"American schooling sequesters students from the real world, breaks knowledge down into component pieces, and demands that students commit fragments of knowledge to memory. Applications are reserved for pen-and-paper exercises at the back of the chapter. Interdisciplinary applications are rare, and applications in the context of working groups are even more rare." (p. 14)

"The Europeans and Japanese organized their educational systems and workplaces to make more effective use of non-college-bound students and nonsupervisory workers. The Europeans built elaborate apprenticeship structures that mixed work and learning. The Japanese provided high-quality elementary and secondary education to both college- and non-college-bound students. Our competitors also carved a more applied point on their intellectual pencil, focusing scarce financial and intellectual resources on real-world questions. Product development and process innovations were emphasized over basic research, and applied learning was emphasized at school and at work. The European use of apprenticeship, the Japanese use of group processes in school, and the emphasis on problem-solving teams on the job in both Europe and Japan are obvious examples of this applied focus." (p. 14)