As the country embarks on Teacher Appreciation Week, a poll conducted by Everest College indicates that Chicago-area young people do, in fact, hold educators in very high esteem. A majority of the 400 Chicago-area students and young adults polled – 53 percent – said at least one of their teachers made a significant difference or contribution to their success. The survey also asked respondents to describe, in one word, their favorite high school or college teacher. Words cited most in this popularity profile were (listed in order of frequency):
- Fun
- Caring
- Enthusiastic
- Awesome/Cool
- Engaging
- Inspirational
- Smart
- Funny
- Dedicated
When asked to select attributes that make a teacher effective, 80 percent of respondents noted real-world experience. This attribute ranked just above the importance of teachers having an academic degree, cited by 76 percent, and the number of years teaching, noted by 60 percent. The Everest College poll results are based on responses of 400 adults, ages 18-44, living in the greater Chicago metropolitan statistical area. Nearly one quarter (22 percent) currently were students and 78 percent were not. The online survey was conducted in December.
