Good News: Two-Thirds of Voters Have Grasp of Obvious
A Rasmussen poll of voters reveals 66% of them believe the teachers’ unions “are more interested in protecting their members’ jobs than in the quality of education.” Party identification has a surprisingly small effect on this belief, with 78% of Republicans holding it, 66% of independents and 55% of Democrats.
Apparently one-third of voters have difficulty wrapping their minds around the concept of teachers’ unions doing what teachers pay them to do.
December 18th, 2008 at 12:16
The Wall Street Journal called out the Teacher’s Union as well when talking about a new study on alternative teacher certification:
“Like all unions, teachers unions have a vested interest in restricting the labor supply to reduce job competition. Traditional state certification rules help to limit the supply of “certified” teachers”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122912779960403217.html
December 19th, 2008 at 12:16
[...] The American people may not know all the ins and outs of education reform, but enough of them get the big ideas to give me hope for the future. Look at this recent poll from Rasmussen Reports (H/T Mike Antonucci): [...]
December 28th, 2008 at 00:34
Debate ran high within Barack Obama’s transition team over whether the next secretary of Education should be a traditionalist in sync with the national teachers’ unions or a reformer who will help break the hold those unions have on Democratic Party policy. Obama’s choice of Chicago School Superintendent Arne Duncan is seen as a move to bridge those competing camps.
But two-thirds of U.S. voters (66%) say the teachers’ unions – the National Education Association and the American Federation of Teachers – are more interested in protecting their members’ jobs than in the quality of education.
Only 23% of voters say educational quality comes first for the unions, according to a new Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey. Twelve percent (12%) are undecided.
Men and women are equally critical of the teacher’s unions. Married voters are more critical than unmarried’s by 12 points. Seventy percent (70%) of voters with children at home think the unions are more interested in jobs in London Escorts, compared to 63% of those without children in the house.
While 78% of Republicans and 66% of unaffiliated voters say teachers’ jobs are the chief focus of the unions, only 55% of Democrats agree.