19 Kids & Courting - Duggar Snark for Season 8

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I needed to draft a pattern from a scratch and all of a sudden my high geometry class became a lot more relevant!

I am always finding use for math, but my hobbies include drafting and building. I always stare at people in disbelief when they get mad at school for teaching them the Pythagorean theorem instead of how to buy a car or "something equally important."

My least favorite thing is when I need to find an answer and no mathematical equation exists anywhere that I can find which will help me get that answer. Like when I tried to find the volume of soil needed for a spiral garden that used the golden spiral.

Or worse, when math doesn't work. My aunt is a math teacher and I remember when I would get off my grandparents roof and complain to her that math failed me again when yet another piece of plywood wouldn't come out cut properly. :p

[AnywhereButHere]

I thought algebra was great. It wasn't always easy, but it made perfect sense to me. Then came geometry, which kicked me in the ass. I still get hives thinking about that class. I was 1 point away from failing an open book final exam, which should tell you how bad I was at it. I almost felt bad for the kid behind me in the exam room trying to cheat off my test. I can't even imagine his grade. :P Then came pre-cal and calculus which again made perfect sense. I don't think I want to know what that says about my brain. :D

[church_of_dog]

I am always finding use for math, but my hobbies include drafting and building. I always stare at people in disbelief when they get mad at school for teaching them the Pythagorean theorem instead of how to buy a car or "something equally important."

My least favorite thing is when I need to find an answer and no mathematical equation exists anywhere that I can find which will help me get that answer. Like when I tried to find the volume of soil needed for a spiral garden that used the golden spiral.

Or worse, when math doesn't work. My aunt is a math teacher and I remember when I would get off my grandparents roof and complain to her that math failed me again when yet another piece of plywood wouldn't come out cut properly. :p

I have found plywood to be its own category of math altogether :D

Especially the Murphy's Law correlaries. My favorite example of which is how the wind appears as soon as you pick up a piece of plywood...

[Dandruff]

Kindred spirits here. My 1st degree is in math, and though I rarely used it professionally the thinking skills (e.g., setup and analysis) have been incredibly useful in life. I can't think of much that math isn't a factor - no pun intended :) - in.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I thought algebra was great. It wasn't always easy, but it made perfect sense to me. Then came geometry, which kicked me in the ass. I still get hives thinking about that class. I was 1 point away from failing an open book final exam, which should tell you how bad I was at it. I almost felt bad for the kid behind me in the exam room trying to cheat off my test. I can't even imagine his grade. :P Then came pre-cal and calculus which again made perfect sense. I don't think I want to know what that says about my brain. :D

Geometry was also one of the harder ones for me. Especially proofs. I hated proofs. I knew what I had to do but I hated writing it out. I thought it was pointless.

Logarithms were my mathematical foe, though. They had it out for me.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I have found plywood to be its own category of math altogether :D

Especially the Murphy's Law correlaries. My favorite example of which is how the wind appears as soon as you pick up a piece of plywood...

There is much truth in your wisdom.

[twinmama]

Geometry was also one of the harder ones for me. Especially proofs. I hated proofs. I knew what I had to do but I hated writing it out. I thought it was pointless.

Logarithms were my mathematical foe, though. They had it out for me.

Loooooved math, got awards in high school for calculus. Went into the film/tv industry and haven't used a single bit of it in years. Use my phone calc for tips even, lol. I think even if you aren't using the actual specific things you learned, you use the way it teaches you to think.

[Toothfairy]

I hated math. It was my most difficult subject and at the time I didn't understand why I needed to know about functions, triangles,how to find x,etc. I took math all the way to calculus. It wasn't until I got into college that I realized it was useful to learn for everyday life. My favorite subjects were science and English. I didn't even get really into science until I started taking chemistry in high school.

History was also useful to learn. Even though it was the most boring class I ever had. Even now it's still dull to me. I think children should learn about things even if they think it may not be needed. You never know if you can use the skills you learned in the future. I wish fundies would understand this.

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I hated math. It was my most difficult subject and at the time I didn't understand why I needed to know about functions, triangles,how to find x,etc. I took math all the way to calculus. It wasn't until I got into college that I realized it was useful to learn for everyday life. My favorite subjects were science and English. I didn't even get really into science until I started taking chemistry in high school.

History was also useful to learn. Even though it was the most boring class I ever had. Even now it's still dull to me. I think children should learn about things even if they think it may not be needed. You never know if you can use the skills you learned in the future. I wish fundies would understand this.

My mom is a history teacher and she says that the problem most people face when teaching history is that it's always been dull to them so they make it dull for their students. My mom had a teacher in 7th grade who made history interesting, and so that's what she does. She used to teach 6th to 8th grade history, how she teaches 5th and 6th at a different school. One of the first activities she does with the 6th graders is she turns them into archaeologists. She plants broken pottery under the plants during the summer. In the fall, she gives the kids grids and tells them how archaeologists document their discoveries. Then she breaks them up into groups and sends them to designated dig sites. After digging up all the pieces and documenting where they found them, the kids go inside and assemble the pieces as best they can. Once assembled, they have to hypothesize as to what use the piece of pottery might be.

Some of the other really popular units were:

-building castles and having "medieval day" (the classroom was broken up into castes for the week and on mideival day, they had a big feast and medieval sword fighters visited the classroom with their equipment and let the kids take swings at them and wear all the pieces of protective gear)

-Civil War days (you were assigned a persona and had to write a report on it, then you were to be in character during the reenactment (her Civil War unit coincided with a reenactment every year, so the kids attended), drill marching for the contest at the reenactment, and dressing up in period clothes)

-American Revolution day (similar to the other two, but without the reenactors because there aren't any troops nearby)

Anyways. Totally off topic now.

I meant to just point out that it doesn't have to be boring, but most people don't think of history as anything more than "it doesn't really apply to us anymore so let's just get through this."

Of course, if you study history in depth, you'll see hundreds of way it applies to your life now. And warning signs of things to come if different choices aren't made.

[stardust]

Unfortunately, that's not just a fundie problem. That's seen throughout the educational system. Schools for produce life learners, and most people don't think that that's a necessity for life. For most people, education is just something you need to get what you want, or to comply with laws. Look how many adults will argue that there was no reason for them to learn math, history, science, etc cause "it has nothing to do with their lives now."

I'm sure that's the same way Michelle and JB see education. "Why do my kids need to know ___ when they're not going to use that skilll."

Of course, with their homeschooling method, it means that the Duggars don't have to teach those subjects (or go beyond some predetermined minimum) if they don't think it's important. So the kids miss out on something that they could really love, or would actually need later in life.

It's really sad that all of the kids are being subjected to the same education when they each obviously have different levels of intelligence. J'chelle called Jer her "little problem solver." I get the feeling he should be in some sort of accelerated program like he would be if he went to a public school. I don't have any problem with homeschooling, but if you realize one of your kids has special talents then they should be given something more challenging to work with.

That scene pissed me off for more than just that reason alone. I hated how Michelle basically said that because she wasn't pregnant she needed "a new hobby" (her exact words) and therefore she decided to spend time with her son because her kids were growing up too fast. Not only did she admit that being pregnant was a hobby rather than a gift from God, she also said she needs to spend MORE time with the kids she already has. But wait a minute, I thought the Duggars always claimed that they always spend enough time with each of their kids? So why did Michelle imply that she would "Play chess with Jeremiah more often if that means I get to spend more time with him"?

[church_of_dog]

I hated math. It was my most difficult subject and at the time I didn't understand why I needed to know about functions, triangles,how to find x,etc. I took math all the way to calculus. It wasn't until I got into college that I realized it was useful to learn for everyday life. My favorite subjects were science and English. I didn't even get really into science until I started taking chemistry in high school.

I had a high school chemistry teacher who just made things click for me. I swear I learned more about applied, useful math in that class than I had in any direct math class -- something about the way he converted units by multiplying by a fraction where both sides of the fraction were the equivalent to each other but one side was the existing units and the other side was the desired units, so you weren't changing the quantity, just the units. Anyway, that's still how I figure some things, and I see no one else doing it that way, but it works for me… This probably sounds convoluted, hard to describe, but actually a very simple concept, multiplying by one, which doesn't change the content, just the units… :geek:

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

I had a high school chemistry teacher who just made things click for me. I swear I learned more about applied, useful math in that class than I had in any direct math class -- something about the way he converted units by multiplying by a fraction where both sides of the fraction were the equivalent to each other but one side was the existing units and the other side was the desired units, so you weren't changing the quantity, just the units. Anyway, that's still how I figure some things, and I see no one else doing it that way, but it works for me… This probably sounds convoluted, hard to describe, but actually a very simple concept, multiplying by one, which doesn't change the content, just the units… :geek:

Not to me. I totally understand. Interdisciplinary learning is the best way to teach and enforce a subject because it makes the knowledge have context and often uses more than one area of the brain. That's why unit studies are so popular among homeschoolers and why thematic units used to be big in traditional schools (before NCLB and CC became standards for teaching and stole the ability to use a lot of those units).

[LilyRose]

I used to hate maths at school. I've always been of a creative disposition and just found maths very dry- glad I stuck with it though because it's a hugely useful subject to get to grips with.

Fundies will never educate their kids to deeply because generally the more you teach kids the more they want to know, the more their curiosity about the world is piqued and the more they want to know why things are a certain way and how things came to be....and gosh darn it if you go too far down that road answers like "Because it says so in the Bible." just aren't going to cut it any more.

Lordie they might start asking such questions as "Why is there not one shred of evidence that humans and dinosaurs co-existed?"

I have often joked with my other half that the sciences must be a very easy subject when taught the fundie way, for example "How are diamonds made?" it's certainly nothing to do with carbon, and heat and pressure and a billion year waiting game, oh no simple answer "God put them there." :doh:

[ljohnson2006]

The Duggars education is useless.

[Toothfairy]

My mom is a history teacher and she says that the problem most people face when teaching history is that it's always been dull to them so they make it dull for their students. My mom had a teacher in 7th grade who made history interesting, and so that's what she does. She used to teach 6th to 8th grade history, how she teaches 5th and 6th at a different school. One of the first activities she does with the 6th graders is she turns them into archaeologists. She plants broken pottery under the plants during the summer. In the fall, she gives the kids grids and tells them how archaeologists document their discoveries. Then she breaks them up into groups and sends them to designated dig sites. After digging up all the pieces and documenting where they found them, the kids go inside and assemble the pieces as best they can. Once assembled, they have to hypothesize as to what use the piece of pottery might be.

Some of the other really popular units were:

-building castles and having "medieval day" (the classroom was broken up into castes for the week and on mideival day, they had a big feast and medieval sword fighters visited the classroom with their equipment and let the kids take swings at them and wear all the pieces of protective gear)

-Civil War days (you were assigned a persona and had to write a report on it, then you were to be in character during the reenactment (her Civil War unit coincided with a reenactment every year, so the kids attended), drill marching for the contest at the reenactment, and dressing up in period clothes)

-American Revolution day (similar to the other two, but without the reenactors because there aren't any troops nearby)

Anyways. Totally off topic now.

I meant to just point out that it doesn't have to be boring, but most people don't think of history as anything more than "it doesn't really apply to us anymore so let's just get through this."

Of course, if you study history in depth, you'll see hundreds of way it applies to your life now. And warning signs of things to come if different choices aren't made.

When I was in high school and college taking history I didn't understand why I needed to know what happened in 1857. I totally agree that it can be fun but it's still bores me. Especially when my kids come home from school with schoolwork and I grumble at the sight of the Boston tea party or Christopher Columbus.It was so hard for me to stay awake in class and do assignments because I would daydream and fall asleep in class :sleeping: After all these years my teachers were right history repeats itself and it's a good thing to know. But it's still boring to me. I try to stay out of politics.

[divadivine]

I thought algebra was great. It wasn't always easy, but it made perfect sense to me. Then came geometry, which kicked me in the ass. I still get hives thinking about that class. I was 1 point away from failing an open book final exam, which should tell you how bad I was at it. I almost felt bad for the kid behind me in the exam room trying to cheat off my test. I can't even imagine his grade. :P Then came pre-cal and calculus which again made perfect sense. I don't think I want to know what that says about my brain. :D

I was the opposite. Algebra was awful & I loved Geometry. I think it might have been the difference in the teachers-- Algebra teacher was a math whiz but wasn't the best teacher (she didn't understand why you didn't get it the first time she explained something). My Geometry teacher was a very good teacher & could explain things in multiple ways so everyone understood. I should have retaken Algebra, but my school was so small, there was only one teacher, so it wouldn't have helped me much. When I was teaching, I made sure to explain math in a variety of ways because I struggled so much.

[LogansMama]

It's really sad that all of the kids are being subjected to the same education when they each obviously have different levels of intelligence. J'chelle called Jer her "little problem solver." I get the feeling he should be in some sort of accelerated program like he would be if he went to a public school. I don't have any problem with homeschooling, but if you realize one of your kids has special talents then they should be given something more challenging to work with.

That scene pissed me off for more than just that reason alone. I hated how Michelle basically said that because she wasn't pregnant she needed "a new hobby" (her exact words) and therefore she decided to spend time with her son because her kids were growing up too fast. Not only did she admit that being pregnant was a hobby rather than a gift from God, she also said she needs to spend MORE time with the kids she already has. But wait a minute, I thought the Duggars always claimed that they always spend enough time with each of their kids? So why did Michelle imply that she would "Play chess with Jeremiah more often if that means I get to spend more time with him"?

I was completely shocked that M said it was the first time she'd played chess with Jer!! As much as they claim they take time to spend with each kid individually, I was certain she would have played with him sooner. I remember WAY back one of the kids saying that no one could beat Jer at chess, so that's been his thing for years. And M is just NOW getting around a game? I wonder if that was staged by the crew? I mean, she would have had to break herself away from Josie for a few minutes!

[ljohnson2006]

Anything that J'Chelle says is bullshit.

[Rescinded and Mended]

I developed an even greater interest in history after I was able to trace my ancestry to a critical juncture during a specific historical event.

I am descended from a Confederate soldier that was taken prisoner during the Civil War. Can you imagine how things would have been different for my line if the Union general that captured my ancestor had ordered his men to kill the survivors? I wouldn't be here to talk about it, that's for sure. ;)

[DuggarsTheEndIsNear]

When I was in high school and college taking history I didn't understand why I needed to know what happened in 1857. I totally agree that it can be fun but it's still bores me. Especially when my kids come home from school with schoolwork and I grumble at the sight of the Boston tea party or Christopher Columbus.It was so hard for me to stay awake in class and do assignments because I would daydream and fall asleep in class :sleeping: After all these years my teachers were right history repeats itself and it's a good thing to know. But it's still boring to me. I try to stay out of politics.

Well a lot of the kids coming home with homework problem could be fixed with better textbooks. I'm actually working on writing a series of history textbooks because the ones currently available to schools have two big problems:

1. They're completely dull. Nothing in them makes it seem like something you should invest in, or even like the people were human. When I first started this project, I was amazed to find that there's such a plethora of artifacts that bring out the humanity of ancient mesopotamia, especially considering all my schooling on the subject was "they wrote math." Yes they started writing math, but that wasn't the only thin they wrote. They're are thousands upon thousands of letters, personal and business, that have been discovered. My favorites came out of Assyria, where women were seen as equal (they held property, learned to read and write, owned their own businesses, chose their own husbands, etc). In one letter, a woman wrote a very snarky letter to her husband about how their neighbor built a wall on his land and if he wants to be the master of the house he better come home and fix the problem. In another letter, a father wrote to his daughter angry that she had rented out his house while he was gone and moved in with a guy he didn't know. Told her she had 11 days to get back home or else.

2. They're either inaccurate or leave out extremely important details. Back to ancient mesopotamia, my mom's school uses a textbook that doesn't talk about Uruk, calls proto-cuneiform "cuneiform" (they're entirely different), and says that the greatest inventions of mesopotamia were the wheel and math (has no mention of any of the other). It even states that they had no method of transportation except by water, which isn't even remotely true. Why would they need a wheel if they only traveled by water?

[ILoveJellybeans]

I was completely shocked that M said it was the first time she'd played chess with Jer!! As much as they claim they take time to spend with each kid individually, I was certain she would have played with him sooner. I remember WAY back one of the kids saying that no one could beat Jer at chess, so that's been his thing for years. And M is just NOW getting around a game? I wonder if that was staged by the crew? I mean, she would have had to break herself away from Josie for a few minutes!

The first time she has played chess with Jer?????? But he loves chess. How could she have not played it with him before! Mother of the year, my ass.

She needs to spend way more time with her kids once they are older, not just when they are babies.

[FJismyheadship]

Dude. The JSlaves said in their book that their parents spent much more time with them individually than most parents do with one or two kids

LIES!!!!

[acat7]

I think the discrepancy here is in how the Duggars define "spending time". Everytime on the show or in an interview they've given us an example of J'chelle "spending time" with her kids... it's her just bringing them along on errands or does something that SHE needs done. So i that aspect, yeah I'm sure maybe they do spend more time with their kids than non-fundies. I know my mom didn't ask us to accompany her on her every move or do chores with her all day long. we had friends...a life.. you know.

Now "spending time" by doing something non-housework that's a genuine interest of her child? No. she does not do that.

[PennySycamore]

I HATED US History in high school at first. The teacher would write the questions on the board and we'd have to write out the answers. I got a really terrible attitude which a teacher noticed. I'm not sure if the history teacher noticed if it was my English teacher. Anyway, it was the English teacher that talked to me about my attitude. She told me that I was just taking the easy way out on the questions and that I should dig deeper into the questions. I took her advice and wrote out much more complete answers. I've loved history ever since and even minored in it at UGA.

The history teacher, btw, really did know history, loved to talk about it and had once been a really, really good teacher. I don't know what had happened to make her start the questions on the board thing. Too many disinterested students, perhaps?

[doggie]

Dude. The JSlaves said in their book that their parents spent much more time with them individually than most parents do with one or two kids

LIES!!!!

What the hell would the duggers know about other people? there they are experts again about what others do. they may be around the children but being actively involved is a whole other ballgame.