First Published in 1998. A central paradox of American education today is that classrooms are often not conducive to learning. Young people who are bright, active participants in outside-of- school settings become disengaged or hostile in the classroom. Through detailed portrayals of innovative programs, Real Learning, Real Work demonstrates how students can learn to embrace what they learn in the classroom when they are able to use the intellectual tools of the sciences and the humanities to make sense of their outside experience.