WASHINGTON — Americans approve of their local teachers and schools more than ever, but are more critical of the nation’s school system, teachers unions and school boards.
According to the results of the 43rd annual Gallup/PDK education poll released Wednesday, respondents strongly support school choice and charter schools and show lukewarm approval for President Barack Obama’s performance in education.
“When I look at the numbers, I see an American public that largely has been won over by reform ideas first generated by Republicans a few decades ago — ideas they have steadily nurtured ever since,” writes Joan Richardson, editor-in-chief of PDK’s “Phi Delta Kappan” magazine, which published the poll’s results.
While most respondents — 79 percent — said they would award an A or a B grade to their eldest child’s school, an all-time low of 17 percent gave the same positive review of the country’s schools overall.
“Parents know teachers in their local schools, so it’s easier for them to know more about the schools in their local community,” said William Bushaw, an author on the report and the executive director of PDK International, an association of educators whose mission is to promote high-quality public schooling as essential to democracy.
“When it comes to our nation’s schools as a whole, people are much less familiar with the issues,” he said.
Although 47 percent of the 1,000 respondents viewed teachers unions as harmful to a quality education, a slim majority reported siding with the unions in the collective bargaining battles that took place earlier this year in states such as Wisconsin, Indiana and Ohio.
“Americans have consistently felt that teachers are underpaid, so it could be that they worry that legislation restricting collective bargaining could result in lower salaries for teachers,” Bushaw said. “Not only would that be tough for the current teacher workforce, it would also make it more difficult to attract bright and dedicated people into the teaching force in the future.”
Overall, the poll found a high regard for the profession of teaching. Three in four respondents said high-achieving students should be recruited for teaching, and two in three said they would like their child to become a teacher.
“It’s clear that Americans recognize the importance of getting quality students to become the next generation of great teachers,” Bushaw said.
