Jessa Duggar was thrilled to watch husband Ben Seewald graduate from National Park Community College over the weekend, but her husband’s major milestone might leave some of Jessa’s fans wondering why she isn’t pursuing higher education. Her family’s reality show, 19 Kids and Counting , is a big hit on TLC, so you’d think that her parents would be getting paid enough to send her school.
Judging from 22-year-old Jessa Duggar’s reaction to 19-year-old Ben Seewald’s big moment, it’s obvious that she sees graduating from college as a huge accomplishment.
“Congrats to my man @ben_seewald!!!” the mom-to-be captioned an Instagram photo. “So proud of you! #CollegeGraduation #NationalParkCollege.”
According to Us Weekly , Jessa was ecstatic when Ben acknowledged her after receiving his diploma.
“He blew me a kiss from the stage!” she gushed on Instagram.
People reports that Ben Seewald majored in political science , but, as the Inquisitr previously reported, he has revealed that he wants to become a preacher . Perhaps he’s planning on combining religion and politics a la Mike Huckabee — it’s no secret that the Duggars want the former Baptist preacher to become the next president of the United States.
Unfortunately for Jessa, she’ll never be able to have the same aspirations as Ben. According to Patheos , the Duggars believe “that college attendance is problematic for children of either gender but especially for girls” and that “marrying and having large numbers of children is the only godly path available.” In other words, pregnant Jessa is following in Michelle’s footsteps by starting her “career” as a baby factory.
The Duggars have four daughters who are old enough to be in college: Jana Duggar (25), Jill Duggar (24), Jessa Duggar (22), and Jinger Duggar (21). However, not one of these 19 Kids and Counting stars is attending a brick-and-mortar school.
The Duggars might have a problem with allowing their daughters to leave home for college, but they aren’t completely against letting them get an education beyond their homeschooling . According to the Duggar Family Blog , they are allowed to take CollegePlus! classes online. CollegePlus! is “a Christian organization that guides students through the process of getting online degrees.” Jana and Jill Duggar were also allowed to work as midwife apprentices, but Jessa’s only known “job” seems to be homeschooling her younger siblings.
The Duggars have actually softened their stance on college recently — Joseph Duggar became the first member of the family to leave home for college when he started going to school at the Crown Bible College in Knoxville, Tennessee. It’s obviously a religious school, and it’s not accredited. However, at least it’s a start — maybe someday the Duggars’ views will evolve enough that they’ll allow a daughter to leave home for school.
Do you think it’s sad that Jessa Duggar just watched Ben Seewald graduate from a community college, knowing that she’ll never get to do the same?
[Image credit: Ben Seewald/ Instagram ]