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I examine in this paper the reasoning systems over youth, in theory and educational practices in the USA during the Cold War of the 1950s and 1960s and the “hot peace” from 1990 to nowadays. The cold war period focused on the education of independent teenagers who were expected not to succumb to the conformity of fascism or socialism. A theory of identity helped cement the rebelling youth and create sovereign psychopolitical subjects who would become of age through democratising educational practices. During the hot peace, the brains of teenagers and neurosciences have challenged the theory of rebel teenagers and of identity. Teenage biological imbalance is assumed with concerns about risk-taking and risk management. Researchers in neurosciences recommend postponing the voting age, the right to drive a car and other responsibilities and academic curricula are focused on the performance made at standardised tests. The developments reveal the rationalities of an actuarial imagination involving the reviewing of educational practices.