Most Americans do not agree with the idea that teachers, in general, are attempting to push certain ideological perspectives on children rather than simply educating them on course content.
That finding places these Americans at odds with the far-right crowd that seems so insistent on isolating and potentially alienating teachers. In Florida, for instance, classroom discussions of sexual orientation and gender identity have been broadly banned (with few exceptions), which has been positioned since its inception to penalize teachers who happen to be LGBTQ+ and might mention their personal lives. And with the continued popularity of efforts to restrict access to certain books, librarians and other educational staff responsible for book collections have also faced criticism — targeting that has repeatedly escalated to vitriolic, threatening levels.
The new polling was from The Harris Poll and HarrisX, and the wording of the question specifically asked survey participants for their perspectives on teachers’ unions. “Do you think teachers unions are mostly trying to help kids get a better education or mostly trying to push an ideology on kids?” they were asked. A full 60 percent went with the first option, while only 40 percent selected the latter, representing a clear lead for those generally in support of teachers — even if 40 percent of Americans still translates, as a statistic, into a large number of individuals, numerically.
This set of polling had some noteworthy data elsewhere, like the exactly split outcome on the question of whether the prosecutions facing former President Donald Trump are political or legitimate. Half of the overall polling group went with each option. Among the always politically clinching independents, there was a slight lead for the answer that the dozens and dozens of charges facing Trump are legitimate. Recently, the former president faced a notable argument in court from the team for Special Counsel Jack Smith that he should be placed under specific restrictions for his public commentary, specifically in relation to the criminal case alleging election interference. There are concerns about threats spurred by the ex-president’s rhetoric.
