It’s the Money, Stupid, Not the Teachers
The results are in from the latest public opinion poll on teachers. According to the 44th annualPhi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of public attitudes toward the public schools, 71% of respondents say they have trust and confidence in the nation's teachers. 43% of parents and 35% of Americans in general say money is the biggest issue, up from 17% in 2002.
While it is heartening to know that two-thirds of respondents are willing to pay higher taxes to improve the schools, it also shows a lack of understanding about the main causes of the achievement gap and other K-12 education problems: high poverty among the students and low taxes for the wealthy. The former is the main cause of low student achievement. The latter