Wonder what you think of the site www.ratemyteacher.com. I think it is a bad thing, but maybe I am off-base.
Just curious.
My school didnt take too kindly to it...
Have you seen this thread?
I think when used sensibly, ie without being really nasty to teachers, the site could be benificial to teachers. They can see how they could improve and respond to sensible comments about their teaching methods, but I agree, it does also have to potential to be a bad thing.
I agree Martin, acountability in the learning process is a two way street. Most colleges and universities have a survey system but this often only informs the dean or the professor and therefore has few informative components for students. In primary and secondary education, it is usually only the principal/head/lead teacher that has an evaluative function over teaching. Students are left out of the process in these cases.
I also believe that the ability to effectively assess teaching in a fair, objective and honest way is a skill that students should know. And that skill can most effectively be developed through practice. RateMyTeachers provides a place for this.
Unfortunately, just as poor businesses probably don't read www.complaints.com to generate improvement, poor teachers may not read this site to improve.
I also believe that the ability to effectively assess teaching in a fair, objective and honest way is a skill that students should know. And that skill can most effectively be developed through practice. RateMyTeachers provides a place for this.
Unfortunately, just as poor businesses probably don't read www.complaints.com to generate improvement, poor teachers may not read this site to improve.
I have to say that I do not like the fact that it is all so public. Sure, my ratings are high right now, but it would take only one determined student to trash them. And fair or not, the whole thing would be available to everyone in the world -- including prospective employers.
Now, if anonymous ratings were e-mailed directly to me and there were some private way for me to respond to them, I might take them much more seriously and then I might be more supportive.
But anonymous ratings done in a very public forum with virtually no accountability? No way. That's just wrong.
-- Art
Now, if anonymous ratings were e-mailed directly to me and there were some private way for me to respond to them, I might take them much more seriously and then I might be more supportive.
But anonymous ratings done in a very public forum with virtually no accountability? No way. That's just wrong.
-- Art
Art, firstly it is unlikely that anyone (and mostly especially your students) could give a negative comment about your teaching ability. 
.
A vindictive comment made by one student is generally perceived by most students as sour grapes for that student's shortcomings or perhaps from bad marks. Most students see untruthful comments as the immature acts that they are. Also, we know many students would not bother to comment if they thought there might be repercussions for them in their inferior relationship to the Teacher.
I look at this open-ended accountability in the same way that there is a downside to Wikipedia. Those that take it seriously will defend the truth even in the face of sabotage.
Frankly, there are teachers just as other professionals that should see an "F" on their report card from time to time. There is the possibility of unfairness, but that's true even when not in a public venue.
Teaching seems to be a very public profession. Thinking about the other public professions and what might humble them: politicans face the ballot box; actors, the critics; bureaucrats, the press; doctors, malpractice suits; salesmen, the paycheck; and for me in IT, a network crash and the consequent scowls
.
A vindictive comment made by one student is generally perceived by most students as sour grapes for that student's shortcomings or perhaps from bad marks. Most students see untruthful comments as the immature acts that they are. Also, we know many students would not bother to comment if they thought there might be repercussions for them in their inferior relationship to the Teacher.
I look at this open-ended accountability in the same way that there is a downside to Wikipedia. Those that take it seriously will defend the truth even in the face of sabotage.
Frankly, there are teachers just as other professionals that should see an "F" on their report card from time to time. There is the possibility of unfairness, but that's true even when not in a public venue.
Teaching seems to be a very public profession. Thinking about the other public professions and what might humble them: politicans face the ballot box; actors, the critics; bureaucrats, the press; doctors, malpractice suits; salesmen, the paycheck; and for me in IT, a network crash and the consequent scowls
.When I first read this thread I checked out this site. I was quite sure that there would not be such a site in Germany for many years to come since we are far behind the Anglo-Saxon world in the use of ICT at schools - only to find out that our students are just as advanced as their peers elsewhere - it's our teachers who are behind. Neither me nor my colleagues had any idea that we have such a site as well (it's growing rapidly) and if it wasn't for Moodle.org, I would still be clueless.
www.spickmich.de - must have missed the news when this was on:
Apparently the few schools whose teachers were rated have already threatened legal action to have the site removed from the web. That's overreacting in my opinion. The kids would just move to a site outside of Germany.
Art, I agree with you, it shouldn't be public - not that I would care if I got a bad rating (I've been in the business long enough), but it could be devastating for our young teachers fresh out of college. But I guess there is nothing we can do about this. It's part of Web2.0.
> not that I would care if I got a bad rating
Hmmm... Yes, a veteran teacher will have a thick skin. Has to. But when a potential promotion or a new job is in the picture, do you want to have to explain negative, unfair comments to anyone who googles your name?
We have already had a case at my school where two students posted a bogus Myspace web page in the name of history teacher. On that page, the teacher made lewd comments about teenage girls. Myspace took the page down after being contacted by a lawyer, but the boys said the page was satire and there was no way to legally punish them. At least, that's what the victim told me.
I wonder if that page made its way into archive.org. I hope not.
This sort of thing is more than anyone should have to tolerate, is it not?
-- Art
Hmmm... Yes, a veteran teacher will have a thick skin. Has to. But when a potential promotion or a new job is in the picture, do you want to have to explain negative, unfair comments to anyone who googles your name?
We have already had a case at my school where two students posted a bogus Myspace web page in the name of history teacher. On that page, the teacher made lewd comments about teenage girls. Myspace took the page down after being contacted by a lawyer, but the boys said the page was satire and there was no way to legally punish them. At least, that's what the victim told me.
I wonder if that page made its way into archive.org. I hope not.
This sort of thing is more than anyone should have to tolerate, is it not?
-- Art