Education: the discipline problem.(Opinion Pulse)(Illustration)

Discipline in the schools has been a concern since the pollsters started asking about it more than half a century ago. Today, however, the problem is different. Fifty-two percent of teachers say their school has an armed guard. Seventy-eight percent of them say that students remind them that they have rights and could sue if challenged by a teacher. Parents and teachers say that private schools do a better job on discipline because they have stricter rules. Both groups believe the problem begins at home, but they also blame a pervasive lack of respect in the culture. The remedy? Establishing zero-tolerance policies and finding ways to hold parents accountable.

 
Question: Do you think ...? 
 
1954 
 
Discipline in most schools today is not strict enough   65% 
Too strict                                               2% 
No opinion                                               8% 
About right                                             25% 
 
Source: The Gallup 
Organization, 1954 
 
Note: Table made from pie chart. 
 
Question: Do you ...? 
 
Teachers' 
response 
 
Agree strongly that 
today's students are all 
too quick to remind you      39% 
that they have rights or 
that their parents can sue 
 
Agree somewhat               39% 
 
Source: Public Agenda, 
March-April 2004. 
 
Note: Table made from bar graph. 
 
Question: How important is each of the following? 
 
Biggest cause of student discipline and behavior 
problems in the nation's schools 
 
                              Parents'   Teachers' 
                              response   response 
 
Too many parents fail to 
teach their kids discipline      46%       60% 
 
There's disrespect 
everywhere in our 
culture--students absorb         43        ...