American Education and School
Safety Survey
Horace Mann Educator Advisory Panel
August 2007
American Education and School Safety – Summary
In August 2007, 889 educators responded to the latest Educator Advisory
Panel survey covering American Education and School Safety. The first
section of the survey focused on the history of American Education and
included quotes from famous educators along with questions on
educational issues presented by Horace Mann in the 18th century and
whether those issues have been successfully addressed today.
The second section of the survey examined school safety and home safety.
Panel members were asked to rate a variety of risks based on the
seriousness of that threat to their students’ or their family’s safety. In
addition to our panel members, responses to home safety questions were
compared to responses from a Harris consumer poll which surveyed the
general population.
American Education and School Safety – Key Findings
•
Of the educational issues advocated by Horace Mann, 71% of educators believe that
everyone’s right to an education has been successfully achieved and 54% believe the quality
of schools that train educators has also been successfully achieved.
•
Conversely, 90% of educators believe parents taking a greater responsibility in the
educational system is still a struggle today along with the idea that students should give
back to society, communities should place a higher priority on school funding, and wages
for teachers should be increased. Over 80% of panel members believe these issues haven’t
been addressed successfully.
•
Student violence and threats from outsiders are considered to be the most serious threats to
student safety at school with 34% of panel members listing student violence as a serious or
moderate risk and 33% listing threats from outsiders as a serious or moderate risk. Further,
less than 40% of educators were confident or very confident in their school’s safety
procedures as they relate to student violence and threats from outsiders.
•
Concerns about student violence were also expressed in educator’s comments noting such
problems as bullying, weapons at schools, and student emotional problems as major areas of
concern.
•
Over half of all educator respondents were confident in their school’s emergency procedures
for natural disasters. Specifically, 84% were confident in their school’s fire emergency
procedures with 64% reporting that their school conducts fire drills at least once a month.
•
Just over 1/3 of respondents list fire as the disaster they are most prepared for at home with
fire and tornado as the disasters they are most at risk for at home.
3
American Education – History of Education
Educators were asked to complete a short quiz testing their knowledge of famous educators. The questions were intended to be
both fun and informative. Below are the results.
1. Which of these women was most strongly associated with the
movement to educate women to become teachers and is quoted as saying
“If all females were not only well educated themselves but were prepared to
communicate in an easy manner their stores of knowledge to others; if they not only
knew how to regulate their own minds, tempers, and habits but to effect
improvements in those around them, the face of society would be speedily changed ”?
Mary Lyon
15%
Correct Answer:
Catherine Beecher
Elaine Goodale Eastman
Catherine Beecher (1800-1878) cofounded the Hartford Female
Seminary in 1823, whose purpose was
to train women to be mothers and
teachers. She promoted women as
“natural” teachers throughout her
lifetime and contributed strongly to the
feminization of the teaching
profession. She was also instrumental
in the founding of women’s colleges in
Ohio, Iowa, Illinois, and Wisconsin.
7%
Catherine Beecher
Margaret Haley
Note: Results do not include 71% of educators who
responded “don’t know/not sure”.
70%
7%
n=255
4
American Education – History of Education
2. Who was known as the champion of “progressive” education in the
20th Century and advocated that “the role of the teacher is not to impose on
children irrelevant tasks which would be potentially useful a decade later, but to
identify the child’s interest, organize learning activities around its immediate and
proximate use, and step by step move the process in the desired direction”?
Correct Answer:
John Dewey
John Dewey (1859-1952)
founded the Chicago Laboratory
School in 1896, which was
designed to conduct, test, verify
and criticize the main theoretical
assumptions and principles of
learner-centered progressive
education. Dewey made
significant contributions to
education, psychology and
philosophy during the first half of
the 20th Century.
Henry
Thoreau
3%
G. Stanley
Hall
2%
John Dewey
Maria
Montessori
Note: Results do not include 23% of educators who
responded “don’t know/not sure”.
32%
64%
n=670
5
American Education – History of Education
3. Who is known as the father of the American public school system and
is attributed as saying that communities often spend more money to
improve their cattle than to improve their children and children who
dislike attending school should not be whipped, instead, their parents
should be whipped for not providing better schools?
Correct Answer:
Horace Mann
Horace Mann (1796-1859) was
named Secretary of the newlycreated Massachusetts Board of
Education in 1837. He spearheaded
the Common School Movement,
advocating that every child should
receive a basic education funded by
local taxes. In 1838 he was
instrumental in the establishment of
the first state-sponsored teacher
training institutes. He later served in
the U.S. House of Representatives
and as President of Antioch College
in Ohio.
John
Hughes
4%
Horace
Mann
Justin
Morrill
Noah
Webster
86%
2%
8%
Note: Results do not include 31% of educators who
responded “don’t know/not sure”.
n=599
6
American Education – History of Education
4. Who was a founding member of the NAACP and advocated that the
education of African Americans should not be limited to agriculture,
basic academics and occupational skills, but should also include the
pursuit of professional education in law, medicine, and politics?
Booker T.
Washington
22%
Correct Answer:
W.E.B. DuBois
W.E.B. DuBois (1859-1952) was a
controversial social reformer that was
educated at Harvard and the
University of Berlin. His ground
breaking social science research with
African Americans in Philadelphia
starting in 1896 and his later work at
Atlanta University made significant
contributions to the emerging field of
sociology. He spent twenty five years
as the editor-in-chief of the NAACP’s
publication Crisis Magazine, during
which time his views were often at
odds with those of his contemporary,
Booker T. Washington.
Frederick
Douglas
15%
W.E.B.
DuBois
George
Washington
Carver
49%
15%
Note: Results do not include 34% of educators who
responded “don’t know/not sure”.
n=577
7
American Education – History of Education
5. Who is known as the founder of the first kindergarten and advocated
that schools for the youngest children should be a place where children
learn from social interaction and systematic play which teaches problem
solving?
Correct Answer:
Friedrich Froebel
Freidrich Froebel (1782-1852) founded
the first Kindergarten in Blakenburg
Germany in 1837. His ideas about early
learning were based on a philosophy of
education that included principles of
free self expression, creativity, social
participation and motor expression.
Although the Prussian government
considered his ideas to be dangerous
and closed his schools in 1848, his
approach and philosophy had a clear
impact on later experts in early
childhood education, including Maria
Montessori (1870-1952) who opened
her first children’s’ school in Rome in
1907 using principles and ideas that
were “Froebelian” in nature.
Jane
Addams
9%
Friedrich
Froebel
33%
Maria
Montessori
Benjamin
Franklin
55%
4%
Note: Results do not include 28% of educators who
responded “don’t know/not sure”.
n=623
8
American Education – Horace Mann
Horace Mann advocated for many different issues related to education.
Almost 150 years after his death, how many of these issues and objectives
still ring true within your school and school district?
Been Achieved or
Successfully Addressed
An education is a right that should be available to all, (“Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of
the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.”)
71%
The quality of schools which train educators to educate is critical for a successful education system and need to be improved, (Horace
Mann was instrumental in the creation of the first teachers’ colleges).
54%
Teachers should be moral exemplars, the models and instructors of upright living.
49%
Motivation and inspiration are key components of effective teaching, (“A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with
a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.”)
45%
Students should be taught to think, rather than memorize.
35%
Local business and community involvement in schools is critical, (economic wealth increases with an educated public; therefore, it is in the
self-interest of businesses to pay taxes to support public education).
33%
Physical education and music are key components of a complete education.
33%
A strong educational system is needed for a lawful and orderly society, (“Jails and prisons are the complement of schools; so many less as
you have of the latter, so many more must you have of the former.”)
28%
Greater priority should be given by communities towards funding local schools, (Horace Mann criticized communities for spending more
money improving their cattle than improving their children).
15%
Wages paid for teaching should be increased, (during his tenure as secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Horace Mann
doubled teachers’ salaries).
13%
Students should be exhorted to give back to society, as Horace Mann stated: “be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for
humanity”.
10%
Parents should take greater responsibility towards insuring that public education is improved, (Horace Mann is quoted as saying that
children who dislike attending school should not be whipped, instead, their parents should be whipped for not providing better schools).
7%
n=805
9
American Education – Horace Mann
Horace Mann advocated for many different issues related to education.
Almost 150 years after his death, how many of these issues and objectives
still ring true within your school and school district?
Continuing Struggle
Parents should take greater responsibility towards insuring that public education is improved, (Horace Mann is quoted as saying that
children who dislike attending school should not be whipped, instead, their parents should be whipped for not providing better schools).
90%
Students should be exhorted to give back to society, as Horace Mann stated: “be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for
humanity”.
83%
Greater priority should be given by communities towards funding local schools, (Horace Mann criticized communities for spending more
money improving their cattle than improving their children).
81%
Wages paid for teaching should be increased, (during his tenure as secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education, Horace Mann
doubled teachers’ salaries).
80%
A strong educational system is needed for a lawful and orderly society, (“Jails and prisons are the complement of schools; so many less as
you have of the latter, so many more must you have of the former.”)
68%
Local business and community involvement in schools is critical, (economic wealth increases with an educated public; therefore, it is in the
self-interest of businesses to pay taxes to support public education).
65%
Students should be taught to think, rather than memorize.
61%
Physical education and music are key components of a complete education.
59%
Motivation and inspiration are key components of effective teaching, (“A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with
a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.”)
53%
Teachers should be moral exemplars, the models and instructors of upright living.
44%
The quality of schools which train educators to educate is critical for a successful education system and need to be improved, (Horace
Mann was instrumental in the creation of the first teachers’ colleges).
44%
An education is a right that should be available to all, (“Education then, beyond all other devices of human origin, is the great equalizer of
the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.”)
28%
n=805
10
American Education – Horace Mann
Horace Mann advocated for many different issues related to education.
Almost 150 years after his death, how many of these issues and objectives
still ring true within your school and school district?
Been
Achieved
Successfully
Addressed
Continuing
Struggle
Current
Thinking
Disagrees
Parents should take greater responsibility towards insuring that public education is improved, (Horace Mann is
quoted as saying that children who dislike attending school should not be whipped, instead, their parents
should be whipped for not providing better schools).
0.7%
6.2%
90.0%
3.0%
Students should be exhorted to give back to society, as Horace Mann stated: “be ashamed to die until you
have won some victory for humanity”.
0.4%
9.5%
83.4%
6.7%
Teachers should be moral exemplars, the models and instructors of upright living.
3.5%
45.6%
44.3%
6.6%
Wages paid for teaching should be increased, (during his tenure as secretary of the Massachusetts Board of
Education, Horace Mann doubled teachers’ salaries).
1.1%
12.1%
80.4%
6.4%
Students should be taught to think, rather than memorize.
1.4%
34.1%
60.8%
3.7%
Greater priority should be given by communities towards funding local schools, (Horace Mann criticized
communities for spending more money improving their cattle than improving their children).
1.4%
13.6%
80.5%
4.5%
Physical education and music are key components of a complete education.
5.0%
27.6%
58.7%
8.7%
The quality of schools which train educators to educate is critical for a successful education system and need
to be improved, (Horace Mann was instrumental in the creation of the first teachers’ colleges).
5.9%
48.5%
44.1%
1.5%
Local business and community involvement in schools is critical, (economic wealth increases with an educated
public; therefore, it is in the self-interest of businesses to pay taxes to support public education).
2.1%
30.8%
64.9%
2.2%
An education is a right that should be available to all, (“Education then, beyond all other devices of human
origin, is the great equalizer of the conditions of men, the balance-wheel of the social machinery.”)
25.0%
45.6%
28.1%
1.2%
Motivation and inspiration are key components of effective teaching, (“A teacher who is attempting to teach
without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on cold iron.”)
3.9%
41.1%
53.4%
1.6%
A strong educational system is needed for a lawful and orderly society, (“Jails and prisons are the complement
of schools; so many less as you have of the latter, so many more must you have of the former.”)
3.7%
24.7%
68.0%
3.5%
Issue Related to Education
n=805
11
School Safety
How serious are each of the following threats to you or your
students’ safety at school?
9%
Student Violence
25%
7%
Threat from Outsider
Tornado
4%
Earthquake
5%
26%
16%
70%
82%
16%
77%
27%
67%
11%
85%
10%
20%
30%
Serious Risk
N=799
53%
9%
Fire 2%5%
0%
41%
36%
Brush fire/forest fire 2%5%
Flood 1%
3%
19%
37%
10%
4% 5%
16%
48%
18%
Terrorist Attack 3% 8%
Hurricane
49%
40%
50%
Moderate Risk
60%
Some Risk
70%
80%
90% 100%
Little or no Risk
12
School Safety
Educators’ biggest concerns regarding safety-related issues at school
Over 500 educators provided comments regarding what their biggest concerns were in terms of school
safety. 775 different comments or ideas were provided by 509 educators. As shown on the following pages,
student violence was mentioned the most frequently as a major concern. In fact, educators mentioned
student violence seven times more frequently than they mentioned all the various natural catastrophes and
industrial accidents combined.
Intruders or outsiders coming into the school was the second most frequently noted concern, with about
two-thirds the number of mentions as for student violence. Related to both of the two most frequently
mentioned concerns, (student violence and intruders), the third most frequently mentioned category of
concerns related to the openness or ease of access to school buildings and general security on school
grounds.
Emergency plans and drills were the fourth major area of concern, with educators commenting on the need
for better training on emergency procedures, the lack of comprehensive plans or flaws in the plans that were
in place.
Other concerns noted by educators included problems with school building infrastructure, parents in custody
cases or with anger issues and a mix of less common issues, such as rats and rattlesnake bites.
Finally, only around 6% of the educators noted that they felt safe when at school and had no particular
concerns related to safety.
13
School Safety
% of
Comments
% of
Educators
28.4%
Educators’ Biggest Safety-Related
Concerns at School
Student Violence Concerns
26.1%
Student violence
4.3%
Students with emotional problems
4.1%
Weapons brought into school
3.7%
Bullying
2.9%
Lack of disciplinary measures
2.0%
Other student violence concerns
18.7%
% of
Comments
% of
Educators
13.7%
2.0%
Emergency Planning and Drills
Need more knowledge/training on emergency
plans
Crowding, panic, unknown reactions in case of
real emergency
Drills not taken seriously
1.8%
Lack of good emergency plans
1.4%
1.4%
Plans are flawed or outdated
Lack of confidence in administrator leadership
during emergency
Uncertainty regarding how good plans really are
1.4%
Getting all students out safely
1.2%
Not enough drills/practices
Getting students home or picked up after
evacuation
Long term plan in case students cannot go
home
Other plan and drill issues
5.7%
2.2%
1.4%
Outside Intruder Concerns
21.0%
Intruders/outsiders coming into school
3.1%
Terrorists
2.6%
Gangs
1.8%
Drugs
0.6%
Burglary/robberies
0.4%
School Grounds Security
1.4%
17.0%
Educators’ Biggest Safety-Related
Concerns at School
0.8%
4.9%
7.5%
Open building/campus with easy access
4.3%
Doors left unlocked/propped open
3.9%
2.3%
Outsider access without going through office
first
3.5%
2.0%
Visitors/vendors without ID badges
1.8%
Classrooms without inside locks for lock-down
1.6%
No communication with office during lock-down
1.6%
Not enough school security staff
1.4%
Security during arrival/dismissal times
1.2%
Playground security
1.2%
Parking lot traffic confusion/dangers
1.0%
Other school grounds issues
4.5%
Danger from Parents
Parental custody disputes/kidnapping own
children
Parent aggressiveness/anger at teachers
Building Infrastructure
2.2%
Old school building
1.4%
Ventilation, mold, air quality
1.0%
Lack of maintenance
1.0%
Overcrowding
0.8%
Electrical system
0.6%
Other building issues
14
School Safety
% of
Comments
% of
Educators
4.1%
Educators’ Biggest Safety-Related
Concerns at School
Natural & Man-Made Catastrophes
2.9%
Tornado
2.0%
Earthquake
0.8%
Industrial accident nearby
0.4%
Hurricane
0.2%
Flood
1.4%
Miscellaneous Concerns
2.2%
6.1%
Rats, rattlesnakes, student medications, falls on
stairs, playground accidents, etc.
No Safety Concerns at School
5.7%
None, no concerns
1.6%
Feel safe when at school
1.0%
Practice drills often
1.0%
Other positives
15
School Safety
How much confidence do you have in your school’s emergency
procedures as they relate to the following types of threats?
36%
Fire
48%
22%
Brush fire/forest fire
44%
27%
39%
Hurricane
26%
39%
20%
Student Violence
10%
29%
Threat from Outsider
10%
29%
Terrorist Attack
7%
0%
Very Confident
20%
Confident
11%
29%
11%
29%
16%
45%
16%
42%
23%
10%
10%
24%
37%
20%
41%
30%
40%
50%
Somewhat Confident
2%
8%
24%
40%
18%
Earthquake
N=790
26%
Flood
Tornado
13%
29%
60%
70%
80%
90% 100%
Little or no confidence
16
School Safety
How much confidence do you have in your Community’s emergency
responders?
60%
50%
50%
40%
27%
30%
20%
19%
10%
4%
0%
Very
Confident
Confident
Somewhat
Confident
Little or no
Confidence
N=790
17
School Safety
Has your school experienced a fire
during the last 5 years?
Yes – 10.3%
How frequently does your school conduct fire
drills?
N=796
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
59%
14%
Once
every
other
month
Once
every
three
months
5%
More often Once per
than once
month
per month
N=803
12%
10%
Less often
than once
every
three
months
18
Home Safety
Now, thinking about safety at home and about a
variety of disasters, which of the following do
you feel you personally are most prepared for?
22%
Educator Panel n=783
Harris Poll n=1014
20%
15%
12%
8%
5%
2%
Hu
rr
ic
an
Te
e
rr
or
is
tA
Br
us
tta
h
ck
f ir
e/
fo
Pr
re
ep
st
ar
fir
ed
e
fo
ra
n
yt
No
hi
ne
ng
-N
ot
pr
ep
ar
ed
Do
n'
tk
no
w
ua
ke
o
31%
27%
Ea
rth
q
To
rn
ad
38%
Educator Panel
Harris Consumer Poll
14%
10% 9%
9%
10%
7%
5%
2%
Br
us
h
Educator Panel
Educator Panel n=784
Harris Poll n=1014
4% 4%
f ir
e/
fo
re
st
fir
Te
e
rr
or
is
tA
tta
ck
No
ne
/N
ot
a
ris
k
Do
n'
tK
no
w
5%
Hu
rr
ic
an
e
ua
ke
Ea
rth
q
To
rn
ad
o
Fl
oo
d
2%
Fi
re
45%
40%
35%
30%
25%
20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
oo
d
Fi
re
Now, thinking about safety at home and about a
variety of disasters, which of the following do
you feel you personally are most at risk for?
45%
40%
35% 31% 31%
30%
25%
17%
20%
12%
12%
15%
9%
7%
10%
6%
5%
4%
3%
5%
1%
1%
0%
Fl
In the fall of 2004, Harris Interactive
conducted a general consumer poll, the
Fire Prevention Week Survey, for the National
Fire Protection Association. Our Educator
Panel responses are compared to the
results of that consumer poll for home
safety related questions.
Harris Consumer Poll
1%
Educators list fire as the greatest risk to
their safety at home which differs from the
general population which ranks tornado as
their greatest risk.
Both educators and the general population
believe fire is the disaster they are most
prepared for.
19
Home Safety
How prepared are you for a fire emergency in your home
(such as an escape plan, smoke detector, fire
extinguisher or sprinkler system)?
60%
50%
50%
Average minutes:
Educator Panel - 6.3
Harris Consumer Poll - 7.7
40%
28%
30%
20%
18%
10%
Only 44% of educator
respondents reported
having a carbon monoxide
detector installed in their
home.
4%
0%
Very
prepared
Prepared
Somewhat
prepared
If a fire started in your home, how
much time do you think you would
have before the conditions became
life-threatening or deadly?
Not well
prepared
n=791
Ed
Panel
% Yes
Harris
Consumer
Poll % Yes
Do you have a plan for what you would do if there was a fire in your home,
that is do you have an escape plan to follow in the event of a fire?
79%
66%
Have you ever actually practiced your home escape plan?
30%
35%
Do you currently have a smoke alarm/smoke detector installed in your
home?
98%
96%
Educator Panel n=793, “Have you ever practiced your escape plan” n=625
Harris Poll n=1014, “Have you ever practiced your escape plan” n=673
Educator Panel n=799
Harris Poll n=1014
While educators were more likely than
general consumers to report that they had
a home escape plan in case of fire, they
were less likely to report that they had
actually practiced that escape plan.
Educators over the age of 39 are more
likely to have an escape plan and to have
practiced that plan than younger
educators. This result coincides with the
Harris consumer poll.
Age wasn’t a factor however in having
smoke detectors and carbon monoxide
detectors installed in the home.
20