Public School Teachers Rip Us Off

High school teachers identified as most influential

With winter break over and the holidays retreating into memory, students, parents and teachers dive into the second half of the school year. With books back on the brain, it’s an appropriate time to think about the relationships teachers share with students, parents and administrators. According to a new Harris Poll, perceived levels of respect between these parties is down – dramatically so in many cases – in comparison to what Americans recall from their own K-12 experiences. While nearly four in five Americans (79%) believe students respected teachers when they were in school, that number has plummeted 48 points, with only 31% believing students respect teachers today.

These are some of the results of The Harris Poll® of 2,250 adults surveyed online between November 13 and 18, 2013 by Harris Interactive.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

When thinking about school dynamics when they were K-12 students themselves, vast majorities of Americans recall respect existing between academic “stakeholders.” Respect between teachers and parents during this time is perceived as having been especially strong, with 91% of Americans each believing that teachers respected parents, and that parents respected teachers.

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