The Duggars and Their World: Fashion, Food, Finance, Schoolin’ and Child Rearin'

[Tikichick]

1 hour ago, GeeGolly said:

I know in the past I underestimated what TLC pays the Duggars, but when looking at casts of other reality shows, including the Bates, it made me think the Duggars get paid very well by TLC.

My theory is JB doles out the TLC income to the adult kids after he takes his cut. Money made elsewhere is JBs alone. JB has always made money in real estate, even before TLC came along. I think he encourages the sons to invest their TLC money in a business, like a car lot or real estate, to try and grow their TLC money, but whether they make money is on them.

Because JB is a known tightwad, I think any money he makes through real estate, rents, his cell phone tower, etc, is not used to support anyone not living in the TTH.

Going on my gut, I think JD and Joe have a more realistic picture of the future without TLC, and maybe even Jessa too. But when Counting On gets canceled I think we'll see a dramatic difference in how all the Duggars live.

I suspect part of the scheme JB has going on is the longer he hangs onto any portion of the TLC money he can keep it working to turn a profit for himself, which of course none of the offspring have any right to because he would consider that rightfully his, product of the sweat of his brow and/or his business prowess.

Interesting that rarely do you see a mention of the real estate he was gifted and/or inherited from his parents, real estate that he had absolute control over.   I wonder, can his offspring say the same about any piece of property or LLC they have?     

[GeeGolly]

4 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

I suspect part of the scheme JB has going on is the longer he hangs onto any portion of the TLC money he can keep it working to turn a profit for himself, which of course none of the offspring have any right to because he would consider that rightfully his, product of the sweat of his brow and/or his business prowess.

Interesting that rarely do you see a mention of the real estate he was gifted and/or inherited from his parents, real estate that he had absolute control over.   I wonder, can his offspring say the same about any piece of property or LLC they have?     

I didn't know JB's parents gifted him real estate. I thought Mary was buying and selling right up until she died. As far as inheritance - JB and M are still living so that is yet to be seen.

[Tikichick]

11 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

I didn't know JB's parents gifted him real estate. I thought Mary was buying and selling right up until she died. As far as inheritance - JB and M are still living so that is yet to be seen.

I've seen discussion before of properties JB was gifted by his mother, as well as his overseeing certain properties for his mother despite the fact she still had an apparent active role in certain properties she owned also.  

I wasn't referencing properties that his children have inherited, I was referencing properties he has ostensibly transferred to them and/or LLCs that have been established in their names.  When it comes down to it, how much agency does any one of them have to unilaterally make decisions about a property or an LLC without JB's approval or oversight?   Practically, by letter of the law they probably can do much more than they either understand or feel free to do, because I suspect they understand displeasing JB puts other things at risk for them.  

IMO they're all hostage to his neverending headship.

[Minivanessa]

2 hours ago, GeeGolly said:

Below is another quote from the blog. I'm thinking Jill didn't CLEP-out of as many classes as she thought she would.

"After I’ve CLEPped out of all the classes I can, I’ll be transferring in to a local fully accredited nursing school to complete my degree."

Bringing this over from the Jill topic since it's not mostly about Jill. 

Jill's statement of her nursing ambitions is such an interesting blast from the past. It seems so incongruent with what we hear are the Duggars' views on education, that Jill would think, much less publicly talk, about going to school to study nursing. Of course, the poor child was woefully ignorant of what that kind of education would actually be like as compared to the homeschooling she had experienced. But she was allowed not only to think about it and talk about it at home but to go public. Hmm.

I don't know a lot about homeschooling in general, but I think of homeschoolers as being in one or the other of two categories. One is the "alternative to all or part of K-12,"  meaning the homeschooling parent(s) intend for their kids to get a solid education that's the equivalent of the typical US high school student, and the kids if so inclined will be positioned to continue their education by enrolling in some college or university or trade school. I suppose parents in this category are also more likely to have the kids participate in organized athletics or other activities that provide socialization and interaction outside the home.

The other category is the "keeping the kids apart from the evil world" type. IMO these parents are probably more religion-driven or may just be eccentric [or nuts] and want to keep the kids at home under their control. I view the Duggars as falling into this category, with all their rules. We never heard about any Duggar kid participating in organized athletics, not even Little League, etc. I was surprised to see young Jill's stated aspirations since the show and the Duggars' public statements always seemed to emphasize how isolated and "protected" they kept their kids. Who couldn't leave the house without an accountability partner - even an 17 year old with a drivers' license couldn't make a quick grocery store run alone. I don't see this type of parent as open to any child going to college, university, or any type of training for a trade or skill. I assume Jill got her idea about going to nursing school from the people she encountered when hanging out with the midwives. I can't see either of her parents encouraging her to pursue that option. 

Of course by now I should know that if a Duggar's mouth is moving they are probably lying about something, especially when talking to any of us heathens.  So it's hard to know what JB and Meech really think about education for their kids. From their actions it seems to me that they seemed happy to dump the responsibility for homeschooling on the older daughters before the J'slaves got married, and after the GED got harder no Duggar child has obtained one. In practice it seems they did a piss poor homeschooling job although I think the older kids did get GEDs. Sigh.

[Churchhoney]

2 hours ago, Jeeves said:

Bringing this over from the Jill topic since it's not mostly about Jill. 

Jill's statement of her nursing ambitions is such an interesting blast from the past. It seems so incongruent with what we hear are the Duggars' views on education, that Jill would think, much less publicly talk, about going to school to study nursing. Of course, the poor child was woefully ignorant of what that kind of education would actually be like as compared to the homeschooling she had experienced. But she was allowed not only to think about it and talk about it at home but to go public. Hmm.

I don't know a lot about homeschooling in general, but I think of homeschoolers as being in one or the other of two categories. One is the "alternative to all or part of K-12,"  meaning the homeschooling parent(s) intend for their kids to get a solid education that's the equivalent of the typical US high school student, and the kids if so inclined will be positioned to continue their education by enrolling in some college or university or trade school. I suppose parents in this category are also more likely to have the kids participate in organized athletics or other activities that provide socialization and interaction outside the home.

The other category is the "keeping the kids apart from the evil world" type. IMO these parents are probably more religion-driven or may just be eccentric [or nuts] and want to keep the kids at home under their control. I view the Duggars as falling into this category, with all their rules. We never heard about any Duggar kid participating in organized athletics, not even Little League, etc. I was surprised to see young Jill's stated aspirations since the show and the Duggars' public statements always seemed to emphasize how isolated and "protected" they kept their kids. Who couldn't leave the house without an accountability partner - even an 17 year old with a drivers' license couldn't make a quick grocery store run alone. I don't see this type of parent as open to any child going to college, university, or any type of training for a trade or skill. I assume Jill got her idea about going to nursing school from the people she encountered when hanging out with the midwives. I can't see either of her parents encouraging her to pursue that option. 

Of course by now I should know that if a Duggar's mouth is moving they are probably lying about something, especially when talking to any of us heathens.  So it's hard to know what JB and Meech really think about education for their kids. From their actions it seems to me that they seemed happy to dump the responsibility for homeschooling on the older daughters before the J'slaves got married, and after the GED got harder no Duggar child has obtained one. In practice it seems they did a piss poor homeschooling job although I think the older kids did get GEDs. Sigh.

My feeling is that she probably said this stuff back in the days when JB was getting paid (I assume) for putting the fam out there as a bit of an advertiser and influencer for College Plus....I mean, that's where all the talk about getting college credit for stuff you've already done comes in, and so on. 

They had the kids all talking about this on video and so on. Their plans and what they were studying. But obviously (to me, anyway) JB was just doing it for money -- he never intended for any of it to happen. 

I don't think Jill knew it was just for money, though. And I'm pretty sure she hoped and intended to actually do these things.....Not sure about the other kids. It was mostly girls who were the older ones at this point and potentially more like college students -- and the other older daughters have seemed a lot less interested in learning stuff than Jill was, to me, anyway...But they did appear on video talking about what they were doing in line with the College Plus spiel, as did some of the younger kids, like Josiah, who definitely talked about his plans to get a degree.

And Der certainly believed the stuff that Jill had said. That's the wife he thought he was getting -- and the wife who might conceivably have been able to hack the official SBC missionary education requirements. But the wife he got came from the family where nobody would ever be permitted to get more education than their parents. An early contributor to his disillusion and bitterness about JB, I would think. 

There was a lot of excited talk about all the Duggars and their college plans around that time -- like this -- 

https://www.duggarfamilyblog.com/2011/04/college-degrees-for-jana-and-john-david.html

And I guess they continued yapping about this much more recently, too, to some degree. Although maybe Meechelle was just drugged and delusional and not remembering that numerous years had passed since they advertised CollegPlus when she said this, allegedly around 2018    https://celebrityinsider.org/do-the-duggars-go-to-college-what-the-counting-on-stars-do-for-education-140879/

'Whatever the reasons, Michelle recently opened up about her kids taking classes through College Plus and admitted that some of them are seeking a degree. “A few of our kids are taking courses right now, and I think some of them will go for their degrees in whichever areas they decide,” Michelle explained, adding that many of them probably won’t go on to receive a full degree.'

CollegePlus is now Unbound, by the way.....I guess the rebrand no longer applies to Duggars since they've now clearly been utterly and completely bound for such a long time that even JB and M don't pretend otherwise -- 

https://beunbound.us/

Edited May 12, 2021 by Churchhoney

[Minivanessa]

@Churchhoney - that makes sense. To explain what the Duggars do, follow the money. 

[MargeGunderson]

The cynical part of me (which means all of me) wonders if they were proclaiming their college interests publicly in hopes that some appropriate school would offer them free tuition. 

[GeeGolly]

20 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

My feeling is that she probably said this stuff back in the days when JB was getting paid (I assume) for putting the fam out there as a bit of an advertiser and influencer for College Plus....I mean, that's where all the talk about getting college credit for stuff you've already done comes in, and so on. 

They had the kids all talking about this on video and so on. Their plans and what they were studying. But obviously (to me, anyway) JB was just doing it for money -- he never intended for any of it to happen. 

I don't think Jill knew it was just for money, though. And I'm pretty sure she hoped and intended to actually do these things.....Not sure about the other kids. It was mostly girls who were the older ones at this point and potentially more like college students -- and the other older daughters have seemed a lot less interested in learning stuff than Jill was, to me, anyway...But they did appear on video talking about what they were doing in line with the College Plus spiel, as did some of the younger kids, like Josiah, who definitely talked about his plans to get a degree.

And Der certainly believed the stuff that Jill had said. That's the wife he thought he was getting -- and the wife who might conceivably have been able to hack the official SBC missionary education requirements. But the wife he got came from the family where nobody would ever be permitted to get more education than their parents. An early contributor to his disillusion and bitterness about JB, I would think. 

There was a lot of excited talk about all the Duggars and their college plans around that time -- like this -- 

https://www.duggarfamilyblog.com/2011/04/college-degrees-for-jana-and-john-david.html

And I guess they continued yapping about this much more recently, too, to some degree. Although maybe Meechelle was just drugged and delusional and not remembering that numerous years had passed since they advertised CollegPlus when she said this, apparently around 2018    https://celebrityinsider.org/do-the-duggars-go-to-college-what-the-counting-on-stars-do-for-education-140879/

'Whatever the reasons, Michelle recently opened up about her kids taking classes through College Plus and admitted that some of them are seeking a degree. “A few of our kids are taking courses right now, and I think some of them will go for their degrees in whichever areas they decide,” Michelle explained, adding that many of them probably won’t go on to receive a full degree.'

CollegePlus is now Unbound, by the way.....I guess the rebrand no longer applies to Duggars since they've now clearly been utterly and completely bound for such a long time that even JB and M don't pretend otherwise -- 

https://beunbound.us/

The best I can guess, this article was written 5 or 6 year ago. Who was college age then? The howlers?

[Churchhoney]

4 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

The best I can guess, this article was written 5 or 6 year ago. Who was college age then? The howlers?

Well, maybe we could define "potentially college interested" age .as anybody between, say, 15 and 20? So, yeah, five or six years ago that's basically James to Joe.     A whole lot of the boys plus Joy. 

[Tikichick]

4 minutes ago, GeeGolly said:

The best I can guess, this article was written 5 or 6 year ago. Who was college age then? The howlers?

Can you maybe explain if there's a difference between references to the howlers and the lost boys?  I've always assumed the howlers were the very youngest boys.   I guess thinking about it now probably the teenager that just got married a month or two ago was one I always would have pointed to as a howler, but I'm realizing that not only don't I know all of their names and cannot successfully put a name with a face for a wide swath of them, I'm actually confused about categories and nicknames.

Sinner twin has always confused me too, I get that it comes from the other set of twins that's not Jana and JD.  If I'm telling the truth I can't honestly specify who the other set of twins actually is, by face or by name.        

[BigBingerBro]

12 minutes ago, Tikichick said:

Can you maybe explain if there's a difference between references to the howlers and the lost boys? 

I don't think there is a difference.  They were always the howlers and the little girls were the lost girls.   Then when the reddit snark sub got popular, a lot of people who came for the hype started referring them to the lost boys and it seems to have stuck.  They will always be the howlers to me.

[3 is enough]

Sinner twin is Jeremiah, the unmarried one.  He did a couple of stints at Alert a few years ago which led to speculation that he had sinned in some way.

Jeremiah always stood out to me because his looks are more distinctive.  IIRC, for a while he was referred to at the "hot twin".  Also, in one episode of 17-18-19 Kids and Counting he was shown playing chess with Grandpa Duggar.  At the time I had hopes that he might be destined for better things, because he seemed more intelligent than your average Duggar.  Joke was on me I guess.

[Zella]

16 minutes ago, 3 is enough said:

Sinner twin is Jeremiah, the unmarried one.  He did a couple of stints at Alert a few years ago which led to speculation that he had sinned in some way.

Jeremiah always stood out to me because his looks are more distinctive.  IIRC, for a while he was referred to at the "hot twin".  Also, in one episode of 17-18-19 Kids and Counting he was shown playing chess with Grandpa Duggar.  At the time I had hopes that he might be destined for better things, because he seemed more intelligent than your average Duggar.  Joke was on me I guess.

Since I have only watched a couple of episodes, my only real exposure to Jer was the episode about the twins packing up their twin beds and moving out and then reminiscing about the big house. It was such a cringey episode, but I did think Jeremiah seemed more likable than Jed! during it and was mildly amusing. It's a low bar, but there it is. LOL

[3girlsforus]

I just want to point out that taking CLEP exams (or AP exams or dual enrollment etc) is a perfectly legitimate way to get college credit. I took the comment above from Jill to mean that she had exhausted the options there since usually only general education and foundation classes are credited through exam and knew the rest of her studies would need to be enrolled in a college (this is probably why she wasn't allowed to continue). This would especially be true if she wanted a BSN because in addition to course work there are a lot of clinical hours required both for graduation and to be allowed to sit for the NCLEX. 

The College plus stuff seems a little sketchy but not because CLEP as a concept isn't legitimate. First, no one needs to pay an organization to set up a schedule for CLEP tests. That's just nuts. You can easily do it yourself.  But also, you can't get a degree by taking CLEP tests. So I'm not totally sure what else they do or how fake they are etc. Either way - the comments from Jill sound to me like she wanted to pursue this and thought her CLEP stuff (even if it was through College Plus) was the first step. For whatever reason she wasn't able to continue. If she wants to I hope she's able but honestly getting a BSN with two little boys would be really tough. I would think waiting until both are in school would make it more doable. 

[Churchhoney]

1 hour ago, 3girlsforus said:

I just want to point out that taking CLEP exams (or AP exams or dual enrollment etc) is a perfectly legitimate way to get college credit. 

The trouble is is that there's no way I can imagine the SOTRDT at the Duggar house ever giving anybody the ability to pass any such test for college credit! I'd be surprised if a "Duggar Academy" education could get you placed out of a middle-school class.

I certainly didn't intend to cast any aspersions on CLEP or any other such program. So if I appeared to be doing that, it was entirely inadvertent. I completely agree with what you're saying. 

I wasn't casting aspersions on Jill, either. I'm pretty sure she said what she did in complete good faith. 

I'm happy to cast aspersions on Duggar Academy, however.....(Even though I don't know for certain that it's terrible...But, you know, it's JB's and M's "school." That's enough evidence for me...😁)

Edited May 12, 2021 by Churchhoney

[3girlsforus]

9 minutes ago, Churchhoney said:

The trouble is is that there's no way I can imagine the SOTRDT at the Duggar house ever giving anybody the ability to pass any such test for college credit! I'd be surprised if a "Duggar Academy" education could get you placed out of a middle-school class!!

I certainly didn't intend to cast any aspersions on CLEP or any other such program. So if I appeared to be doing that, it was entirely inadvertent. I completely agree with what you're saying. 

I wasn't casting aspersion on Jill, either. I'm pretty sure she said what she did in complete good faith. 

I'm happy to cast aspersions on Duggar Academy, however.....(Even though I don't know for certain that it's terrible...But, you know, it's JB's and M's "school." That's enough evidence for me...😁)

I wasn't meaning to be argumentative either. I just wanted to clarify for others reading who might not know much about CLEP or other ways to get college credit. I wouldn't have expected Duggar Academy to produce kids who could pass the tests either but it sounds like Jill did. It isn't a test you can administer yourself. You have to go to a testing facility that is monitored etc - like taking the SATs or APs. So if she did pass them, she did so legitimately. I wouldn't give that credit to JB and M though. Jill probably did the work herself. It's also possible as one of the older Duggar kids that she had better schooling than later when there were so many kids. I don't know what they use for curriculum or if it got more and more lax as the years went by and their beliefs got more and more nutsy cuckoo. 

[Zella]

7 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

I wasn't meaning to be argumentative either. I just wanted to clarify for others reading who might not know much about CLEP or other ways to get college credit. I wouldn't have expected Duggar Academy to produce kids who could pass the tests either but it sounds like Jill did. It isn't a test you can administer yourself. You have to go to a testing facility that is monitored etc - like taking the SATs or APs. So if she did pass them, she did so legitimately. I wouldn't give that credit to JB and M though. Jill probably did the work herself. It's also possible as one of the older Duggar kids that she had better schooling than later when there were so many kids. I don't know what they use for curriculum or if it got more and more lax as the years went by and their beliefs got more and more nutsy cuckoo. 

I think the older ones did have slightly better schooling. I'm not sure it was enough for her to have actually got her RN degree without a lot of struggle, but it does seem like the older kids were at least able to get their GEDs. And to pass that means they were able to do some work on a basic high school level. I got my GED (it seemed more practical as a homeschooler than trying to give myself a diploma and transcript), and I'll never knock anyone else for doing that.

But it seems like at a certain point, they stopped even doing that. It wouldn't surprise me if the younger kids lacked the ability to pass the GED, which is just pure neglect on their parents' part,  and as a result, that went by the wayside. 

[Ohiopirate02]

I do think that JB and Michelle had intended for their children to receive enough education for them to be somewhat self-sufficient.  That was before TLC came calling and JB's controlling instincts took over.  Josh royally fucking up when he went to DC also factors into this.  I really believe that all JB took from that situation was that he needed to keep his sons close.  JB won't allow his sons to actually work and make money, since he controls them financially.  They all have some sort of "occupation" but it's just enough to make it look like they are busy working for the cameras (and fans).  He took a gamble with the sons-in-law, but having all of his daughters still at home as adults would not play well for the camera.  

If it was up to Michelle, then all of the boys would hold actual jobs.  Leave and cleave, baby.  Adult sons are a drain on your bank account and provide little reward.  She would have been okay with Jill, Jessa, Jinger and Joy never marrying, since they were doing her job raising their younger siblings and taking care of the house.  With the rigid gender roles enforced in the Duggar household, the Jslaves are needed on a daily basis while the boys are weekly at best.  

[Churchhoney]

46 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

I wasn't meaning to be argumentative either. I just wanted to clarify for others reading who might not know much about CLEP or other ways to get college credit. I wouldn't have expected Duggar Academy to produce kids who could pass the tests either but it sounds like Jill did. It isn't a test you can administer yourself. You have to go to a testing facility that is monitored etc - like taking the SATs or APs. So if she did pass them, she did so legitimately. I wouldn't give that credit to JB and M though. Jill probably did the work herself. It's also possible as one of the older Duggar kids that she had better schooling than later when there were so many kids. I don't know what they use for curriculum or if it got more and more lax as the years went by and their beliefs got more and more nutsy cuckoo. 

You didn't sound argumentative!

I just wanted to make clear that in slinging acid at the general Duggar approach to education, I didn't mean to splatter the acid on other things or people, including Jill. It's whatever machinations JB and M have pulled that's kept almost all their children away from education that drives me crazy, including the fact that they seem to have fooled them into believing they'd support them in College Plus or any other educational venture. And my anti-JB-and-M ranting tends to make me unclear when that's the subject! 

I think Jill hoped and aspired to do things in her life that went beyond the family expectations and that she probably worked hard to achieve some things. 

[Minivanessa]

42 minutes ago, Zella said:

I think the older ones did have slightly better schooling. I'm not sure it was enough for her to have actually got her RN degree without a lot of struggle, but it does seem like the older kids were at least able to get their GEDs. And to pass that means they were able to do some work on a basic high school level. I got my GED (it seemed more practical as a homeschooler than trying to give myself a diploma and transcript), and I'll never knock anyone else for doing that.

But it seems like at a certain point, they stopped even doing that. It wouldn't surprise me if the younger kids lacked the ability to pass the GED, which is just pure neglect on their parents' part,  and as a result, that went by the wayside. 

I seem to remember that the GED got harder in 2014, and AFAIK none of the Duggars have obtained a GED since then. We then saw some of them posing with those lame "Duggar Academy" certificates that Jana printed at home, but no more GEDs. Which is too bad. 

And, BTW, I never scorn anybody who has a GED. Nope. I've always viewed a GED as a credential that a person had to make special efforts to obtain. Whether as in your case to demonstrate the outcome of homeschool education, or as in many cases, after leaving school before graduating (for any number of reasons). 

[Zella]

8 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

I seem to remember that the GED got harder in 2014, and AFAIK none of the Duggars have obtained a GED since then. We then saw some of them posing with those lame "Duggar Academy" certificates that Jana printed at home, but no more GEDs. Which is too bad. 

And, BTW, I never scorn anybody who has a GED. Nope. I've always viewed a GED as a credential that a person had to make special efforts to obtain. Whether as in your case to demonstrate the outcome of homeschool education, or as in many cases, after leaving school before graduating (for any number of reasons). 

Oh that's a good point on the GED getting harder! I remember when I got it in 2007, I was told that I was part of one of the last groups who got to take the test for free in Arkansas (and we were one of the last states who didn't charge for it), but I didn't actually keep up with any other changes to the testing situation. 

Incidentally, when I took it, at least in our county, if you scored high enough in the county, you got free tuition for 2 classes, I think it was, at the community college that hosted the testing. I had the highest score in the county and didn't qualify because I didn't do the test prep course attached to the college, which really pissed me off at the time, but I think the test prep sessions were also free.

They were also encouraging everyone who tested where I did to pursue college, even my brother, who made it clear he had absolutely no interest. 

In any event, the point of this ramble is that at least at that time my experience was that there were a lot of free resources on a local level if you wanted to take the GED and there was encouragement to go beyond that. I would think where they were had even more opportunities, and it would have been a nice chance for any of them if their parents would have encouraged it. 

Edited May 12, 2021 by Zella

[TrixieTrue]

1 hour ago, Zella said:

I think the older ones did have slightly better schooling. I'm not sure it was enough for her to have actually got her RN degree without a lot of struggle, but it does seem like the older kids were at least able to get their GEDs. And to pass that means they were able to do some work on a basic high school level. I got my GED (it seemed more practical as a homeschooler than trying to give myself a diploma and transcript), and I'll never knock anyone else for doing that.

But it seems like at a certain point, they stopped even doing that. It wouldn't surprise me if the younger kids lacked the ability to pass the GED, which is just pure neglect on their parents' part,  and as a result, that went by the wayside. 

Which ones did pass the GED? I think Josh and Jill did. For some reason, I don't think Jana did. Not sure about JD, Jessa, or Jinger. 

[Zella]

6 minutes ago, TrixieTrue said:

Which ones did pass the GED? I think Josh and Jill did. For some reason, I don't think Jana did. Not sure about JD, Jessa, or Jinger. 

I don't know which ones did. I think there used to be a post on one of the Duggar family sites that kept track? Have no clue if it is current, though!

[GeeGolly]

For some reason, which I'm not sure of, I thought all the kids from Josiah up got their GEDS, except for one. I have no idea which one didn't. But take this with a grain of salt, because like I said, I have no idea why I think this. 🤷🏽‍♀️

Edited May 12, 2021 by GeeGolly

[Zella]

Just now, GeeGolly said:

For some reason, which I'm not sure of, I thought all the kids from Josiah up got their GEDS, except for one. I have no ides which one didn't. But take this with a grain of salt, because like I said, I have no idea why I think this. 🤷🏽‍♀️

I was actually thinking this, too (not specifically the up to Josiah part but that it generally extended to the kids to some point, which may well be Josiah, except for one), but I can't remember the details for the life of me. But the idea that there was one who didn't seem to get it when the others were does sound familiar. 

[crazy8s]

there are claims on fan sites Jed!, Jer and Joy all got a GED and had a graduation party. But I think the were celebrating a duggar homefooling certificate.

I wish someone would have asked Jed! that last fall....

[libgirl2]

4 hours ago, 3 is enough said:

Sinner twin is Jeremiah, the unmarried one.  He did a couple of stints at Alert a few years ago which led to speculation that he had sinned in some way.

Jeremiah always stood out to me because his looks are more distinctive.  IIRC, for a while he was referred to at the "hot twin".  Also, in one episode of 17-18-19 Kids and Counting he was shown playing chess with Grandpa Duggar.  At the time I had hopes that he might be destined for better things, because he seemed more intelligent than your average Duggar.  Joke was on me I guess.

He looks most like Amy. 

[3girlsforus]

Why would the kids have gotten a GED? I agree there is nothing wrong with doing so but I'm curious why they chose to. Did the Duggars ever say their goal with education was to pass the GED test?

[Ohiopirate02]

8 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

Why would the kids have gotten a GED? I agree there is nothing wrong with doing so but I'm curious why they chose to. Did the Duggars ever say their goal with education was to pass the GED test?

In order for the Duggars to claim their homeschooling is just as good as public schools,  they need the kids to pass some kind of test like the GED.  Then the kids could continue their education or apprentice with a like-minded small business owner and learn a trade.  They were following the Gothard playbook when it came to the older kids.  The whole Gothard schtick was that if a family followed the curriculum and produce better kids than public schools.  The kids would then get some kind of training in order to start their own businesses,  and some would need to get college degrees in fields like law so they could become politicians.   

[3girlsforus]

1 hour ago, Ohiopirate02 said:

In order for the Duggars to claim their homeschooling is just as good as public schools,  they need the kids to pass some kind of test like the GED.  Then the kids could continue their education or apprentice with a like-minded small business owner and learn a trade.  They were following the Gothard playbook when it came to the older kids.  The whole Gothard schtick was that if a family followed the curriculum and produce better kids than public schools.  The kids would then get some kind of training in order to start their own businesses,  and some would need to get college degrees in fields like law so they could become politicians.   

I'm surprised they would have felt the need to do that. I wouldn't think the short list of places that would meet their criteria would be more stringent about that than the mainstream world. Homeschoolers don't need a GED for all of those things in the non-Gothard world.

[Nysha]

2 hours ago, 3girlsforus said:

I'm surprised they would have felt the need to do that. I wouldn't think the short list of places that would meet their criteria would be more stringent about that than the mainstream world. Homeschoolers don't need a GED for all of those things in the non-Gothard world.

I think it was for bragging points since Michelle stated that the kids got their GEDs when they were 17 instead of 18. I also think that was at a time that JB had high hopes that his sons would be successful and his daughters would marry successful men, so he wanted to be able to prove that they would have received a diploma if they had gone to public school.

[BigBingerBro]

Throwback - Jana & Jill

[BitterApple]

Cute pic, and holy crap, do they look like girl versions of Boob.

[ginger90]

19 hours ago, Nysha said:

I think it was for bragging points since Michelle stated that the kids got their GEDs when they were 17 instead of 18.

If so, oh Michelle! I have 2 daughters  who graduated at 17. It happens. 
Many people get their GED “on time”, some in adulthood, and oh my, some at 16. Imagine that.

[MargeGunderson]

19 minutes ago, ginger90 said:

If so, oh Michelle! I have 2 daughters  who graduated at 17. It happens. 
Many people get their GED “on time”, some in adulthood, and oh my, some at 16. Imagine that.

Yeah, that’s nothing to brag about. I graduated at 17 because my birthday is in late August, just before the cut off for enrollment. I also started college when I was 17. Big deal. 

[BigBingerBro]

1 minute ago, MargeGunderson said:

I graduated at 17 because my birthday is in late August, just before the cut off for enrollment. I also started college when I was 17. Big deal. 

Me too, mine is in October.  Sometimes I wish I would have been held back.

Does anyone have a chart that shows which Duggar kids got their GED?

[emmawoodhouse]

54 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

Me too, mine is in October.  Sometimes I wish I would have been held back.

Does anyone have a chart that shows which Duggar kids got their GED?

I think somewhere around Joe is the cutoff.

[3girlsforus]

1 hour ago, MargeGunderson said:

Yeah, that’s nothing to brag about. I graduated at 17 because my birthday is in late August, just before the cut off for enrollment. I also started college when I was 17. Big deal. 

Yep - my daughter graduated at 16, turned 17 that summer and then went off to college at 17. No one cared. In fact no one knew. It's not like she went around telling people she was in general younger than the other kids. 

[BigBingerBro]

[BigBingerBro]

They look then sort of like the J-rod kids do now.... 

[Spazamanaz]

28 minutes ago, BigBingerBro said:

They look then sort of like the J-rod kids do now.... 

I think I know who is who.... Joseph, Jinger, Jill, Jessa, and Josiah (with the bottle). Did I get it right?

[madpsych78]

Yes.

Their dress is similar to the JRod kids now, but even back then, the Duggars look better nourished than the JRod kids look now.

[awaken]

17 hours ago, BigBingerBro said:

They look then sort of like the J-rod kids do now.... 

It’s amazing how they all look exactly like themselves!

[lulu69]

28 minutes ago, awaken said:

It’s amazing how they all look exactly like themselves!

It's amazing how they all have life in their eyes!

[Teriacky]

Joe already had a receding hairline! 

[BitterApple]

So I just had to share something funny. I was watching a YouTube lifestyle vlogger discuss her favorite modest clothing retailers. She was talking about finding trendy, stylish pieces and says (paraphrasing), "Modest doesn't equal frumpy. I mean, no one wants to be like those 19 Kids and Counting girls who wear denim bedsheets as skirts." Damn, even years later, the Duggars are still at the bottom of the style barrel! 😂😂😂

[Temperance]

According to @Mollie, Josh, Jana, John, and Jill all got their GED, but not anyone after that. I don't if that's true, but Joy, Jed!, and Jer all got Duggar diplomas on television and not GEDs.

[emmawoodhouse]

Josiah also got a Duggar Academy diploma party on TV. I remember it because I saw Steve and Teri Maxwell in the crowd.

[anna0852]

Those healthcare sharing ministries the fundies love got caught in John Oliver's crosshairs.

 

[Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, anna0852 said:

Those healthcare sharing ministries the fundies love got caught in John Oliver's crosshairs.

 

I love him!