The back-to-school frenzy is on, but with a decidedly political twist, as the following surveys reveal.
A recent month-long Gallup Panel found that:
- 57% of K-12 teachers are “very concerned” about being exposed to the coronavirus on the job:
- 18% of teachers are “moderately concerned.”
- 25% of teachers are either “not too concerned “or “not at all concerned.”
On the other hand:
- Just 21% of other workers are “very concerned” about coronavirus exposure on the job.
- 29% of other workers are “moderately concerned.
- 50% of other workers are either “not too concerned” or “not at all concerned.”
That begs the question: How safe or unsafe would teachers be if, like dentists poking around in our mouths, they donned masks, shields, and rubber gloves?
Meanwhile, a new Peterson Foundation poll found that 61% of voters believe “returning students to brick-and-mortar schools will harm the economy by fueling the spread of the coronavirus.”
And that, by the way, breaks down to:
- 84% of Democrats opposed to a return to in-person schooling
- 63% of Independents opposed to such a return
- 30% of Republicans opposed to such a return
Meanwhile, an August 18 EDNext poll of 4,291 adults and an over-sampling of teachers revealed that:
- 73% of parents now back having their kids take some high school online classes.
- 30% of respondents gave our public schools either an A or a B—the highest approval rating ever and 6% above last year’s; the majority, however, gave them a C, D, or F.
- 66% of Democrats support teacher pay raises; Republicans came in at 40%.
Then there’s the Trump effect in the poll:
- Among the general public, 44% said they support charter schools.
- Democrats came in at 37%, but that dropped to 30% after they learned of Trumps’ support.
- Republican support for charters rose from 54% to 65% upon learning of Trump’s support.
Of note: Despite Trump’s charter school support, his most recent budget proposal eliminates $440 million in dedicated charter school aid, combining it with several other big programs into a block grant.
Overall:
- Support for charter schools slipped from 47% to 44%.
- Opposition slipped from 40% to 37%.
And so it goes in these divided and divisive pandemic times.
My niece is my dentist and her staff seems very well protected with a Pure Air (www.pureair.com) purifier around their necks, canisters that refresh the air in each room every couple of minutes, face shields and masks. It can be done!
Perhaps masks and breathing in Pure Air would help teachers feel safer.
Oh, wow!!! Not familiar with Pure Air but am sure gonna look it up today and find out more. Many, many thanks. Unlike so many others, including countless teachers ready to strike if their schools reopen in person, I’m for kids in their classrooms and agree, this pure air system could make it happen safely. Thank you! Thank you, Jean!!