Ratemyteachers.com has become a staple for your average, frustrated high school student. The website covers almost every school in the United States, including not only high schools, but also universities and elementary schools. Once you narrow your search down to state, district, and eventually school, whichever teacher just sent you to OCD this afternoon is now at your mercy.
I believe that students should be able to rate their teachers because while the majority of the teachers I have met at Quartz Hill so far are great, every school has a few faculty members who seem worn-down, which reflects in their behavior towards students. This minority of bad teachers should be given feedback by their students because, while I do suspect they don’t really care about their performance, they may simply be unaware of their shortcomings; this would allow them to improve upon themselves.
One burp that comes along with ratemyteachers.com is that the website is 100% anonymous. That might not seem like a bad thing, but on a site full of angry, hormonal, adolescents, anonymity is better for the teachers than for the students.
When the website was first published in 2001, ratemyteachers.com was seen as innovative. However, as the website gained more of a following, it became teeming with trolls. An example of this behavior can be seen on history teacher Jeff Cassady’s page on the site. One of the best known teachers in Quartz Hill, Mr. Cassady is rated a 4.7 on the website; this is above the 4.21 average derived from all of the Quartz Hill teachers rated on the site. One review, published anonymously on September 27, 2016 states: “He’s dry, with a monotone voice that isn’t breaking glass any time soon. But I’d be lying if I didn’t call him one of the most fascinating teachers on campus. Sweet guy, great stories to tell … and a real desire to see people learn. … Deserves a lot more respect and recognition than he gets.” This review is opinionated, but also holds some substance. The writer states their view objectively, while still being respectful. If I was a new student that wanted to find out about a man I know nothing about, this review would be a perfect example of who Mr. Cassady is and how he teaches.
However, as you scroll further down on his profile, you find some reviews which are as simple as “don’t like him” or “he’s okay.” All in all, ratemyteachers.com has a majority of well-written reviews, but you do have to doubt the credibility that comes with an anonymous source. For all you know, “Anonymous” isn’t even a student at Quartz Hill.
Another point that has been brought into light against the site is that some users have gone too far in their remarks; their ratings have even been compared to cyberbullying. Though I truly doubt that any teachers set their minds to perusing the site, cyberbullying still has a negative effect on faculty members. This is especially true in the case of new students looking for opinions of their teacher online; if they believe that other students speak of their teacher in such ways without any consequences, there is the possibility of that disrespect carrying on in the classroom and on other platforms of social media.
So, should students be able to rate their teachers? Yes. Should any self-respecting human being use ratemyteachers.com? No – just … no.