Jinger Duggar was famously homeschooled through the controversial program Advanced Training Institute founded by former IBLP leader Bill Gothard, and she revealed whether she’d consider pursuing higher education in the future.
“[I] haven’t given that too much thought,” Jinger, 30, replied in an Instagram Q&A with fans on Wednesday, April 3. “I am all about learning new things. We’ll see!”
As seen on the Duggar reality TV shows, parents Jim Bob Duggar and Michelle Duggar homeschooled their children and the curriculum was rooted in the teachings of the Institute of Basic Life Principles (IBLP).
ATI was “a Christian home education program that exhorted families to center their lives and learning around the Word of God,” according to the program’s website.
The program, based on Jesus’ “Sermon on the Mount” from Matthew 5-7, was controversial as the scripture was the primary source of learning for all subjects, including linguistics, law, history, science and medicine, which seemed to leave gaps in education.
Jinger’s older sister Jill Duggar and her husband, Derrick Dillard, have slammed the courses in the past, claiming that most of the Duggar siblings allegedly never went past a middle school education level.
“A lot of that was due to the show taking over. It was like, ‘Well, if the show requires most of the filming hours during the weekday, then school is not really that important,’” the attorney explained in an October 2023 interview with the Los Angeles Times. “If a family sees an opportunity to make money, they can justify taking away their kids’ time [in school] because, well, they don’t need education, they can just have this money to support them.”
Jill, 32, added that television production companies should have more “accountability” to ensure children are protected and getting the education they need.
“That [the TV show] is not taking priority and that their rights are not being violated,” Jill explained, admitting that she felt her siblings were “deprived of an education.” “I do think that the show took priority in a lot of areas of our lives. Yes, there were great parts to it. But there were also very difficult parts that I would not choose, if I got to go back and I actually had a choice.”
Jinger told The New York Times in February 2023 that she did not plan on homeschooling her two daughters, Evangeline Jo and Felicity. Jill once said she was looking into homeschooling programs for her son, Israel, but had enrolled him in public school in 2020.
Read More: World News | Entertainment News | Celeb News
InTouch
