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AAE's 2014 National Membership Survey
posted by: Tim | February 04, 2014, 06:37 PM   

We're thrilled to showcase member opinions and share our findings with policymakers and administrators on all levels.

With regard to proposed ballot initiatives designed to increase education spending via tax increases, AAE members stress fiscal responsibility:

  • 63% of survey respondents do not support the failed Colorado amendment that would have increased income taxes to raise nearly $1 billion for public schools.

While the education establishment sees school choice as a threat to their unionized monopoly, AAE teachers support certain laws that advance school choice and promote options for both teachers and students:

  • 82% of members support public school open enrollment.
  • 59% of teachers agree with Wisconsin's Parental Choice Program, allowing low-income students public funds to attend a school of their choice.
  • 72% of AAE members support Arizona's Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs), which enable students to leave their assigned public schools, taking 90% of the state dollars with them. That money, deposited into ESAs, can then be used to access a multitude of education options that better meet their children's needs.

As new technologies make flexibility a reality for all stakeholders, states across the country are implementing policies that offer and encourage online learning. AAE members embrace new technologies as a means to better prepare students for the 21st century:

  • 93% of AAE members incorporate technology in their daily lessons.
  • 65% of teachers would support a blended learning environment where students spend part of their day with a teacher and part of their day on a computer.

In the wake of several tragic school shootings, teachers are vocal about school safety measures:

  • While 75% of surveyed members feel safe in their school, teachers report increased safety procedures in their buildings.
  • 61% of AAE members support a proposed policy in Arkansas that would allow educators access to a locked concealed firearm after a training course.

Experts continue to debate the value of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Support for the standards has declined in 2014 with AAE members split on the initiative:

  • 51% of survey respondents have an unfavorable opinion of CCSS.
  • 30% of teachers believe the Common Core will make the U.S. more competitive on a global scale. 47% of teachers believe they would have no effect, and 22% assert that CCSS would have an adverse effect.

Collective bargaining and labor reforms are also considered by AAE member teachers:

  • 64% of those surveyed would prefer to negotiate their own contract so that they can negotiate a salary and benefits package that best suits their lifestyle.

To view the full survey, read the February edition of Education Matters.

What do you think about AAE's latest Membership Survey? Does it reflect your views?

Comment below.

 

>>> Originally posted to the AAE Blog

Comments (1)Add Comment
Pulled by the nose...
written by Scott Wheeler - Fort Collins, CO, February 13, 2014

I've been a member of the AAE and PACE for 15 years and have appreciated the efforts to create a professional association of teachers focused on learning and the teaching art. I am not anti-union, nor am I anti-reform or anti-choice. I work in a public school of choice. I'm proud to be a member of AAE and PACE, but I'm frustrated and tired of the rhetoric coming from our organization.

This survey was designed to support an ideal and opinion already established. It didn't ask our opinion as teachers. Rather, it tried to get the majority of respondents to back those ideals and opinions with numbers. As I took the poll, it was clear the AAE has become a pro-choice, anti-union, pro-online school organization touting the political trumpets of Foundations and 'Think Tanks'. We're becoming the 'other voice' in the political educational spectrum. This isn't about teaching or learning, this is about policy and politics. The AAE is turning into an organization like many others: educational politics and philosophy. This has very little to do with learning and teaching.

I didn't join the union because of their overwhelming focus on 'education' and the underwhelming focus on 'learning'. I'm considering leaving the AAE because we're doing the exact same thing, just from the other side. Get out of the rhetoric. Get out of the 'Think Tanks' and 'Foundations' and 'Educational Philosophies'. Stick with what you began...learning and teaching. This survey is a shame to read.

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