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Some of the most ardent defenders of parental rights argue that teenagers need strict parental regulation because teens are confused and easily corruptible. They’re not entirely wrong. But the process of adolescence — developing abstract thinking and fundamental moral values — isn’t complete unless young people are given the freedom to explore the world on…

However, this English obsession is not without reason. According to a 2013 report, individuals who speak English fluently earn 34 percent more than those who cannot. English is essential in today’s globalized work force, but language acquisition should be accumulative, not subtractive. Research shows that high mother tongue proficiency makes learning a second language easier…

One study in 2008 was able to capture this: When given a word puzzle to solve, the participants who exercised defensive pessimism did better while under a “threat motivational state”: when they were made to imagine what could go wrong, or the consequences of doing poorly. And on the flip side, their performance actually worsened…