Public v. Schools

Like U. S. Congressmen, U. S. educators keep an alert ear cocked at their constituents. They seldom hear much. Aside from a noisy minority of taxpayers, patriots and zealous parents, most citizens take their schools for granted, do little kibitzing. But last week, in a Gallup poll arranged by the American Council on Education and its subsidiary, the American Youth Commission, the U. S. people told what they thought about their schools. Some findings:

>To the question, "Is too much importance placed on education these days?" 73% said "No." Of the 21% who said "Yes," half complained that education was not sufficiently practical.

> 85% believed that youngsters get a better education in school today than their parents did. Only 4% complained of modern "frills."

> 47% thought the amount spent on schools was about right; 19%, not enough; 14%, too much; 20% didn't know.

> 72% believed pupils should discuss controversial issues. Least tolerant were Southerners, farmers, poor people. Most tolerant: college graduates, city people.

> 47% thought teachers were fair in discussing debatable questions: 26% thought they showed bias; the rest qualified their answers or didn't know. Most skeptical of teachers' fairness were college graduates.

> 78% advocated spending as much money per capita for Negroes' education as for whites'.

> Two out of three with opinions (23% had none) agreed that some States were less able than others to support schools. Of that two-thirds, a majority favored Federal aid to schools.

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