Despite negative publicity and state initiatives limiting the power of teachers unions, the annual poll found significant support for teachers. More than 70 percent of respondents said they have “trust and confidence” in public school teachers, and 69 percent of respondents gave public school teachers in their community a letter grade of an A or B, compared to 50 percent in 1984.

Another result found that 36 percent of respondents think that lack of financial support is the biggest problem facing schools.

And most respondents felt that decisions on teacher salaries and layoffs should be based on multiple factors, including advanced degrees, experience, and administrator evaluations, while their students’ scores on standardized tests were rated as least important. Also, most respondents thought that school districts should use multiple factors when determining layoffs, rather than seniority.

Full results of the poll are available at: www.pdkintl.org/kappan/poll.htm.

And so the Blame Game continues, though, there’s no denying that families play a huge role in student achievement, so much so, that it’s clear when they are not fulfilling that role.

That’s probably what spurred California lawmakers to adopt the Parent Accountability Act, the first state law granting judges the power to send parents of convicted gang members back to school.

Enacted in January, the statute has gotten off to a rocky start thanks to the state’s budget woes and, frankly, low attendance at the court-mandated classes which counsel parents on how to get more involved in their child’s life and how to spot signs of gang affiliation.

“The most difficult thing is to have control of the kids,” Socorro Gonzalez, a housekeeper and mom told the Huffington Post, after her son, a Los Angeles gang member, faced trouble with the law, forcing her to take classes. “When I come home, I don’t know what they have been up to.”

An honest and, no doubt, common problem among many parents. But here’s my question, if families have a hard time controlling their own kids, what makes people think that teachers can be any more successful?

Naomi Dillon, Senior Editor

Photo courtesy of Stockvault

What am I to make of a recent Washington Post poll that says D.C. Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee’s popularity has fallen—yet people are happier with the state of their schools?

It makes no sense to me that her “performance rating” has fallen from 59 percent last year to 43 percent this year. Or that her disapproval rating is 62 percent among African-Americans.

Test scores are up. Violence and crime are down. The quality of textbooks and other instructional materials has improved. Bad teachers are being taken out of the classroom.

This is exactly the progress that Washington, D.C., residents have wanted to see for the past 30 years, a period when a revolving door of superintendents and a variety of school governance models ensured that every step toward improvement was disrupted by political infighting and a sharp turn in policy direction.

Certainly Rhee is no saint. She’s made some questionable decisions. She’s also made her share of public relations blunders. She’s challenged the politically powerful teachers union and annoyed some parents with her willingness to make unpopular decisions, like closing their low-performing neighborhood schools.

But if concrete results are being seen, do people have to approve of how she’s doing things?

I’d like to think not. But given how special interest groups in Washington, D.C., have wasted decades of school reform by fighting on behalf of the status quo—and against anyone who challenges their privileges —it’s always possible that talk of Rhee’s popularity is just a sign that people once again are going to put adults ahead of children.

We are, after all, a society that likes quick fixes and immediate gratification. And slow, steady progress is boring. So there are always going to be those ready to junk what they’ve got—and get excited about a new “savior” of the schools who will “shake things up.”

Maybe I’m making too much of a simple poll. After all, we all love polls. We conduct polls about everything.

I just hope this poll simply reflects citizens’ feelings—not their intentions. I’d hate to think that education policy could ultimately be determined by a popularity contest.

Del Stover, Senior Editor