Sixty-three percent of people trust local public-school teachers according to a new poll by PDK, an educators' group, reports Libby Stanford in Education Week. That rises to 72 percent of public-school parents.
But trust varies by topic, she writes.
While 56 percent of those polled have trust and confidence in public school teachers ability “to appropriately handle” U.S. history, only 44 percent trust teachers to handle “how the history of racism affects America today,” she reports. "Only 33 percent of Black adults said they trust their public school teachers 'to handle racial and ethnic diversity' in the classroom."
I'm not surprised to see that only 38 percent said they trust teachers to handle gender and sexuality issues.
Overall, public support for local public schools is up, reports PDK. But fewer people want their own children to become teachers.