The Editor’s Note

Abstract

Twenty years of unrelenting teacher bashing has not managed to budge the American public’s views of teachers: The public thinks teachers are great. When you ask public school parents if they trust and have confidence in teachers, 62% answer yes. But they don’t stop there. In this year’s PDK/Gallup Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools, Americans back up that response with some specifics: Communicating with their child’s teacher is easy; parents believe schools are safe places where children are able to do their best work; and teacher salaries are too low. But Americans also have high expectations of teachers, on par with the professionalism expected of doctors and lawyers.