To say an issue is academic can mean it doesn't really matter, not in the real world, anyway. Gary Brown takes a critical look at how higher education has become unreal for many students and what we might do to help re-engage our institutions with the world. (Contains 17 notes.)

Most people see a tactical barrier to implementing service learning (SL), which is how to create the infrastructure that makes SL possible without placing undue burden on schools, people, and teachers. Teachers must be shown how SL can be seamlessly incorporated into their teaching. The media are not especially concerned with SL, but coverage is…