Supreme Court and Public Opinion

High school students have some weird ideas about the Supreme Court. Let's just say that they're not altogether sure about the number of justices, the length of the term, and how justices can be removed from office. Many students appear to believe that the president can remove justices at will. Others think there are more than 9 justices, with 12 (confusion with juries?) the most common alternative. One student thought justices serve 14-year terms, and one student, clearly confusing the Supreme Court with the Senate, stated that there was a representative of every state on the Court! These sorts of mistakes don't occur that often, but they do occur often enough that one is not overly optimistic about the future of the country . . . .