With that out of the way, we might as well talk articles. I’ll start with the “6 reasons” article, since you seem eager to discuss it. The article lists six arguments:
1. She will attract the wrong types of men.
According to the article, young men are “very attracted to this responsible, organized, smart woman who has it all together along with a steady paying job with benefits.” The crux of this argument is that men won’t take care of women who can take care of themselves. The implication seems to be that women are better off being relatively helpless so that they attract strong providers.
There are several problems with this argument. One, it assumes that a given woman is called to marriage, which may not be the case. Two, it assumes that all the men she will meet at college are lazy do-nothings, which is certainly not the case. Three, it assumes that women cannot differentiate between men who will support and care for them (whether financially or otherwise) and men who will not. Since we know that it’s perfectly possible for a Christian woman to meet a hardworking Christian man at a college and work together with him to forge a successful marriage, this argument doesn’t hold water.
Another question is whether the presumption that male college students are going to be financial failures is even accurate; after all, college-educated men have access to higher-paying careers than men without higher education. Since many college-educated men are going to fall for women they meet at university, you could just as easily argue that you’re more likely to find a man on the road to financial stability at college than you are at home.
And, to reiterate, some women don’t marry, and they had better have a “steady paying job with benefits” if they want to live in this world with any degree of comfort.
2. She will be in a near occasion of sin.
This argument applies equally to males and females; nothing else really needs to be said. It’s not an argument for why women, specifically, shouldn’t go to college, while men should.
3. She will not learn to be a wife and mother.
I beg to differ. Since we know from other articles that the author values homeschooling, and we know that he expects a man to work a full-time job as household provider, we must assume that part of being “a wife and mother” is homeschooling your children. More knowledge makes you better suited to teaching your children (both sons and daughters) all about the awesome world they live in. Since you get a lot more knowledge at college (both from the coursework and the new environment), it stands to reason that the extra life experience will make you a better teacher.
Even if you don’t end up homeschooling your children, it’s still helpful to know a lot when teaching them. To use a personal example- my mother had a liberal arts education as well as a lot of training in fine arts, and she made good use of it even as a SAHM- she helped out with church sets and scenery for plays, made beautiful banners and paintings, and taught me a lot more about science, literature, art, history, and other topics than my elementary education ever did. Her education made her a better mother, and she was able to use it to enrich the whole parish on a pretty regular basis.
And of course, lest we forget: not all women are called to be wives and mothers.
4. The cost of a degree is becoming more difficult to recoup.
This is another argument that applies equally to males and females. There’s nothing female-specific here.
**5. You don’t have to prove anything to the world. **
No, women shouldn’t be pressured into believing that they must go to college to have worth. College isn’t the best path for some people, both men and women. But for someone who says women don’t have anything to prove, the author is being really patronizing here, and is belittling women’s goals and callings. He really doesn’t sound sincere.
6. It could be a near occasion of sin for the parents.
This applies equally to both men and women, again.
7. She will regret it.
The author is awfully certain of this point. No “could” or “might”- no, a woman’s regret is a statistical certainty. Of course, since I know several counter-examples personally, I don’t believe him.
I’ve met women who were very happy that they went to college- married women, whose children are leaving home now. Some of them used their college educations to have careers and earn money to provide for their families. Some of them used their college educations to homeschool their children. Others used their college educations to teach their children outside of school, as well as enrich their faith communities. Others were glad that their college educations gave them the chance to work part-time, doing what they love while also spending time with their children. Others still were downright grateful for their college educations when their husbands were no longer able to provide for them, either due to sickness or death. Life insurance isn’t enough to raise a family on.
So no, in my experience, regret is not certainty. It’s a chance, and I don’t think we should avoid opportunities or callings just because there’s a chance we might regret them in the future.
8. It could interfere with a religious vocation.
True. But since it’s likely to be very helpful to someone whose vocation is the single life, and could also be very helpful to a married woman for reasons detailed above, I really don’t think this is a good reason for those who don’t feel called to the religious life to avoid college on the off-chance that it turns out to be their vocation. Even if they needed to spend more time discerning, they’ll have to have some way of supporting themselves during the early stages of the discernment process.
In conclusion… These really aren’t very good arguments.
(While I was not taught by Aristotle himself, it seems so long ago that my professor probably was.
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