Jinger Duggar Has Kid in “Christian Hybrid” School: What’s That?

Over the years, Jinger Duggar has broken more of Jim Bob Duggar’s rules. Good! Following in his footsteps means being a bad person.

But even as she has grown into her own person, she and her husband remain decidedly on the fringes of American society.

During a recent Q&A, Jinger shared that she and Jeremy have placed their daughter in “Christian hybrid” school.

But … what does that mean? And is it the sort of thing that Jim Bob would like?

Infamously, Jinger and all of her siblings are victims of Michelle Duggar’s homeschooling.

Michelle did not deprive them of a normal life or a real education alone. And missing out on meeting peers and making friends was only part of the problem.

They used the Advanced Training Institute’s teachings. API meant that the Duggars learned “practical Christian approaches” to every topic instead of, you know, receiving a proper education.

Fairly recently, Derick Dillard has spoken about the “education” that his wife and other victims of the Duggar family’s homeschooling program received.

He has likened their academic level to about that of a “middle school” student. And obviously, in subjects where what a student would normally learn things that contradict with fundamentalist ideology, they learned even less.

As a result, the entire family has fewer qualifications for work outside of the cult … and is more dependent upon the cult for jobs and even social interaction. This is how these toxic communities discourage people from breaking away.

As with so many family curses, some of the Duggars are now passing on this experience to their own children.

This includes both Jessa and Joy-Anna, who are homeschooling their children. There is no substitute for the socialization options with a diverse group of classmates, and their children will never have that experience.

Jill has, in a family first, enrolled her son in public school. This means that the Dillard kids will meet other people who have different experiences, and they’ll learn topics without a fundamentalist filter.

But what’s going on with Jinger?

During a recent Q&A with her fans and followers, Jinger managed to stir some confusion among those curious about her life.

She shared that her daughter, Felicity, is currently taking part in somehting called “Christian hybrid” school. Felicity is five years old.

The idea of “hybrid” evokes images of science fiction experiments, aliens, even an annoying trope in otherwise enjoyable vampire media.

But in this case, a “Christian hybrid” learning format means a few days of in-person classroom time and a few days of at-home learning, which might involve physical instructional materials or might be online.

The in-person education is part of a Christian instructional program. So, in other words, all of Felicity’s education has a lens that matches her parents’ religious views. The only thing “hybrid” about it is that she’s at home for part of the time.

Jinger also revealed that she and Jeremy have weighed the (alleged) merits of enrolling Felicity in private Christian school.

For now, though, they are taking things “one year at a time.”

Have you ever had a friend whose hyper-religious parents played it by year with their education in this way? Suffice it to say that it can be disruptive.