The Pew Research’s new American Trends Panel survey asked respondents to pick the three most important values to pass on to children (from a list of twelve). Overall, respondents selected
- being responsible – 55%
- hard work – 42%, and
- religious faith – 30%.
So What?
When an additional filter is applied, the results look quite different. When you compare the most conservative respondents with the most liberal two rather different sets of responses emerge:
| Consistently Conservative | Consistently Liberal |
| being responsible | being responsible |
| religious faith | empathy for others |
| hard work | helping others |
Perhaps comparing these two lists is one helpful way to begin to understand how such ideological differences inform the way individuals approach education more generally.
- Which of the 12 would you rank as your top 3 (independence, hard work, being responsible, creativity, being well-mannered, helping others, persistence, religious faith, obedience, empathy for others, curiosity, tolerance)?
- How consistent are your answers with the way you characterize your faith tradition (e.g., I am a part of the United Church of Christ, which I perceive to be consistently liberal while my own answers fit closest to the ____ column)?