Today, many observers believe that widespread commitment to U.S. public education has eroded alarmingly. "Unhappily, many Americans no longer believe the public schools are their schools," asserted David Mathews of the Kettering Foundation in his recent book, Is There a Public for Public Schools?
The United States has not always had public schools of the sort we know today, Mathews notes. In fact, the idea that public schools should be common and free to all citizens, paid for by public funds and controlled by citizen boards, evolved slowly over time. Support for the idea grew as Americans came to believe that such schools were most consistent with democratic ideals and best able to forge one nation from many diverse peoples.
That history is now being reversed, advocates of public education warn. "Despite a long tradition of support for public education, Americans today seem to be halfway out the schoolhouse door," Mathews writes.
Not all observers make such a bleak assessment of the current level of support for public schools, however. According to Lowell Rose, former executive director of Phi Delta Kappa (PDK) International, most Americans still have faith in public education.
Rose bases his opinion on recent survey data. Findings from the 1996 Phi Delta Kappa/Gallup Poll of the Public's Attitude Toward the Public Schools shows "a strong base of support for the public schools, especially in the local community and among parents," says Rose, who is coauthor of the survey report. (The survey, which was conducted by telephone in May 1996, gathered the opinions of 1,329 adults.) The support that respondents expressed for their local public schools is heartening, Rose says, because most decisions that affect schools are made at the local level.
A central finding of the survey was that most Americans do not consider vouchers and private schools the answer to problems with the public schools. Respondents rejected (by a 61% to 36% margin) the idea of allowing students and their parents to choose a private school to attend at public expense. A solid majority (69%) opposed replacing the public school system with one made up of private and church-based schools. Even 57% of parents with a child in private school opposed this option.
The survey findings also revealed that this commitment to public schooling persists despite perceptions that private schools are superior. Respondents gave higher marks to local nonpublic schools (63% gave these an A or B) than to local public schools (only 43% gave these an A or B). Nevertheless, 63% of public school parents said they would keep their child in public school system even if cost were not a factor.
Generating Support
No one, however, is arguing that public schools can rest easy about the level of support they now receive from the public. But how can stronger support be generated?
For his part, Mathews believes the answer lies in "deriving the mission for education from the purposes of the community." Schools should "contract" to reach public objectives. The underlying challenge, he argues, is for communities to revitalize public life, because public schools are more likely to flourish in communities that have a strong "civil infrastructure."
Rose emphasizes that educators need to communicate better with the public about how well schools are actually doing. The PDK/Gallup Poll shows that the public is not well informed about education, he says. For example, 64% of respondents believed (incorrectly) that dropout rates are worse today than they were 25 years ago, and 54% believed that U.S. students trail their peers in other developed countries in reading—when, in fact, they rank near the top.
Educators need to recognize that informing the public "has to be the responsibility of educators," Rose says. "It's clearly not being done by the media, who have different objectives." For most journalists, he notes, "Good news is not news."
To jumpstart this improved communication, PDK, the National PTA, and the Center on National Education Policy are jointly sponsoring 28 forums that will be held in communities across the United States beginning this fall. In each community, 40 to 50 stakeholders will discuss the purposes of public schools, how effective they are, and how they should change—with the goal of moving to consensus on the three questions. Rose sees the forums as the opening activity in an ongoing, national discussion about the future of public schools.
For the foreseeable future, the great majority of U.S. students will be in public schools, Rose points out, so Americans should stop "kicking" their schools and start working to improve them.
ASCD's Position
ASCD's Position
At its 1996 Annual Conference, ASCD adopted an official position on the "support and protection of public education in a democracy." The position statement asserts: "The maintenance and enrichment of public education is critical to sustaining democracy. Democracies depend on public schools for the education of active citizens through equal access to a free, high-quality public education."
ASCD's Action Plan for this position includes three major goals: (1) to increase dialogue among educators, the general public, and policymakers about the importance of educating for democracy; (2) to serve as a source of information about democratic education for educators, policymakers, and the general public; and, (3) to advocate the ongoing support of public schools against the backdrop of increased efforts to privatize schooling.
ASCD Video Program
ASCD Video Program
ASCD's new video-based staff development program, Building Support for Public Schools, will be available in December. The program includes two videotapes and a facilitator's guide. Stock no. 496237EU. Price: $396 (ASCD members); $466 (nonmembers). A preview tape is available for $20. For more information, call ASCD at 1-800-933-2723 or 703-549-9110.
For more information on the Forums Project, contact Lowell Rose at PDK International Headquarters. Phone: 812-339-1156. Fax: 812-339-0018.