For better or for worse, public opinion has always shaped public policy. More than 200 hundred years ago, Thomas Jefferson wrote, “The basis of our government [is] the opinion of the people.” This is as it should be. But what happens when public views are distorted by a steady barrage of misinformation and half-truths?
The answer is playing out in our public schools, where years of propaganda from the “Gatekeepers of Mediocrity” − our education bureaucracy − have skewed public perception. In fact, the views of many Americans no longer reflect reality. Consider the findings from the recent 36th Annual Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll. This survey, assessing public attitudes toward public schools, asked the following question: “In your opinion, who is most important in determining how well or how poorly students perform in school?” Of those surveyed, 67 percent blamed parents or students. Only 30 percent believed that teachers played the most critical role. And when asked about the biggest problem facing public schools, the highest percentage of respondents pointed to a lack of funding.
Clearly, the establishment’s “blame game” has made significant inroads in the minds of many Americans. And the insatiable call for more money has led the public away from accountability, and ever deeper into our collective pocketbook.
Fortunately, two new publications are shedding some light on what really ails America’s schools. Teach For America‘s survey, “Equity within Reach: Insights from the Front Lines of America’s Achievement Gap”(highlighted on the NCEA homepage), provides some timely clarity about the obstacles to student achievement. Interestingly, of the 2,000 Teach for America Corps members interviewed for this survey, 98 percent said “no” when asked if the public understood the cause of the racial/economic achievement gap, or the right solutions for closing that gap. Keep in mind, too, that these teachers actually serve on the front lines of America’s low-income and rural schools. They might actually know what they’re talking about!
According to Teach for America members, three factors were overwhelmingly named as both the cause of and solution to the achievement gap: teachers, principals and expectations. Better teachers, high-quality leaders, and high expectations were cited as critical to closing the gap. Additionally, these teachers believed that greater funding in itself was not the answer, expressing skepticism about increasing funding without addressing the current allocation of resources. These teachers were also concerned that the public wrongly laid blame for the achievement gap at the feet of students and their families.
This week, Wendy Kopp, President and Founder of Teach for America, wrote an excellent opinion piece in the Los Angeles Times, highlighting the results of the survey. While calling reading levels among black high school graduates an “affront to our most fundamental ideals as a nation,” Kopp held out hope for a reversal of our academic fortunes. Her solution: “By building schools and school systems with great leadership, committed and talented teachers and high academic standards for all students, we can close the achievement gap.”
Another reformer exposing misperceptions about public schools is Dr. Jay Greene of the Manhattan Institute. His recently published book Education Myths – What Special-Interest Groups Want YOU to BELIEVE About our SCHOOLS – AND WHY IT ISN’T SO, provides a broad and illuminating overview of eighteen different “myths” perpetuated by the establishment, and explains why they are at odds with the research.
And so the battle for public opinion rages on. But it is a worthy fight. Around the country, effective schools and teachers are dispelling education myths and misperceptions, changing minds and elevating hopes. Good policies are sure to follow.
Miss Kakadelis is the head of the North Carolina Educational Alliance.
