Friday, Sept. 13. 1985
University Daily Kansan
Nation/World
11
Many teachers dissatisfied, poll shows
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — A majority of teachers think their views aren't being sought in the creation of education reforms, which are sweeping the country, and more than one in four say they are likely to quit the classroom within five years, according to a poll released yesterday.
"Clearly, many teachers feel left out of the wave of reform," said Louis Harris, who conducted the second annual "Metropolitan Life Survey of The American Teacher." Teachers are as opposed as ever to merit pay, according to the latest survey. And most are also leewy of
allowing school districts to hire non-certified persons as teachers.
Low salaries and poor working conditions were mentioned by nearly two-thirds of the 27 percent of teachers who said that they were very likely or somewhat likely to leave the profession in five years.
More than half of all teachers surveyed said they had seriously considered leaving the profession for some other occupation.
The telephone survey of 1,847 public school teachers, conducted between April and June, found that 36 percent say they experience great stress on the job, compared with only 27 percent of all American adults who say they feel that way.
"Teachers are telling the American public that education is headed for deep trouble unless teaching is treated as a true profession," said Mary Hatwood Futrell, president of the National Education Association.
Futrell and Albert Shanker, head of the rival teacher union, the American Federation of Teachers, were at a news conference at which the findings were released.
This year's teacher poll asked different questions from the first one released a little over a year ago by Metropolitan Life, and therefore yielded few comparable results. Last year's poll found surprisingly solid support for most education reforms,
even for teacher testing, which teacher unions had long opposed.
By contrast, the latest survey, which had a potential sampling error of 5 percentage points, focused more on whether teachers think reform measures already in place will help fend off a looming teacher shortage.
The survey findings were particularly ominous because federal studies now estimate that by 1992 the nation will have 34 percent fewer teachers than are needed.
The teachers gave mixed grades to educational reforms, including efforts in some states to improve curriculums, raise salaries and require students and teachers to pass tests.
Bennett alters stand on court ruling
United Press International
WASHINGTON - William Bennett, secretary of education, yesterday issued a letter of "clarification" telling schools they must comply with a recent Supreme Court ruling on the separation of church and state that he is being sued to obey.
In the letter to state school officials, however, Bennett reiterated his Aug. 15 offer to help those
districts that could show just cause to delay carrying out of the decision.
On July 1, the Supreme Court held 5-4 that public school teachers may not teach disadvantaged students on the grounds of parochial schools, citing the constitutional separation of church and state.
Several schools complained that immediate compliance would deny thousands of needy youngsters an education. Bennett said that the justices were turning the Constitution into an instrument for the
"ghettoing of religion."
Americans United for Separation of Church and State responded to his offer to help schools delay carrying out the ruling by filing suit against him on Sept. 3.
In yesterday's letter, Bennett told state school officials that his department had received numerous questions concerning the ruling and said that the letter was intended to
provide further clarification of the department's position.
Bennett quoted from his Aug. 15 letter in which he said that his department would support local and state agencies in litigation if they could show that they had good grounds for requesting delays in fulfilling the order.
Bennett said, however, "Such delays in implementation in no way represent an attempt to evade the law."
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