The questions on this survey of Missouri teachers (conducted by the Missouri State Teachers Association) are broad and ambiguous. Only teachers who were willing to answer were polled. I question the science of the poll, but somewhere around 4,000 chose to be a part of it. Still the numbers are interesting and beg the question: How does our school stack up?
 | The first pie chart reveals that over 71% of the responders do not feel safe in their classrooms. I wonder what they mean by that: Are they afraid of an armed intruder? Do they envision an assault by a violent student? Do they fear an administrator or a peer? And by the way, could a majority of those surveyed come from urban districts and inner cities? |
 | The second chart addresses verbal assault. Almost the same number (around 70%) claim that verbal assault has occurred in their schools. Some of the same questions must be asked to follow up on this question. Where is the verbal assault originating, and who is on the receiving end? Teachers? Secretaries? Students? |
 | The third chart helps draw a conclusion that most of the fears from the teachers may originate from verbal assaults. This chart shows that nearly 80% of responders indicate that physical assault is not a problem. |
 | Next comes a bar graph to show whom teachers fear the most. About 2,000 teachers say students have committed the violent acts they have witnessed. Half that number have seen parents become violent, while a smaller number of teachers report a colleague or administrator has become violent. |
 | And yet, only about a quarter of the responders say they have considered leaving education because of their safety concerns. |
What conclusions can be drawn from this information? I would propose that further study must be conducted to "drill down" the causes of concern. Are the violent acts single occurrences or are they ongoing? I think there are more questions generated by a survey such as this one than answers gleaned.
Still, how does our school stack up?
Still, how does our school stack up?
