They're back! Counting On is now an official show!

[RabbitKM]

6 hours ago, DuggarWatch said:

His degree is in political science. It was a two-year, online degree and the college is not accredited.

Can someone explain what is the point of going to school (and presumably paying tuition) for it to be not accredited?

[DuggarWatch]

16 minutes ago, RabbitKM said:

Can someone explain what is the point of going to school (and presumably paying tuition) for it to be not accredited?

I think the point was to impress Jessa, who doesn't know any better.  Remember, she didn't even pass a GED!

[Jana814]

Just now, DuggarWatch said:

I think the point was to impress Jessa, who doesn't know any better.  Remember, she didn't even pass a GED!

Really she didn't pass the GED?  

[nst]

40 minutes ago, RabbitKM said:

Can someone explain what is the point of going to school (and presumably paying tuition) for it to be not accredited?

maybe it his version of doing something on his bucket list before he  hits 21 

become a father 

get on a tv show 

marry a hot girl (his words) 

get a degree in something useless 

become an edgy preacher and befriend a a real edgy preacher who probably is teaching him how to become the edgy preacher 

create useless you tube videos that people mock 

[ksgranola1]

A promo I read...came in an email from the Duggar blog...Anna will be included, minus Josh. Boy, he really screwed himself out of a sweet deal, didn't he. And look Josh, your wife is WORKING and IS THE FAMILY'S MAIN BREADWINNER!  That's gotta hurt.

That was mean. I'll go tell Jesus I sinned.

[Bad Wolf]

I'm sure Josh will be in control of Anna's money. He IS the headship after all. Wonder if Anna will hand it over willingly.

[silverspoons]

1 hour ago, Jana814 said:

Really she didn't pass the GED?  

Did Jessa ever take it? It seems like the Duggars quickly fizzled out on having kids get GED's. Jessa's graduation from homeschool was while they were traveling on the East coast. There was no mention of a GED.

Is there any list of which kids have a GED. Josh is the only one who has said he has a GED. Did Jill, Jana or Joe need one for the midwife/doula training  or clown college? I have seen rumors that JD did not pass. All the other graduations we have seen have not mentioned a GED or any type of certificate, just a graduation celebration. The Duggars seem to even be slacking on celebrating the end of homeschool. We didn't see anything for Joy/Jer/Jed?

[MatthewDuggar]

1 hour ago, RabbitKM said:

Can someone explain what is the point of going to school (and presumably paying tuition) for it to be not accredited?

Well, for people that cannot afford or get accepted to an accredited school, it's "something" at least.  (if it's a place where you actually attend classes and learn a few things)  Depending on where and what type of job that is sought after getting a degree, some employers may not care if the school is accredited or not.  I'm not talking from experience, but these are a few reasons I could come up with.  

[Defrauding Feminist ESQ]

8 minutes ago, silverspoons said:

Did Jessa ever take it? It seems like the Duggars quickly fizzled out on having kids get GED's. Jessa's graduation from homeschool was while they were traveling on the East coast. There was no mention of a GED.

Is there any list of which kids have a GED. Josh is the only one who has said he has a GED. Did Jill, Jana or Joe need one for the midwife/doula training  or clown college? I have seen rumors that JD did not pass. All the other graduations we have seen have not mentioned a GED or any type of certificate, just a graduation celebration. The Duggars seem to even be slacking on celebrating the end of homeschool. We didn't see anything for Joy/Jer/Jed?

I just looked at Crown's website.  It doesn't mention a GED requirement, but it says to apply, the students need to include their high school transcripts and take the ACT/SATs.  So I would think a GED would be necessary, but maybe not.

 

http://www.crown.edu/admissionsx/on-campus-students/

[DuggarWatch]

46 minutes ago, Defrauding Feminist ESQ said:

I just looked at Crown's website.  It doesn't mention a GED requirement, but it says to apply, the students need to include their high school transcripts and take the ACT/SATs.  So I would think a GED would be necessary, but maybe not.

 

http://www.crown.edu/admissionsx/on-campus-students/

Wrong college.  John David went to Crown college in Tennessee, which requires no GED or ACT/SAT.  All he had to do was have Michelle make up a homeschool transcript for his high school work.  

http://thecrowncollege.com/admissions/apply/

PS:  Crown college was denied accreditation:

http://www.tracs.org/files/2011NovemberCommissionActionSummary.pdf

56 minutes ago, silverspoons said:

Did Jessa ever take it? It seems like the Duggars quickly fizzled out on having kids get GED's. Jessa's graduation from homeschool was while they were traveling on the East coast. There was no mention of a GED.

Is there any list of which kids have a GED. Josh is the only one who has said he has a GED. Did Jill, Jana or Joe need one for the midwife/doula training  or clown college? I have seen rumors that JD did not pass. All the other graduations we have seen have not mentioned a GED or any type of certificate, just a graduation celebration. The Duggars seem to even be slacking on celebrating the end of homeschool. We didn't see anything for Joy/Jer/Jed?

Josh claims to have a G.E.D. Jill does for sure and so do Jinger and John David. Jessa never passed the test. They don't talk about the G.E.D. much because so few of the kids have one.

The interesting thing is that Jessa was put in charge of the younger kids' homeschooling records and homework.  

The older kids had to stay in homeschool until age 16.  Now, they have to stay until age 17 under a new Arkansas law.  There are no state or standardized tests that kids are required to take and no oversight whatsoever.  Arkansas just allows kids to be truant from a real school and hangout at home all day.  

[Bushes of Love]

2 hours ago, Jana814 said:

Really she didn't pass the GED?  

I'm guess the GED is the American form of the GCSE's? Why would a Duggar need qualifications? You don't need them to be a baby factory or work in your daddies 'business'.

Man, I loathe this family.

[meowmeow19]

1 hour ago, Bad Wolf said:

I'm sure Josh will be in control of Anna's money. He IS the headship after all. Wonder if Anna will hand it over willingly.

I wonder Boob and Michelle will enforce a financial buddy to make sure he's kept accountable? 

[Mercer]

11 hours ago, meowmeow19 said:

It feels like difference of thought, those of workers and then those of bosses, owners and entrepreneurs. 

I don't think this characterization is either fair or accurate. At least anecdotally I know for sure it's not, since I fall into the "boss" category myself, and that affects how I view their chances:

The Duggar kids do not demonstrate much ability to work independently or make solid decisions without direct supervision. This is not entirely their fault, and is not at all surprising given their upbringing where so much as a shopping trip required an accountability buddy, but it limits how far they can go in a line of work that requires high levels of self-motivation and ability to make sound independent choices.

Could some of them move past this hurdle? Possibly. In my experience as a supervisor, though, it's exceedingly difficult because one of the things that's lacking in folks with these skill deficits is the ability to generalize information from one situation to another. You can train them to respond to a certain situation in a certain way, but as soon as a different situation arises, you're back to square one because they have not learned to think for themselves or pull on past experience as a guide for future decisions, and are so used to going to an authority for guidance that it becomes their default response. That strategy is okay for a low-level employee, but breaks down in a position where they're supposed to be the authority.

Obviously that doesn't apply to everybody, but I haven't seen any glimmers of high self-motivation in any of the Duggar kidults that indicates they'd be successful in a self-directed business venture.

It's also really hard to run a successful business with such a low level of education. Again, not impossible... but overcoming that obstacle takes a high level of internal motivation and the self-discipline to learn on the job, and neither of those things seem strong in the Duggars even when they have the opportunity to present themselves in the best possible light.

Plus there's the basic issue faced by any business, "How much can the market bear of the service I want to provide?" Can the current market in their small town in Arkansas really bear the addition of ten or so more house flippers, high volume landlords, or towing service operations? Possibly, I don't know the market... but it's not a given, and with the level of education the kidults have received, I'm not confident they have the skills necessary to figure it out. So do they know how to do something else, or have the ability to independently generalize their knowledge to a different line of work if necessary?

A share in a family business can be nice, but a solid education and guidance toward self-motivation goes a lot farther in my opinion.

[Bad Wolf]

They were just GCEs when I was in school,O and A level. The GED is supposed to be the equivalent of a high school diploma. Some controversy about whether it's as good. In my state you have to pass a test to get your diploma, in other states, no. I've known people who failed the state test, but were able to get their GED. I would commend anyone who takes the time to get their GED. It can be a good starting point.

@Bushes of Love

[Hera]

I own my own business, and it takes a lot more than some starter money, a storefront and a name to make it work.  Even if JB intends to pass his businesses down to some of his kids, the problem is that they don't seem to have the skills necessary to keep them going successfully.  You see it all the time.  Dad starts a business.  Dies.  Kids get it and run it into the ground.  Maintaining a successful business requires networking outside of your social group so as to develop and retain a solid client base; delivering a service or product that is consistently of the quality expected and at the price advertised and commiserate with the prevailing market rate; knowing what to push in your market; being able to balance the books, plan for business lulls and do the accounting so as to keep yourself and your business on financially secure ground; knowledge in website design and maintenance; and then there are various legal issues associated with hiring employees, taxes, licensing, etc.  The Duggar kids' "formal" education certainly didn't prepare them for website design; complex accounting; developing a marketing plan; negotiating business contracts; complying with state and federal employment and tax law, etc. and most of them don't even have any transferrable skills or licenses, though I've seen that a could have CDL licenses (I think they're girls, though, so they can't use them) and JD has a pilot's license. When running your own business, every thing you have to outsource costs you money and even flipping and renting houses requires most of the skills above.  Not to mention that I see no evidence that JB is even trying to impart his business knowledge to many of his kids.  He's certainly not educating the girls and Jill and Jessa's husbands aren't part of the non-TLC family business.  The should be, since they actually HAVE skills that would be helpful, but instead, Derrick is off in CA and Ben seems to just be hanging out.  Beyond stockpiling some cash, I don't see much evidence that anyone is trying to prepare the 19 for a successful future that can sustain them and be passed down to the multiple kids they're all expected to have.  

[Bushes of Love]

2 minutes ago, Bad Wolf said:

They were just GCEs when I was in school,O and A level. The GED is supposed to be the equivalent of a high school diploma. Some controversy about whether it's as good. In my state you have to pass a test to get your diploma, in other states, no. I've known people who failed the state test, but were able to get their GED. I would commend anyone who takes the time to get their GED. It can be a good starting point.

@Bushes of Love

Cheers for the clarification, you'd think something that important would be standardised across the whole country.. I'm reading up on what the GED is and the American education system as a whole. I find it so odd, for instance they don't leave formal education until they are 18.....We British leave when we are 15/16 (school finished for me 2 months before my 16th birthday, but I went straight to college then university).

Nowt as queer as folk, is there lol!

[Defrauding Feminist ESQ]

35 minutes ago, DuggarWatch said:

Wrong college.  John David went to Crown college in Tennessee, which requires no GED or ACT/SAT.  All he had to do was have Michelle make up a homeschool transcript for his high school work.  

http://thecrowncollege.com/admissions/apply/

PS:  Crown college was denied accreditation:

http://www.tracs.org/files/2011NovemberCommissionActionSummary.pdf

Josh claims to have a G.E.D. Jill does for sure and so do Jinger and John David. Jessa never passed the test. They don't talk about the G.E.D. much because so few of the kids have one.

The interesting thing is that Jessa was put in charge of the younger kids' homeschooling records and homework.  

The older kids had to stay in homeschool until age 16.  Now, they have to stay until age 17 under a new Arkansas law.  There are no state or standardized tests that kids are required to take and no oversight whatsoever.  Arkansas just allows kids to be truant from a real school and hangout at home all day.  

Oops, sorry!!  Didn't realize there was more than one!

[Coconut Flan]

Didn't Ben go to National Park (Community) College?  Why do people think it's not accredited?  It's a state school.

https://www.hlcommission.org/component/directory/?Itemid=&form_submitted=TRUE&institution=national%20park%20college&lang=en&state=ANY&submit=Go!

[choralcrusader8613]

4 minutes ago, Coconut Flan said:

Didn't Ben go to National Park (Community) College?  Why do people think it's not accredited?  It's a state school.

https://www.hlcommission.org/component/directory/?Itemid=&form_submitted=TRUE&institution=national%20park%20college&lang=en&state=ANY&submit=Go!

He did indeed, Coconut Flan. Jessa put the college name as a hashtag in her IG post about his graduation:

 

 

[Mercer]

Also, for the record, flipping houses is not a guaranteed income at all. People tend to assume it's an easy job as long as you know how to do the repairs (or because it looks easy on TV) because everyone needs someplace to live, but in reality it's probably the biggest financial risk of all the Duggar businesses.

It depends heavily on market factors outside your direct control. You have to have the ability to recognize those factors, but even if you do, a lot can change after you purchase the property and start repairs because the process takes time, and property is not an easy thing to unload quickly if the market starts to tumble so there may be no choice but to take a loss.

You also have to balance how much money you put in versus how much money you can get out, again based on market factors. Pouring in as much money as possible and doing all the possible upgrading is not always the right call. It can price the property above what the market can bear to recoup your investment, and a buyer is not necessarily going to want to pay for your labor when they could get it done to their own taste with their own contractor for the same price or less.

If you are not willing to relocate to an area with a better market if necessary or feel obligated to include your siblings in your business whether or not their skills are up to snuff, it gets even more complicated.

This is not to say that no one can make money flipping houses or upgrading rental properties, of course. Some people do. It may be that the next generation of Duggars will be great at it and really make a go. There's no way to predict the future.

What I'm saying is that is should not be portrayed as a business where there's no way to lose. The odds of losing are actually much higher than the odds of winning big, especially if you aren't highly skilled and motivated.

[HereticHick]

I was also going to chime in on this. Ben has an associates degree from a total secular, state of Arkansas-run community college called National Park College:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_College

National Park College is a two-year institution of higher learning located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. NPC was founded in 2003 as a result of a merger between fully accredited Garland County Community College and Quapaw Technical Institute, which had been established in 1973 and 1969, respectively. It is now one of the state's largest community colleges, enrolling 3,000 students annually in credit programs and an additional 3,800 students in non-credit programs. The name of the college is derived from its location adjacent to Hot Springs National Park.

----------------------------------

Just because Ben took a few of the classes online doesn't mean it isn't an accredited institution. And just because it has an "odd" name doesn't mean it isn't your normal local community college. There is a perfectly valid reason for it to be named "National Par.k"  [although I don't know why it isn't just called "Hot Springs College"]

As many of you probably know, President Bill Clinton grew up in Hot Springs and graduated from Hot Springs High School.

[HarleyQuinn]

I just lol'd at the thought of any of the Duggar children attempting to take their ACTs.

 

[JesSky03]

Just now, HereticHick said:

I was also going to chime in on this. Ben has an associates degree from a total secular, state of Arkansas-run community college called National Park College:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Park_College

National Park College is a two-year institution of higher learning located in Hot Springs, Arkansas. NPC was founded in 2003 as a result of a merger between fully accredited Garland County Community College and Quapaw Technical Institute, which had been established in 1973 and 1969, respectively. It is now one of the state's largest community colleges, enrolling 3,000 students annually in credit programs and an additional 3,800 students in non-credit programs. The name of the college is derived from its location adjacent to Hot Springs National Park.

----------------------------------

Just because Ben took a few of the classes online doesn't mean it isn't an accredited institution. And just because it has an "odd" name doesn't mean it isn't your normal local community college. There is a perfectly valid reason for it to be named "National Par.k"  [although I don't know why it isn't just called "Hot Springs College"]

As many of you probably know, President Bill Clinton grew up in Hot Springs and graduated from Hot Springs High School.

I am graduating this May with an AAS degree in Health Information Technology from a completely online program through an accredited college with a similar name as Ben....don't want to give the exact name but it does have "Park" in it. It's because it's close to one of our state parks. 

[MarblesMom]

I must have missed a post somewhere about taking online classes must mean attending an unaccredited school.

Many accredited universities and colleges offer distance learning.... including Harvard, which offers an online Master's in Public Health (just an example.)

My point being, online and unaccredited are not necessarily mutually exclusive. 

....Right?  Or am I still not caffeinated enough?

ETA .....I am never going to believe a Duggar will make it into Harvard.

[MatthewDuggar]

Have the Duggars really done all that much house-flipping?  We know of Jill's previous Mcmansion, Grandma Mary's house (now Jessa's) and maybe one other?  Perhaps the house-flipping empire wasn't shown on the show?