[Offtopic] RateMyTeachers.com

[Jim Maunder]

I have just fwded the original to my rep. I think 
the idea sucks big time. Just imagine what would 
happen if someone tried to do a 'Rate My Students' website!!!

We have a wonderful teacher here that the 
students are 'terrified' of because of her fierce 
and firm but fair manner. She gets great results 
out of the kids. In years to come the kids will 
say 'Miss xyz was the best teacher we ever had - 
because of her I got great results and learnt the 
self discipline that got me to where I am today'. 
How would students rate her today? What would parents browsing the site think?

btw it looks like this is primarily a vehicle for 
hosting Google ads - a very lucrative business if 
you get lots of hits. The owners of 
Ratemyteachers must be doing very well out of this 'sideline'.

rgds
Jim


At 10:30 AM 15/06/2006, you wrote:
>I see many issues with this and none of them positive.
>I might have a word with the union rep because I 
>see this as open to all sorts of abuse.
>
>
>
>stephen at melbpc.org.au wrote:
>>Hmm .. what do people think?
>>
>>--
>>Friday June 02, 2006 10:16 am
>>"RateMyTeachers.com, North America’s most 
>>popular education website, launches in Australia and New Zealand today."
>>http://au.ratemyteachers.com/
>>
>>"RateMyTeachers.com has established itself in 
>>classrooms across North America as a useful 
>>resource for students, teachers, and parents alike.
>>
>>Today marks the official launch of 
>>RateMyTeachers in the Australia and New 
>>Zealand. The site is an innovative idea, 
>>allowing students to share opinions and grade their teachers.
>>RateMyTeachers.com currently boasts 9.3 million 
>>teacher ratings, over 1.2 million teachers, and 
>>is currently in use at more than 51,000 middle 
>>schools and high schools across the United 
>>States and Canada. The site has been in 
>>operation since August 2001 and has quickly 
>>spread across North America through word of 
>>mouth. Each year, more than three million 
>>students log in to RateMyTeachers to grade and review their teachers.
>>Joel Gordon, an English teacher at Amsterdam 
>>High School, New York believes RateMyTeachers 
>>"enfranchises our kids, gives voice to their long-
>>stifled expressions in a subject area in which 
>>they have loads of experience and are eminently 
>>qualified to speak. These statistics are timely, relevant and 99% honest.”
>>With the assistance of over 5000 student 
>>administrators, RateMyTeachers reviews every 
>>teacher rating before it is posted to the 
>>website. Any malicious or vulgar postings are 
>>removed. If a teacher is at odds with any 
>>rating, that person can easily flag the rating 
>>and comment for a second review. The majority 
>>of ratings are positive, with students celebrating their teachers.
>>Site co-founder Michael Hussey explains the 
>>goal of the site. "Students have a keen 
>>interest in rating their teachers’ performance 
>>in the classroom. The growth of the site in the 
>>US and Canada is a testament to students 
>>desires to take an active role in improving the 
>>quality of their education. We are encouraging 
>>students to really own their educations; to 
>>demand the best of themselves and their educators."
>>
>>Websites: http://au.ratemyteachers.com http://ratemyteachers.co.nz
>>© 2006 RateMyTeachers.com"
>>--
>>
>>Ta Cameron ..
>>Stephen Loosley
>>Victoria, Australia
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>
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Jim Maunder
Ruyton Girls School
Melbourne, Australia