Rate My Teachers?

[Mr Wonderful]

sorry if this has been done before, but being a new teacher I'm really interested in this crazy thing, alot of teachers in the lounge have been talking about it alot latley, its blocked at are computers here, anyway, just tell me what you think, wheather you think its ethical and if youve ever been on and if so how are your ratings doing? thanks!

[sweetsass]

What are you talking about? Provide a website or other resource, please.

[Mr Wonderful]

sorry, the website is www.ratemyteachers.com

[AndreaB]

This has been going on for quite some time at the college level. Any anonymous person can post anything about anyone, so the reliability of the information is questionable.

[RichBurzynski]

This is actually pretty funny. I have gone to the website before.. I was rated pretty decently.. lol I take no credence in it but it was fun to look at.

[AndreaB]

One of the college-level professor rating sites lets students choose to post a chili pepper if they think a professor is "hot." I hope they don't add that to the teacher rating sites...ew.

[javamomma]

My son has done this with college have not heard of it elementary

[Krafty]

My college had us fill in an evaluation for each teacher at the end of the semester. Even on the college level some kids just used it as a way to lash out, so I can only imagine that a lot of HS kids would use it as a way to act on a grudge.

[scrivener]

One of the things I love about being a technology teacher is that I'm usually aware of these things even before my students are. I've kept an eye on RateMyTeachers.com and have yet to see my name there. In a way, I'm disappointed.

Sure, anyone can post anything anonymously, but I think it's unlikely that ratings there are by students who don't know the teachers. Why would someone go to some other school's listings and randomly select a teacher to assign a bad rating to, especially when there are soooooo many cool things you could anonymously do to the ratings of teachers you do know?

Students can be unfair in their opinions, but that doesn't make them any less valid as opinions. Teachers need to keep that in mind. Each one of us is someone's favorite and someone's least-favorite, and sometimes the needle swings violently from one end to the next. We're dealing with teenagers here!

It's easy to dismiss the ratings at RateMyTeachers.com as meaningless, and I agree that they should be taken with a grain of salt the size of a saltlick, but I think that what's written there is worth being aware of. I've looked at the ratings (and especially the comments) of colleagues, and it's remarkable to me how many of the comments are pretty much what I'd have said about the same teachers. Kids can be nasty, but to assume that they will only be nasty is unfair.

So, how many of you have seen yourself listed there? :)

[Krafty]

I don't think any of us are assuming they will all be nasty, in fact most of the comments I read seemed fair. I was just observing that it seems an easy way for a disgruntled student to lash out. I checked out some of my HS teachers and was surprised after almost *gulp* 20 years that several of my teachers were still there. So, I posted a few comments of my own (all nice, BTW).

I clicked on Wall of Shame just out of curiosity - amazing the number of schools that have blocked access to the site from school computers. Allows for a cooling off period maybe? Mostly HS on the list.

[SLP]

Interesting to check out my old H.S. teachers on this site...the ones who are still around, anyway!

[doctta]

I don't mind it a bit....I'm rated well, so maybe that's why. But, kids need a venue and if I were being criticized, I would try to "suck it up" and really listen to a complaint(s) my students' had.....I believe it could help me be a better teacher, if it were for real and not just an angry kind of statement w/o evidence to support it......

Doctta

[studentteacher]

The site was also blocked by some schools in Western Australia. As mentioned, as teachers we just have to take the comments with a pinch of salt!

I think it is a fun, interactive way for students to express their feelings about their teachers.

Of course the positive comments give you a nice warm glow but I think as adults we can look at the negative comments and be able to tell if they were justified or just retaliatory, and so rise above them.

[arteacher]

I cannot use that website even I can open that, because I am not live in US. In the beginning of the year, I always ask the students opinion about how I was teach last year and if there anything need to critics and improve. I do that just to evaluate myself.

[thegraduate]

ok. so being that i graduated HS only 4 years ago, and college a couple of months ago, you cant take the ratings seriously. the rate my teacher (high school) opinions are really based on incidents i.e. if a kid was given detention or points taken off for HW. mainly as we know the minds of High School students are not fully formed to be considerate, their opinions are often irrational and are not to be taken to heart. plus, the kids have no choice in what teachers they get (in my school anyway) in college the rate my teacher system was taken as a guide since we were able to choose our professors. hope this helps.

[orlandoteacher]

I am not on there yet, but I work in an elementary school. I used the professor one in college to help choose teachers. You could tell if someone was just bashing a teacher because he/she was a slacker. I definately took the harsh comments with a grain a salt.

[MikeB]

Hey,

Firstly, I've not checked the site. Since I work in 'french Canada', I'm not sure it's relevant to me/my school/my students. Wish it was. Maybe I'll put-out the word! :-)

Guess if a teacher has a good rating, she/he would not be too opposed. On the other hand, a negative rating could be hurtful. That being said, I don't see why schools or schoolboards would block access to this site. For one, students will access it elsewhere if they want. More importantly, it's rather hypocritical. As educators we're urging students to be honest and candid. As teachers we rarely shy away from giving students our opinions about them, to them and their parents. Why then would we seek to censor theirs?

Oh, and here's my advice on opinions, by the way (taken from Dr. Dyer, I think....)
An opinion is an opinion. Whether it's good (flattering) or bad (negatively critical), it's still just an opinion. So, listen to it. Decide to take from it what you wish, to help you become a better you and leave the rest.

Cheers,
Mike B

AHA! I stand corrected. Not only did I find my school, and many of my colleagues - I also found myself. Okay, so my name was mispelled ... but hey, that's okay. My rating (by 3 students in 2005 all done within the same 24 hours) is mediocre at best. Doh! Trying to find a way to read comments - not sure any of my students left any. Too bad, could have been even more helpful.

I definitely think I'll tell my students about it this year - might even post a link in my own teaching web page. Way cool.

[interart]

I've noticed that there are usually a few cliques of kids who rate a bunch of teachers in the same way - I checked because lets face it, I'm human, and wanted to see... I got high ratings but not as many as those teachers who coach - those ratings were off the charts! Obviously not too related to their teaching. I don't think that the ratings really are accurate, but I'll admit that if they were low I'd be upset and wonder if I was doing something wrong. Don't know if that's a good or a bad thing...

[teach1027]

Sounds like myspace for teachers.

[kingrichie]

I tried to view and I was blocked due to:
Dubious/Unsavory
Now I'm scared.

[freshie24]

I looked at the ratings for some of the teachers in my school, and it seemed like a vote on how easy the class was. Teachers that taught the lower level classes were rated very high, but good teachers that taught difficult classes were very low.

[dsmms]

I have 6th graders and according the posts on rate my teacher, they either love me or hate me......I'm so confused (not really). The one's that hate me seem to have a aversion to a little thing I like to call EXPECTATIONS! How dare I?

[auntbea]

Funny how some of us live in a bubble. LOL I checked my old school and no one is listed; I even checked all the different schools we have been and we (spouse and I) don't show up. I agree, mostly it is good stuff. The few teachers I knew that were on the list, were described pretty much how/what I thought when I taught there. Kids aren't as naive as we think sometimes. I also agree, that, students can be very vengeful. But, it was a good chuckle.

[Brit]

I think at the university and even highschool levels, where kids choose electives and courses themselves, it's a good thing to have imput on what we're like. OF COURSE kids choose courses based on the teacher. I followed one prof around like a puppy in university and took all her courses because she was just that good! I could really learn from her. however, having elementary teachers listed, where the kids and parents have no say in which teacher their kids get? That's worrisome, because it becomes a place for kids (and parents) to gossip and bash, without any useful outcome. That tends to lead to discontent and bad blood. In short, itès only useful if you can DO something with the information.

[Spectre]

That's worrisome, because it becomes a place for kids (and parents) to gossip and bash, without any useful outcome. That tends to lead to discontent and bad blood. In short, itès only useful if you can DO something with the information.

I very much agree, Brit. :clap: