why either or

I came across the following quote from an article by Dr. Brian Abshire which expresses the reasoning behind why many people do not agree with sending young ladies to college.

Finally, some criticize the “patriarchs” for not wanting to invest in an expensive college education for their daughters because we “we need more young ladies in law, school, medicine, the arts and so on.” Again, this criticism assumes a modern cultural value and established it as the norm despite the fact that it has no biblical warrant and constitutes social suicide. Even the radical feminists today admit that women cannot adequately function as both a “career” woman and mother. A simple examination of the birth rates for professional women shows that the more highly educated a women becomes, the LESS likely she is to get married and the LESS likely to have children. Thus, this writer is actually encouraging brilliant Christian women to take a course of action that will mean cutting off their genetic inheritance for future generations! We do not need MORE female Christian lawyers, doctors or artists, but MORE godly women raising MORE godly children who will fill the earth and subdue it to the glory of God. And does it really make economic sense to invest tens of thousands of dollars for a woman to get an advanced education (often having to go into debt to finance that education) that she will NOT use if she accepts that her highest calling is to be a wife and mother? Thus, this “reformer” is actually encouraging a sociological system that impoverishes the family and reduces its ability to exercise godly dominion.

I also found another series of articles, parts one and two, which discuss what I call the "hyper-patriarchy" views that have received a hearing in the past view years. As I have long known, there is a lack of understanding of the benefits that one gleans from a college education that is translated into success as a wife and mother.

Look at the women who have contributed to this blog. How many of us are homemakers who are using our education to be helpmeets, moms, fruitful citizens, and gifted members of the body of Christ? While I don't agree or disagree with everything in any of these three articles, I think they help to bring a greater understanding to the theological and recent historical perspectives of those who oppose formal higher education for women.

What saddens me the most is that, while I agree with so much that has been written about family life, I think it is sad that these men have such little confidence in the women in their lives that they think they will turn and run away from homemaking and motherhood and toward a careerist lifestyle if they are educated.There is also no mention of the seasons of a woman's life and the shifting of priorities that inevitably comes with those seasons.

My question, is “why does it have to be either or?”