Duggars to be keynote speakers at 2016 Alberta homeschool convention

Reality TV and tabloid regulars Jim Bob and Michelle Duggarplan on visiting Alberta in thespring to give advice to other parents who homeschool their children.

The Duggar family has been clouded in controversy since May, when TLC cancelled their reality TV show, 19 Kids and Counting, after their eldest son admitted he had molested four of his sisters when he was a teenager.

Despite this, the couple are scheduled to be the keynote speakers at the 2016 Alberta Home Education Convention in the spring.

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"We don't look for absolutely perfect speakers because, well we're human. Someonewho is perfect? That's unattainable," said Paul van den Bosch, president of the Alberta Home Education Association.

He said organizers booked the Duggars two years ago, long before the news about Josh Duggar surfaced.

"We were getting many more positive emails and calls from our members who still wanted to hear the Duggars," said van den Bosch. "[They] basically said, you know, this did happen 10 years ago and it was the son, not the parents, so please don't punish the parents for the sin of the son."

While the Duggars were initially hired to share theirunique experiencehomeschooling many children at once, van den Bosch believes they will also speak openly about childhood sexual abuse.

"This did happen. It was a terrible, tragic thing," he said.

"We hope that the Duggars will speak about what happened, what they learned, what they've done to prevent further incidents like this."

But at least one independent schoolgroup has moved to distance itself from the Duggars,sayingthe keynote speakers are"not representative" of Alberta homeschoolers.

"It is unfortunatethat a group of people are tarnished with such a negative brush because of the actions of one family or organization," said DianaStinn, founder of the Phoenix Foundation, in a statement issued late Thursday.

The homeschoolconvention is to take place April 8 and 9 in Red Deer, Alta.