Bengi graduated from collage. Jessa tweeted.

[Miggy]

I thought Ben was going to be a preacher. I'm sure I've heard him say in interviews or possibly on Instagram that he was going to finish college and become a preacher. I just assumed he was doing a B.Ministry or whatever the U.S. equivalent is. (B.Theology is what real ministers do. My home school fundy in law relatives have done B.Ministry, which is the same thing minus the "tricky" subjects like Ancient Hebrew and Ancient Greek.)

I don't see what's wrong with Jessa si thing with her in laWs. This is Ben's moment, not Jessa's. I don't even know why all of the Duggars are there.

This. Very much this. Spouse and parents = yes, siblings = maybe, depends on relationship, in-laws = no. Especially when there are six billion of them. At my grad and my husbands grads (he has had a few), we have only been allowed three tickets: 1 x partner and 2 x parents. You could then apply for extras and there as a ballot to allocate them.

Also, what is with the screaming and whistling? Is this normal in the U.S. or was it a Duggar fan club? Ours were always wait until everyone in a subject is presented, then clap politely.

[Imagine20]

I'm sure JB has his own personal team of lawyers, It wouldn't surprise me to see Ben start working for some local lawyers in the local Arkansas area as a paralegal that JB uses for some of his legal needs. Let's remember JB networks and he uses his connections to further his family and his wealth, so I'm almost sure that JB would not hesitate to pull some strings for BenBob to get his career rolling. Also, JB knows that Ben needs to find a way to support Jessa and the upcoming babies..

They's no way I would hire Ben or anyone with his education as a paralegal to help me (I'm solo). His writing is probably atrocious and I would expect an actual paralegal certification or some experience in legal drafting and research.

[mpheels]

But nurses have a certificate program on top of that. Paralegals too. You don't stop just at an AA and you instantly have those. You have specialized training as well.

Not in AR. Benny boy can start working as a paralegal tomorrow if he wants. The AA is actually a bonus - the only "credential" you need to be a paralegal in AR is someone who is willing to hire you for the job :cracking-up:

[nst]

I don't see what's wrong with Jessa si thing with her in laWs. This is Ben's moment, not Jessa's. I don't even know why all of the Duggars are there.

raising Hand

I know why they were there

because TLC paid them to be there

it was all filmed for the show - that and his birthday party

[eh02]

I agree that there's a good chance Ben planned on transferring to a 4 year school in the pre-Jessa days. Two years of community college can be a great way to get started in school and make it out with a bit less debt in the end. But TLC swept him off his feet instead and that probably went out the window.

I don't think education is ever "useless." BUT. Obviously you do have to be realistic going into it about whether you're sinking money into something that will eventually pay itself off, or if you're taking a loss. A financial loss doesn't necessarily mean it's something you regret, or that it's not "worth it," but you just have to be careful that you're not assuming any degree is a financial investment. Some of them really aren't. I think Ben did mention he got financial aid so he probably made it out of school in pretty good shape financially, especially now that he's employed by TLC. :roll:

If we could all go to school just for fun and personal growth to study anything we wanted without having to worry about getting a pay raise at the end, people would probably stay in college forever. It's unfortunately not the reality. And I think it's pretty rare for an associates degree to help you get a job.

Unless it's REALLY low-quality education, I don't think any educational experience is "useless." For Ben, it was probably great because he had only ever been homeschooled so at least he got a small taste of mainstream, public education. If he did actually get some eye-opening experiences out of it (which I doubt, but I'm being optimistic...) I would say it's well worth whatever price he paid.

I can't say I know of any jobs that require an associates, personally. There are plenty of jobs that only require a high school diploma but I don't think having an associates on top of that would give you much of an edge if you're going to be, say, an administrative assistant.

[ElegantMajesticPearls]

Also, what is with the screaming and whistling? Is this normal in the U.S. or was it a Duggar fan club? Ours were always wait until everyone in a subject is presented, then clap politely.

It was done at my graduation (high school and college) and other graduations I have been to but I guess it varies by school. The clapping and cheering was pretty mild. Occasionally you get the ass holes with blowhorns and planned chants

[Miggy]

It was done at my graduation (high school and college) and other graduations I have been to but I guess it varies by school. The clapping and cheering was pretty mild. Occasionally you get the ass holes with blowhorns and planned chants

Guess I'm judging by Australian standards. You would NOT cheer like that in an Aussie grad. There were 60 in my course. We were all presented, then there was an applause for all of us together. Then the next course was presented. MrMiggy, around 200 in his first degree and the same - applause after everyone presented. Just another one of those cultural differences.

[ElegantMajesticPearls]

Guess I'm judging by Australian standards. You would NOT cheer like that in an Aussie grad. There were 60 in my course. We were all presented, then there was an applause for all of us together. Then the next course was presented. MrMiggy, around 200 in his first degree and the same - applause after everyone presented. Just another one of those cultural differences.

It happens but its not really 'allowed'. I've been to a few graduations where the audience was specifically asked to hold their applause until all names had been called but people still did it.

[VelociRapture]

When I saw Jessa and Ben at the women's show a few months ago, the interviewer asked what he "does," and he mumbled some crap about working for Jim Bob and touring with Jessa. Wonder why he didn't say he went to college (or had recently finished) instead of making himself sound like such a loser.

The Women's Show happened recently - Binapparently finished his coursework very late last year. The ceremony was held this weekend for anyone graduating this past school year. So, technically, he couldn't say he was in school because he had already finished, but may not have officially received his degree. :)

[Fascinated]

Man, those pics Jessa posted just re-enforce the whole "transfer of authority" thing to me in a way that nothing else has AND proves what attention-whores the Duggars are.

WHY are the Duggars sitting IN FRONT OF THE SEAWALDS at the graduation of Ben SEAWALD?

And now that Jessa is the property of Ben, she sits with HIS family! :roll: Gotta show who she belongs to!!!!

I get that she is friends with his sisters, but from everything we've been told, she is best friends with Jinger. Personally, I think I'd want to be sitting with my best friend for such a proud occasion... Somehow this has made me a sad panda :(

Edited for Riffles

I was just reading Guinn Seewald's fb page and her sister (I think she's Guinn's sister) posted that two of her kids were at the graduation ceremony and that JB paid for 40 people to attend, and took them all to Cracker Barrell for lunch. I think it was also to celebrate Bin's bday and, according to a friend of mine (I don't yet have the source for this), TLC was there filming it all. So having all of the Duggars there would make sense. Plus, my friend says that it was TLC who actually bought the 40 tickets, not JB. I will try to find out the source for this.

[LogansMama]

I noticed the VIP Duggar/Seewald clans got their own private section so they wouldn't be bothered by fans. And wasn't that Rotan in one of the pics?

[MisUndrstd]

I was just reading Guinn Seewald's fb page and her sister (I think she's Guinn's sister) posted that two of her kids were at the graduation ceremony and that JB paid for 40 people to attend, and took them all to Cracker Barrell for lunch. I think it was also to celebrate Bin's bday and, according to a friend of mine (I don't yet have the source for this), TLC was there filming it all. So having all of the Duggars there would make sense. Plus, my friend says that it was TLC who actually bought the 40 tickets, not JB. I will try to find out the source for this.

So when they have a big event like this and then decide to crash the local Cracker Barrel for supper, do they just show up or do they call ahead? I would assume they have to call ahead and give advance notice, at least I hope that they would. I imagine w/ TLC filming there is a lot of set up even before JB and his entourage arrive. Did they take the big bus to the graduation ceremony or did they drive several individual cars? Why I think of the little most minute detail when discussing a Duggar outing is beyond me. I just want to see how simple things other people do become such a huge undertaking for the Duggar's because of their sheer size as a family alone.

[ElegantMajesticPearls]

I was just reading Guinn Seewald's fb page and her sister (I think she's Guinn's sister) posted that two of her kids were at the graduation ceremony and that JB paid for 40 people to attend, and took them all to Cracker Barrell for lunch. I think it was also to celebrate Bin's bday and, according to a friend of mine (I don't yet have the source for this), TLC was there filming it all. So having all of the Duggars there would make sense. Plus, my friend says that it was TLC who actually bought the 40 tickets, not JB. I will try to find out the source for this.

I ve never heard of buying tickets to a graduation. From what I saw in the video there wasn't that many people in the venue so its not like they were hard up for space.

[NotALoserLikeYou]

But nurses have a certificate program on top of that. Paralegals too. You don't stop just at an AA and you instantly have those. You have specialized training as well.

No? If I hadn't already had an AA, then I could have gotten an AA In paralegal studies. It's equivalent to having the AA plus certificate. And nurses get an AS in nursing, nothing extra, although they have to pass a licensing test.

[eh02]

So when they have a big event like this and then decide to crash the local Cracker Barrel for supper, do they just show up or do they call ahead? I would assume they have to call ahead and give advance notice, at least I hope that they would. I imagine w/ TLC filming there is a lot of set up even before JB and his entourage arrive. Did they take the big bus to the graduation ceremony or did they drive several individual cars? Why I think of the little most minute detail when discussing a Duggar outing is beyond me. I just want to see how simple things other people do become such a huge undertaking for the Duggar's because of their sheer size as a family alone.

Huge parties are pretty standard at Cracker Barrel. I remember in high school going on trips with probably 50+ students when we stopped at Cracker Barrels. We wouldn't all be seated together, but they were pretty prepared to handle parties that big since they get people in and out so quickly. And I feel like every time I go to cracker barrel there's a high school or middle school there with an enormous group of students that fill up the entire gift store.

But, I would assume for a graduation party if you did actually want everyone seated together, that you'd probably call ahead. I'm not sure if Cracker Barrel even takes advance reservations, though.

[halcionne]

So when they have a big event like this and then decide to crash the local Cracker Barrel for supper, do they just show up or do they call ahead? I would assume they have to call ahead and give advance notice, at least I hope that they would. I imagine w/ TLC filming there is a lot of set up even before JB and his entourage arrive. Did they take the big bus to the graduation ceremony or did they drive several individual cars? Why I think of the little most minute detail when discussing a Duggar outing is beyond me. I just want to see how simple things other people do become such a huge undertaking for the Duggar's because of their sheer size as a family alone.

The logistics of everything this family does is why I watched the show to begin with. A meta behind the scenes about that would be really interesting. Which reminds me, I need to watch the BTS on youtube. I recently discovered that TLC has the eps for free on youtube for a short time before they start charging for them. Or something like that, idk.

[JillyO]

Yeah, I guess we'll be treated to Bingerman graduating on the show.

[MisUndrstd]

Yeah, I guess we'll be treated to Bingerman graduating on the show.

I wonder how many graduates and families of graduate's they ticked off? Undoubtedly the reserved seating for the Duggar clan was center stage and up close and personal. How many other graduate families had to sit in the nosebleed section because JB and his entourage took up a good portion of prime viewing seats? I mean I understand they have a show to do but at the expense of turning a college graduation into a 3-ring circus is really a low blow to so many who are just as proud that their loved one graduated.

[mpheels]

From Jessa's instagram, it looks like the Duggars and Seewalds were actually in the nosebleed section, or at least as close as you can get to nosebleeds in a pretty small arena.

Between my own education and lots of family members with multiple degrees, I've attended a lot of college/university graduation ceremonies. In my experience, tickets are free and each graduate gets a set number of tickets based on the number of seats and the number of graduates. The per-person allotment is fine for many families, and insufficient for others. The school might have a wait list for extra tickets, but usually only a few per students. The fact that the Duggar's managed to get dozens of tickets is interesting, but I guess being featured on TLC is good publicity for the school

[Arrowoftruth]

Yeah, I guess we'll be treated to Bingerman graduating on the show.

I hope they ask him what he plans on doing with his degree.

[Andora]

My husband has a bachelor's degree in Political Science from a real university and it was almost impossible for him to find a job using it after graduation. He spent a lot of time wishing he'd gotten a degree in engineering or something more directly applicable. I have no idea what Bin will do with his associates degree, but it's great that he's interested in higher education in the first place.

[Snarkylark]

But nurses have a certificate program on top of that. Paralegals too. You don't stop just at an AA and you instantly have those. You have specialized training as well.

Not true. In my state, and I'd imagine most others, an associates or diploma program qualifies one to sit for RN boards. It's the same boards whether you have an Adn or BSN. Having a BSN may land you better employment but that's not a sure thing.

[MisUndrstd]

Not true. In my state, and I'd imagine most others, an associates or diploma program qualifies one to sit for RN boards. It's the same boards whether you have an Adn or BSN. Having a BSN may land you better employment but that's not a sure thing.

The Community College I went too had a better first time NCLEX pass rate (98%) than the local University in the area. the ADN programs are very structures and have little wiggle room for taking alternative classes. Once you are in the program you don't differ from the cirriculum at all. The CC I went too had such a good reputation the local hospital preferred to hire the graduates over the University graduates and with that being said the NCLEX is the same exam whether you have an associates degree in nursing or a bachelors degree in nursing.

[Snarkylark]

Man, those pics Jessa posted just re-enforce the whole "transfer of authority" thing to me in a way that nothing else has AND proves what attention-whores the Duggars are.

WHY are the Duggars sitting IN FRONT OF THE SEAWALDS at the graduation of Ben SEAWALD?

And now that Jessa is the property of Ben, she sits with HIS family! :roll: Gotta show who she belongs to!!!!

I get that she is friends with his sisters, but from everything we've been told, she is best friends with Jinger. Personally, I think I'd want to be sitting with my best friend for such a proud occasion... Somehow this has made me a sad panda :(

Edited for Riffles

Maybe she's sitting with ben's family because she likes them more....

[lizbeth]

The Women's Show happened recently - Binapparently finished his coursework very late last year. The ceremony was held this weekend for anyone graduating this past school year. So, technically, he couldn't say he was in school because he had already finished, but may not have officially received his degree. :)

Fair enough. I still think "I just recently finished college blah blah" would have sounded better than, "I do stuff for my wife's dad, and I'm on this tour because I couldn't leave little Jessypoo alone," haha.

I wonder how they handled graduates who didn't want to be shown on TV. "Here are your options. Sign this waver saying you agree to be shown on TV, or don't attend your own graduation. Your choice!"