Students Need More Support From School, Home & Community.

The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher, 2002: Student Life – School, Home and Community, conducted by Harris Interactive for MetLife explores the factors and forces at work in students’ lives that encourage or inhibit their success in and out of school. Results of this survey – the 19th in an annual series – indicate that students’ lives at school, at home and in the community are closely related, and they also call attention to the fact that responsibility for education does not lay with schools alone. At the same time, responses indicate that educators could do more for students by better understanding their interests, needs, and lives as they exist outside of school.

Key findings include:

Teachers are nearly twice as likely as are students to believe that their school is preparing students extremely well to go to college (29% vs. 15%).

Only 18% of students believe that teachers respect all students; 24% believe that teachers are interested in what’s best for all students.

54% of students wish for more time with their parents.

Failing and nearly failing students are twice as likely to never eat breakfast as “A” students (31% vs. 16%) and are more likely to get less than 7 hours of sleep on a school night (43% vs. 33%).

Students who get A’s in school are more likely than those who get D’s and F’s to participate in sports (56% vs. 26%), dance and music programs (30% vs. 8%), drama programs (25% vs. 3%), or to read for fun at least a few times a week (46% vs. 17%).

“As a nation, our children are our most important resource,” explained Robert H. Benmosche, chairman and chief executive officer of MetLife, Inc. “And we need to provide them with opportunities for success. This year’s survey gives us a window into how parents, teachers and communities can work together to prepare today’s young people to become tomorrow’s leaders.”

“Differences in opinion provide clues on what we can do to improve education,” commented Sibyl Jacobson, president of MetLife Foundation. “Though different topics are examined in the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher each year, there are recurring themes. Students of all ages want adults to respect them and be involved in their lives, they want activities that are interesting and relevant and they need support to help them succeed.”

Methodology

The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive by telephone, in school or online, interviewing a nationally representative sample of 2,308 public school students in grades 7 through 12, and 1,111 public school teachers of grades 7 through 12. Interviews were conducted from February through April, 2002.

For more information at http://www.harrisinteractive.com