Counting On Season 5/6/7 Who Knows? It's on Tonight!

[apandaaries]

I'd like to jump in and separate the ideas of education and debt. Having better educated people in a society helps everyone; the more people who are educated, the better off we all are. 

The fact that higher education has become increasingly unaffordable is the kind of issue that a well-educated populace could address. For example, rather than giving all the money to the billionaires, we could use some of that money to help fund higher education, the benefits of which will actually trickle down to the whole population (unlike Reagan's stupid theories that continue to influence far too many idiots in power). 

Why shouldn't a stay at home mom be well-educated? Most studies show that the more a mother knows, the better her kids will do. And why not have educated mechanics, fast food workers, etc? Is education something special only for a particular class? Why would people be opposed to others having knowledge?

I don't use the quadratic formula everyday, but learning how to use it helped my cognitive development. I don't use Spanish as often as I should, but it's still helpful to have that base of knowledge, and I still use it occasionally. I find it deeply disturbing when people argue against, say, algebra, since it hasn't been as useful as it could have been for them, and decide that it's knowledge that only a few people should have. It wasn't that long ago that people were saying that women shouldn't be educated, as it was a waste of time...what with their small brains and such. 

ETA: Chris Jeub even published a treatise not too long ago on the dangers of educating women. The thought still lingers for some, and there are plenty of racist people who would use their racism to argue against various minorities having access to knowledge and education.

Especially in this remarkable age of anti-intellectualism, we should be promoting more critical thought.

The debt problem is a separate issue which we can and should address. That has to do with government policies.  It was the dearth of education and critical thought has created these rather useless Duggarlings (useless in general but still voting and involved in politics), the Rodriguii, etc. 

Education could have helped them so much. Why would anyone rail against providing an opportunity for education for anyone?

[Knight of Ni]

As long as they aren’t double dipping in a shared bowl of dip or blowing their noses at the table I tend to ignore table manners in other people. Or slouching over their plate with their whole forearm propped on the table. I once went out with a family that did all three of these things in a crowded restaurant. Two of the three were just minor annoyances especially since I would have liked to have some of the dip but I wanted to sink into the floor when the nose blowing happened. If you could die of embarrassment. 

[SapphireSlytherin]

Oh hell no - even my two-year-old knew better than to lick her fucking plate, in public OR at home. That's just ridiculous.

[front hugs > duggs]

1 hour ago, Meggo said:

I was more bothered to learn that Joe likes to lick his plate and that he even had to discuss NOT doing that in public... 

My husband once tried to lick his butter knife in a restaurant. I told him if he tried that again, I would take his knife away from him like I would a toddler.

I may have threatened stabbing him with it too. Po-tay-to, po-tah-to (just not the canned variety) 

[justmy2cents]

1 hour ago, bethover89 said:

I was so sad that she mentioned something on the honeymoon being a new experience for her, and then said something about not having experienced a lot : / . 

She was just 19. I don't thank it's all that unusual to have very limited experiences at that age. If she was older I'd feel sorry for her. Traveling is one of life's greatest joys for me.

[brookeb82]

Was the wedding episode last night just the 20 minute version that's on TLCGo or was it an hour-long version? Because I'm not seeing it on Amazon, just the honeymoon episode.

[wandering woman]

4 hours ago, allthegoodnamesrgone said:

After watching lastnights show,  I wanted to throat punch Kendra, while screaming "You simpering nitwit, do you REALIZE the HUGE GIFT YOU ARE GETTING HERE?" All the while knowing she really didn't appreciate what she was seeing/looking at. This is the 1st Fundymoon that actually made me ANGRY, like ragey, those two simpering twits giggling and awe shuchksing themselves around GREECE, a vacation many save up for decades to be able to take and do all this research and just enjoy ever bit of what they are they for. Here comes Dumb & Dumber  going "ew spinach" "ew olives" "ew foreign words" OMG, the other couples at least seemed to be really impressed with what they were seeing and while scared of the "foreigners" they managed to appreciate a little bit of what they were being given by TLC. But with this two, I think you could have stuck them in the middle of Chicago Illinois and they would have had the same reactions. This is weird, I'm uncomfortable I just want to go home.  

I completely agree with this. Kendra and Joe know nothing about the history of Greece and have no curiosity whatsoever about the culture. The only thing they seemed to have picked up in Greece is that Greek salads have no lettuce. Kendra's giggling is beyond annoying, and I started fast forwarding through their scenes because of it.

Lauren seems mature for a 19 year old, and I'll be curious to learn more about her. The kiss that Josiah gave her at the wedding was way too much.

This is the first Duggar wedding that was not held in a huge mega church. It was a regular sized church.

[Mlissmartin]

2 hours ago, Meggo said:

I was more bothered to learn that Joe likes to lick his plate and that he even had to discuss NOT doing that in public... 

Also went through this with my husband, made me want to puke.

[Italiangirl]

34 minutes ago, wandering woman said:

(Snip)

This is the first Duggar wedding that was not held in a huge mega church. It was a regular sized church.

Actualy they "stolen" the church from JinJer wedding so this is the second...

Don't know why i care but I do 

[BernRul]

5 hours ago, Georgiana said:

Jessa is not JUST a stay at home mom.  As far as we know, she also intends to be an educator.  And teachers really DO need some post-secondary education

As a teacher, I find it very insulting that people in the US are allowed to homeschool their children with no qualifications whatsoever. I'm all for homeschooling if that works for an individual's case--but the teacher better have the education and training for it. It is so offensive that teaching, especially early childhood education, is treated like something anyone can do, no training required. Teachers (in general, I know there's exceptions) are highly educated, hardworking, and intelligent, and many of them nowadays go for their master's degree or multiple certifications. 

If Jessa, Jill, Anna etc want to homeschool that's fine. But they should have a college degree to do it. America fails its children by not having higher standards. 

[socalrules]

I get irritated with the idea that SAHM’s don’t need an education. Without an education or training, many SAHM are going to be stuck in situations where they have to stay in bad marriages. What options do they have if they have an abusive husband? What happens if their husband dies or becomes incapacitated? How do they live with no way to support their kids? It’s great Sonic has job openings but the salary isn’t going to go very far and definitely isn’t going to support a family on minimum wage.  In what area can you support a family on a minimum wage job? Where is the rent and food that cheap? 

Saying someone doesn’t need an education or training is betting that the stars will align and nothing will happen in their lives to put their financial stability at risk. Who can guarantee that? Fundies are notorious for being against any kind of education or training that requires learning with those not of the same belief. I would bet good money that the majority of them are barely scraping by, if that, due to their inability to secure a good job with no education and training. Jessa is doing fine because she gets paid by TLC and her parents have money. Without all that, how would she and Ben have the lifestyle they do? What job could Ben get to buy them a house? 

I have $100k in student loans but I make a good salary, better than I would without the education. My salary will always go up. I will always have options. There are some good job with no education or training but they are few and far between. I just don’t see how education or training hurts anyone. Debt for a better future and more opportunities is not a bad thing in my eyes. 

*I am not sure why SAHM is underlined.

[Rachel333]

I also wish people could get an education just for the sake of getting an education. Higher education shouldn't be so prohibitively expensive for most people, and we should work on changing that rather than just saying some people don't need to be educated. If someone doesn't want to go to college then that should also be completely acceptable, but I want it to be an option for everyone who does want it.

[Natalie22]

2 hours ago, wandering woman said:

 The only thing they seemed to have picked up in Greece is that Greek salads have no lettuce. Kendra's giggling is beyond annoying, and I started fast forwarding through their scenes because of it.



God, how did they not know this?  I don't understand how they've never seen a greek salad in their lives.  

[MoonFace]

Why is it ok to see Joe's knees and not Kendra's?   Am I defrauded or what? 

[tabitha2]

In the Vein of Jeff Foxworthy: If you are having unholy thoughts about a Duggar Dudes knees then you might be a fundie. 

[QuiverFullofBooks]

14 minutes ago, Natalie22 said:

God, how did they not know this?  I don't understand how they've never seen a greek salad in their lives.  

Greek salads in the US usually have olives and feta on top of lettuce, especially in lower-end restaurants. I expect that they thought they had had Greek salads before.

[Rachel333]

2 minutes ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

Greek salads in the US usually have olives and feta on top of lettuce, especially in lower-end restaurants. I expect that they thought they had had Greek salads before.

Yep, if you do a google image search for "greek salad" this is the third result:

[fundieundies]

Hi! Very new member but very very long time lurker - I watched like 10 minutes of Counting On last night, specifically when they went to dinner in the sky and turned the TV off when Joe licked his plate but it was my first time really seeing Kendra & Joe outside of photos and snark.

Kendra seems like she truly believes her beliefs don't harm anyone and are what's best for the world. That doesn't mean I like her, but she's two years younger than me and she still has this childlike innocence. I know that it's part of her being sheltered and unexposed to the worldliness of such things like bermuda shorts and salads without lettuce, but that really struck me. She also seems (again based on those 10 minutes, planning on actually watching next week) like she's very willing to talk to people without being hateful or judgy. Maybe she judges once she gets home but she was talking to that woman without going all "we're having as many kids as the Lord wants because birth control is immoral, oh and can you pass the salt?". I hope her ability to engage with other people outside her religion isn't something she loses and (this is really pushing it) helps her understand a better life outside her religion. But then I remember that Joe is pretty into the faith and I lose my unicorn.

 

Anyway, Joe is a year older than me and it freaks me out that kids my age are getting married and having children. I think that entire 10 minutes just shook me to my core. I saw the I "wuv you" bit on tumblr and had to shut my computer and walk away because she's YOUNG. 

[metheglyn]

2 hours ago, brookeb82 said:

Was the wedding episode last night just the 20 minute version that's on TLCGo or was it an hour-long version? Because I'm not seeing it on Amazon, just the honeymoon episode.

I haven't seen the broadcast episode, but I'm pretty sure they they just merged together the wedding specials with the "It's Greek to Me" episode as shown online. 95 minutes or so of actual show duration seems to be the standard for the two hour special episodes and adding together the times for both episodes is just shy of an hour and a half, which leaves plenty of time for numerous repetitive commercials. (Ugh.)

[QuiverFullofBooks]

The out-of-sequence parts of Counting On are being branded “Counting Now.” “Counting On” barely means anything, and “Counting Now” is just senseless.

[metheglyn]

7 minutes ago, QuiverFullofBooks said:

The out-of-sequence parts of Counting On are being branded “Counting Now.” “Counting On” barely means anything, and “Counting Now” is just senseless.

They are! That's funny in a sad sort of way, but it appears they're acknowledging how out of sync with real time the regular season is.

[TeaELSee]

The Duggars don’t do jewelry when they ask to enter a courtship?  The Bates seem to go all out, Josiah approached it like it was just another day.  

[stardust]

12 minutes ago, TeaELSee said:

The Duggars don’t do jewelry when they ask to enter a courtship?  The Bates seem to go all out, Josiah approached it like it was just another day.  

Derick gave Jill a necklace when he asked to court her in Nepal IIRC

[QuiverFullofBooks]

That was a lame courtship proposal. Even Josh bought some balloons.

[beepy13]

6 hours ago, Meggo said:

I was more bothered to learn that Joe likes to lick his plate and that he even had to discuss NOT doing that in public... 

True, but it sure cracked me up when he said he learned it from Jessa!