Gallup Poll: Americans turning against teachers unions, turning on to public school reform

Lest the unions get complacent, they should review this poll:

 

October 8, 2011

 

Gallup Poll: Americans turning against teachers unions, turning on to public school reform

 

By Victor Skinner

EAG Communications

 

     OMAHA, Neb. - An annual poll regarding the U.S. public education system shows that teachers unions are losing support among Americans, while the percentage of people that support school reform has reached a record high.

 

     The results underscore the growing momentum behind efforts to expand school choice programs, improve the quality of instruction and inject accountability into teacher evaluation and compensation.

 

     The 43rd annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitudes toward the Public Schools is a fair measure of public opinion, experts agree, with the exception of a poorly framed question on school vouchers which produced questionable results.

 

 

Union power

 

     The poll results show that nearly half of the 1,000 American adults polled about the influence of unionism in schools believe it is hurting public education.

 

     "In 1976, the PDK/Gallup Poll asked Americans if teacher unionization helped, hurt, or made no difference in the quality of public school education in the United States. Back then, only one in four Americans believed teacher unions helped, but a relatively large number (13%) were undecided," according to the report.

 

     "Today, one in four Americans still believe teachers unions help, but almost one of two Americans believes that teacher unions hurt public schools."

 

     In other words, the undecided have decided that unions are a toxic influence on public schools. A total of 47 percent of those polled said teachers unions have hurt schools.