact...Pretending or imagining you understand something when you don't sends really horrible messages to kids, I think.)

All that being the case, there's no way Bin can ever give those kids any real sense of confidence in their intellectual abilities or encourage a passion for learning or for any "school subjects," in my opinion.

Now given what we see of Bin, I expect that he does try to build the confidence and passion, because he sort of feels them himself, and I think he does basically care about people and care about kids. But I've seen other enthusiastic but confused people try to teach. And unfortunately it seems to be their confusion and inner hesitance about what they're doing that actually come across. So they can end up sapping the kids' intellectual strength and drive to learn, even when they fully intend to do the opposite. 

It's not that I think academic subjects and intellectual activities are the only valuable things in the world, either. But they are one of the things the Duggarlings' parents deny their kids and actively disparage. So to have a blurry-minded guy like Bin as their only contact with academics just deprives them further. 

And I think learning something unsanctioned by Gothard, JB and M is one of the few possible doors for Duggar kids to escape through. So it's a shame there's so little chance of it happening. 

Edited December 1, 2020 by Churchhoney

[Tikichick]

On 11/25/2020 at 8:50 PM, Nysha said:

I think it depends on how much autonomy he has. If he has JB, Michelle, Jana, Anna, and Josh wandering in and out, making changes, and criticizing how he's teaching, then he is probably miserable. But if he's able to set the agenda and he can keep the rest of the family away while they're doing school, he might not be that unhappy. And since he's more educated than the Duggars, the Lost Girls and the grandkids have a better chance at being able to read above a fifth grade level.

The idea of Josh being in a position to oversee anyone more than a dog doing its business is beyond the pale.  Let alone, as you said, Ben is more educated.

I think Josh's brood is possibly the most significant portion of the student body and is likely to be for the foreseeable future.  If Josh is wandering in and out it should be for checking to see if the trash needs emptying or if Ben needs some coffee or water or such.

Edited December 1, 2020 by Tikichick

[Tikichick]

On 11/25/2020 at 10:13 PM, DangerousMinds said:

copied from FB:
 

https://youtu.be/8ohGCWWo7rk

Jessas latest vlog featuring practically everyone including Kendras family & I think Laurens Dad. 

For those who don’t care to watch -

1) Not one person wearing a mask
2) Hinting Jed might be courting someone (mentions a sweetheart)
3) Lauren Duggar wearing Jeans at the big house (yay!) 
4) Jana holding all the babies as per. 
5) kite making, pie eating & candy apple making.
6)the kids are singing on a haystack tractor ride and Kendras dad leading them in prayer toward the end.

Have to say, this is far better organized, and clearly much more genuinely enjoyed by the family than almost anything I can think of that's been scripted for the TLC show(s).   Makes you wonder if Lauren might not have found her way to happy fulfillment if allowed to put those talents to use in a career instead of hitting a brick wall and flatlining in her early twenties with nothing but babies and housework for a future?  Maybe Lauren's mom was taking care of Lauren and Josiah's little one elsewhere, because she sure didn't make it into Jessa's video?

Goes without saying the ultimate organizational detail that was overlooked was holding this festival in the midst of a pandemic.   

Looks like Lauren may have monitored the caramel apple station until most everyone had had their fill and only the dregs were left.  Probably a very good idea with all of those little ones and the very social hygiene-ignorant Duggar siblings participating.

Very limited appearances by Joe and Kendra, and the one notable one was in very low light with a not smiling or particularly bubbly looking Kendra.  Every glimpse of their kids was with another family member.  Wonder if even grin and bear it Kendra is starting to get a bit rundown with two very young kids and a third already well on the way.  I'd want to run and keep running far, far away in her shoes.

* petty detail -- it's kite decorating, not kite making if the kite parts all come prepackaged with kite ready to open, add string and fly.  Seems like Ben and Jessa should know this since it sounds like their kids are already used to kite making with garbage bags.    

**  even pettier gripe -- Of course the first thank you Jessa tried to feature was to JB.     

Edited December 1, 2020 by Tikichick

[DangerousMinds]

10 hours ago, Bridget said:

I'm a teacher (I'm credentialed K-12, but 8th grade English is my absolute favorite class to teach!) and I love every single word of your post.

I'm the first teacher to bend over backwards to accommodate a student if they truly are in need of XYZ, but I'm also really strict when it comes to things like deadlines and student behavior. I'm not mean by any stretch of the imagination, but I have always had really high expectations for my students. It's my job to set them up for success just as it is to teach them to eradicate the word "like" from their vocabulary.  I am fully aware that there are students who don't like me because I require them to do awful and horrible things like participating in class (!!!!!!!!) and turn off their cell phones (!!!!!!!!!!), but I've never been so proud to be the recipient of many letters that begin with, "Dear Miss __________, I wasn't a big fan of yours at the beginning of the year, but now that it's June,......"

Damn straight! I'm so proud! 🙂

Students need/crave boundaries, structure and routines. Lord knows they have 5-6 other teachers during the day who are pushovers, so I take my responsibility as an educator really seriously. Anecdotal evidence has proven that students of all ages appreciate and respect their teachers who weren't trying to be their BFFs. 

why wouldn’t all teachers require students to turn off their phones during class? I just don’t understand it. Thank you for being a great teacher!

[Nysha]

8 hours ago, Churchhoney said:

All that being the case, there's no way Bin can ever give those kids any real sense of confidence in their intellectual abilities or encourage a passion for learning or for any "school subjects," in my opinion.

I don't have any illusion that Bin is a master teacher who will inspire intellectual greatness from the younger Duggars. I do think that if he is good at keeping them on task, answering their questions, and providing enrichment activities, they're better off with him in charge than Jessa or Michelle. I can't see the Duggar adults who are living in JB's shadow sending their children to public or private school and I think they would be better served being homeschooled by Bin then by their mothers who are uneducated and distracted by caring for toddler siblings. And I think Bin would find more satisfaction in that responsibility then doing some make-work more suitable to Jackson and Tyler to provide for his family. 

In a rational world Bin would have finished college before marrying Jessa, working at a job that came with a real paycheck, and their children would be enrolled in an actual school, as would the other Duggar grandchildren.  In the Duggar world this is probably going to be as good as it gets.