Student-Designed Poll Shows Teenagers Feel Lack of Adult Interest

Project Lets Young People Express Views

An unusual survey, designed by high school students and administered to their peers in five large cities, has found that most urban teenagers are eager to learn, but don’t believe that adults at their schools are interested in what they have to say.

The survey of 6,350 students in Chicago, Houston, Oakland, Calif., Philadelphia, and St. Louis during the 2003-04 school year showed that students generally give their teachers high marks, but say they need stronger relationships with members of the school staff.

Slightly more than half the students believed that the faculty and staff valued what they had to say, and a little more than a quarter said there was not one adult in their school they could talk to if they had a problem. Two-thirds or more said their teachers rarely or never talked one-on-one with them about their schoolwork or other things...