I just happened to be reading the latest Metlife Survey of the American Teacher, and came across this fascinating chart:
Notice what happened during the George W. Bush years: the percentage of teachers reporting that they were ?very satisfied? with teaching as a career grew dramatically, from 52 percent to 62 percent. And then, after Obama's first year in office, it dipped to 59 percent. Now, I will concede that there's probably a tenuous link between presidential administrations and teachers' job satisfaction. But if Bush's No Child Left Behind act turned the typical classroom into some sort of hellhole, as some have implied, there's certainly no evidence here to show for it.
-Mike Petrilli
