The real question about college isn’t whether it prepares students for careers. It’s how. And the “how” of the college experience is more complex, personal and misunderstood than most people realize.

Many students in higher education feel alone. They don’t know that everyone else is feeling the same fears—of failure, of disappointing their families, of not being enough. As educators, we balance ...

That’s a valuable lesson about how good it feels to be able to make a choice, which can boost kids’ confidence and independence. Plus, it helps those who get in trouble for misbehaving—who might be ...