# How good was YOUR school Teacher



## ThomasJ (29 Apr 2005)

Remember way back when.....

Teachers...  who needs them.... what do they know???

Ever wondered just how good a teacher you had  in primary/secondary school?

I did and believe it or most of them  are still  teaching...

Are you  a teacher??? find out what YOUR students really think of you!!!

Find out here

[broken link removed]


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## macnas (30 Apr 2005)

Where can I find the site

ratemydoctor; 
ratemydentist; 
ratemysolicitor ;
ratemybuilder ;
ratemyaccountant ;
ratemybarber ;
ratemyauctioneer;  

    any others you can think of?????????


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## RainyDay (30 Apr 2005)

Maybe you'd like to take the initiative and set up these sites, macnas?


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## Queenspawn (30 Apr 2005)

When RMT.com first came out I though it was a good idea then very quickly realised as per macnas' inference that this is a highly personalised approach.  We have had sites offering crititisism of hotels and restaurants for ages but these are fairly tame and at least there is a company to hide behind.

I think I posted somewhere here before that there are very few people that would be given such stick.  The exceptions I thought of were sports people (especially harsh if they are amateur GAA folks), politicians etc.

I don’t think that rate my butcher would be such a hit because it comes down to numbers and intensity.  I reckon that on average a (secondary school) teacher will have a minimum 2400 students (2 unique classes of 30 per year for 40 years) and all of these students have a view some of them strongly held, unlike a butcher who may have more customers but not with the same intensity.



   I know it can’t be stopped but it is a little harsh.  I would however like to thank the teachers’ unions for pointing out this site to us.


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## extopia (30 Apr 2005)

Many good teachers welcome this site. Obviously poor teachers have more to lose.


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## RainyDay (30 Apr 2005)

From a quick browse of the site, most of the feedback on teachers I've seen seems to be positive, or where negative it was fairly measured and specific.


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## DrMoriarty (30 Apr 2005)

Still waiting to see "could try harder"...


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## ThomasJ (30 Apr 2005)

Good one Dr..

Also... Has a tendancy to be distracted or 

if he/she applied themselves we would see improvement


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## macnas (30 Apr 2005)

RatemyTD
ratemyparents
ratemyfriends
ratemyfellowcontributorstoAAM

??????????????


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## GreatDane (1 May 2005)

Did you see Sky News were running a poll to vote if this website should be banned recently .. unreal, we are entitled to freedom of speach and it should be respected imho

Other ratemy.... sits would be welcome 

Cheers

G>


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## ClubMan (1 May 2005)

Garrettod said:
			
		

> Did you see Sky News were running a poll to vote if this website should be banned recently .. unreal, we are entitled to freedom of speach and it should be respected imho



Surely freedom of speach includes respecting the right of the media to conduct polls on what their audience think should or should not be banned? Freedom of speach is a two way street. Anyway, such text/phone/email/web/digital _TV _polls are ultimately pretty meaningless because they are not conducted according to the normal rules applicable to scientifically/statistically accurate polls and have no bearing on lawmaking etc.


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## GreatDane (1 May 2005)

Hi

Sorry, to be clear, I was not suggseting that these polls should not be conducted .. I think thats fine, but I dont agree that sites like ratemyteacher.ie can be banned because a school, teacher etc does not like their rating.

Regards

G>


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## ninsaga (1 May 2005)

I did a quick scan of the web site - found my old school..and to be honest, I don't like or approve of the site. Now before anyone goes on the attack, I do of course approve of free speech (which is what this site proclaims that it is enacting)....I also think that this is different than other opinion polls..the difference being here is that anonymous opinion is being made on a private citizen which may be hurtful & untrue (just because a student or former student did not like that teacher)

ninsaga


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## GreatDane (1 May 2005)

Hi ninsaga

I appreciate the point you raise, a bit of a tricky one though because the people expressing their opinions may be afraid to disclose their full names for fear of retaliation, such as poor future school referances etc

Any thoughts ?

Regards

G>


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## ninsaga (2 May 2005)

As I look further - I actually don't see the benefit of the site..........to me it has the potential to just act as a place for one to vent (possibly unfairly) about a teacher.

ninsaga


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## GreatDane (2 May 2005)

Im sorry but I disagree

Assuming it is used correctly, it is an excellent way of independently checking up on what past pupils thought about schools & teachers ... very important when trying to select the right school for your children imho

Regards

G>


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## extopia (2 May 2005)

Most kids know good teachers from bad teachers. And they will still regard them as good teachers even if they don't like them personally. I think ratemyteachers is an excellent development that will keep lazy teachers on their toes from now on.


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## Crunchie (2 May 2005)

Garrettod said:
			
		

> Assuming it is used correctly, it is an excellent way of independently checking up on what past pupils thought about schools & teachers ... very important when trying to select the right school for your children imho



"Assuming it is used correctly" is the key phrase here. I've just looked at my son's school and have come across:

- a number of teachers who don't exist
- some very questionable personal comments and
- a lot that I would agree with.

I would caution anybody against using it when trying to select a school.

Maybe they should employ a few AAM moderators!!!


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## tonka (2 May 2005)

Crunchie said:
			
		

> I would caution anybody against using it when trying to select a school.
> 
> Maybe they should employ a few AAM moderators!!!




The 1 1 1 ratings on it are by notorious anorexics and bulimics  my shrink sez.


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## extopia (3 May 2005)

ratemyteachers.ie is moderated and maintained by student volunteers from each listed school.


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## ubiquitous (3 May 2005)

As time goes on, and the initial fuss dies down, people will realise that it is about as dependable as a student ragmag.


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## Crunchie (3 May 2005)

extopia said:
			
		

> ratemyteachers.ie is moderated and maintained by student volunteers from each listed school.



The question then is how seriously do they take the role and is there any consistency between moderators? As I mentioned earlier the info on my son's school ranged from ratings of non existent teachers to fairly questionable comments that had nothing to do with teaching skills.

Ratemyteachers is an entertaining site and without strict moderation will probably never be anything more than that.


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## ninsaga (3 May 2005)

Yep - 'Assuming it is used correctly' is the key phrase...yet there is nothing there to ensure that it is...& that is essentiall the problem I see with it Garret.


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## MissRibena (3 May 2005)

I didn't bother checking this site until now as I thought it would be a student rant.  However, I've just had a look at the teachers from my old school that are still there. I'm amazed at the general positivity of the commentary. I really don't think we would have been so measured in our day, although maybe if we were being monitored by the strait-laced head-girl brigade, we would have been careful too 

As everyone says, it's difficult to see a practical reliable use for it.  I notice that the problems we had with particular teachers, remain the problems today. If nothing else, maybe they might take onboard some of the sensitively-put (seriously they are!) comments and try to address these issues and maybe improve in the next ten years.

Rebecca


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## Gabriel (3 May 2005)

I looked at our old school and most of the comments were spot on. But then we had some serious weirdos teaching us. 

Also it was fairly obvious that a few of the teachers had probably put comments in about themsleves as some of the truly abominable teachers (with no redeeming features) had some "positive" comments about their teaching styles, which just did not ring true.

I don't however see the site as anything much more than snide 'get your own back' on teachers type nonsense, to be honest. So I can understand how teachers might feel about this. How would you feel if there was something similar about your workplace in the public domain and people wrote horrible things about you on it?


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## extopia (3 May 2005)

The "non existent teachers" on the site are probably teachers who are no longer teaching at the school. They can still be rated, presumably by past pupils of theirs (and why not).

Why would students need to get their own back on teachers? Is it unreasonable for students to rate their teachers?


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## Gabriel (4 May 2005)

> Why would students need to get their own back on teachers?



Have you actually looked at the site and the type of comments made? Does it sound fair or rounded to you?

Perhaps you wouldn't mind if your boss took you to one side one day and said he thought you were a complete loser and a bit of a tosser...or had hunched shoulders or etc etc...

Not exactly measured appraisal is it?


One of the teachers in my old school had the following comment made about him..."This man is the devil"!

Maybe you're right actually extopia...no sign of revenge there


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## extopia (4 May 2005)

Ummm, yes Gabriel. I have looked at it. Is it fair and rounded -- all I can say is in the case of my old school the comments about the teachers I know, I largely agree with. So in that sense it's credible to me. In your earlier post you also agreed that "most of the comments were spot on" in relation to YOUR old teachers. If it's spot on, it's fair, in my opinion. 

Most schools I have looked at are fairly balanced. Some teachers are positively viewed, some fare poorly. In my experience of the world there are good teachers and there are poor teachers so, again, I would say yes, it looks like it's GENERALLY fair and rounded.



> Perhaps you wouldn't mind if your boss took you to one side one day and said he thought you were a complete loser and a bit of a tosser...or had hunched shoulders or etc etc...



Well actually I wouldn't mind, if it were true. I'm not afraid of a bit of criticism.

Obviously that teacher in your old school is NOT the devil. That's just one comment. Did you totally disagree with the general ratings of the teachers?

What's the big deal about all this anyway? What are people afraid of?


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## MissRibena (4 May 2005)

The comments on my old school teachers are much more fair than I expected too.  I can't see how useful this site could be in practise, but equally, I don't see anything wrong with it being there for its own sake.

Rebecca


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## ThomasJ (4 May 2005)

Guys,

The reason I posted this link was  because i found it interesting that some of my teachers are still  teaching......

It seems to me that a lot of people seem to  take offence  to the whole idea of rating etc....

My view on this is .... if i was a teacher and I had bad reviews then i would look closely at my performance and make a conscious decision to either improve or ignore...

I would also find the appraisal or criticism as good form of feedback to either improve or continue with the way in which I am teaching..

Bear in mind also that al lot of "old school" teachers seem to be out of touch with what their students think about them and it would be no harm for them to hear this independent view on their performance..

I do however also believe that it is an avenue for disgruntled students to voice an opinion on a teacher ... but i do also believe that it's monitored just like the moderators do here...


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## Gabriel (4 May 2005)

To be honest I don't really care. I'm not a teacher. I'm just putting myself in their shoes.

Is there any moderation of the site? What's stopping me from making personal remarks about people?

Do schools have a right to block access to the site? I would have thought so...
ratemyteachers don't mind you...
[broken link removed]

I'm not saying I don't think the idea of rating schools or teachers is bad...just that I don't particularly think this is a "good" idea...while still understanding why it's so popular. 

Extopia - I don't think everyone would have the hard skin that you have.


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## extopia (4 May 2005)

> Extopia - I don't think everyone would have the hard skin that you have.



You'd be surprised how many of us there are


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## RainyDay (5 May 2005)

Maybe the schools should 'compete' with the website in a controlled manner. Set up their own internal website with controlled access for pupils only, where pupils can rate the teachers (possibly anonymous, possibly not).


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## GeneralZod (5 May 2005)

Checked out the entries for my old school and found the entries very true to what I remember. The best teachers got the best ratings. The criticisms expressed were accurate and not cruel. The moderation seems good.


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## extopia (5 May 2005)

Schools' efforts to "block" access to ratemyteacher reminds me of when the Irish minister for communications was going to "restrict" access to the internet back in the 90s!


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## GeneralZod (5 May 2005)

See my old school is one of the ones blocking access.

That's a guaranteed way to get all the pupils logging on.

I think the site is probably most useful for parents.


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## extopia (5 May 2005)

There's a section for parents to rate the teachers too...


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## Gabriel (5 May 2005)

I'd hope if I was a parent I would completely ignore a site like this and instead listen to the feedback from my hopefully intelligent son or daughter instead.

Let me give you some examples:

I had a teacher for economics who just beggered belief. The man was a half-wit and a social misfit. He was, hands down, the most useless human being (let alone Teacher) I've ever met. He was harmless...but rubbish at his job.

Here's some comments from the site which look genuine...
_"he is very hard to understand.we get away with anything in his class."

"I'm sure he is a nice person but he is not a good teacher! *** needs to give himself a new, stricter and smarter image if he wants to be respected."

"worst teacher ever,ever!"

"Tom is a terrible teacher. Poor communication skills and very bitter about the job."_

This guy was a grade A idiot and a poor teacher. All the time. Kids are cruel...I know. We made this guy cry nearly every day. He was a nervous wreck and complaints were made about him regularly.


Now check out these comments...

_"Best teacher I ever had. Drills it into you. You learn whether you like it or not. Listen to this man and you will go far. Possibly underestimated in the school"

"an inspiration"_

Now...if they're genuine comments I'll eat my hat.
This guy knew he sucked btw. He doesn't need a website to tell him that. He was a poor teacher and shouldn't have been teaching. 

For anyone who might think they know the school...his second name was ******.


Also...I should note that, for some strange reason, the most vicious and thoroughly evil teacher in the school is strangely ommitted completely from the site!!! This guy expelled more students in his time than everyone else combined. Anyone who knows the school I'm talking about knows exactly what he was like. Strange how he isn't mentioned...even once.





NOTE *** Above post edited to remove name of libelled individual. Please do not libel named individuals on this site

(From Gabriel: Re edit...apologies. Forgot about libel and all that. His name wasn't important anyway)


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## Cahir (5 May 2005)

They're way too nice about some of the teachers in my old school - I'm convinced that the teachers and their friends are putting in comments themselves.

My old German teacher was an outright bitch to half the class and disgustingly sweet to the other half.  The reason she hated me was because I once said German wasn't my favourite subject and she continued to take this out on my younger sister who went to the school after I left!

All the comments go on about how sound she is and you can really talk to her about problems - even the ones she liked couldn't talk to her about problems cos even they could see she was a two-faced pyscho!


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## extopia (5 May 2005)

Gabriel, as you so rightly said, the "fake" comments are easy to spot - and hence ignore. Almost everyone agrees that the comments tend to be accurate in general. So therefore it's a useful site.


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## Gabriel (5 May 2005)

> Gabriel, as you so rightly said, the "fake" comments are easy to spot - and hence ignore. Almost everyone agrees that the comments tend to be accurate in general. So therefore it's a useful site.



Each to their own I guess Extopia. My point was how would you be able to tell if you didn't know the teacher in question first???
The 'he's a bad teacher' comments could just as easily have been from some kid who held a grudge and he might be a brilliant teacher. How would you know? 

When it comes to it I'll put my trust in my kids and not some very unreliable website.


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## Eyeseeyou (9 May 2005)

I've just read back over this entire thread and one question repeatedly springs to mind. Why is it that we think second level students should have no opportunity to evaluate their teachers? 

When a student enters third level education, as little as three months after completing their second level studies, they are expected to provide feedback and complete evaluation forms at the end of course modules. Suddenly teacher evaluation by students is not only desirable, but is an accepted part of the professional development portfolio that third level educators are expected to maintain. It is coupled with exam results and formal peer review to provide a framework on which educators improve their performance and update the content of their teaching modules.

Why are third level teachers thick skinned enough to take the bad with the good, but second level teachers are not? Why (in principle) should the same appraisal process not apply to second level teachers? Perhaps RMT is not the ideal forum as it is accessible to anyone and of dubious quality, whereas third level review is a formal procedure confined to the department or institution which conducts it. Do schools now employ such a process for internal use - in my day they didn't. Does anyone know if they do or think that they should?

ESY


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## Cahir (9 May 2005)

Are you supposed to be able to rate lecturers on all third level courses?  At my university we were never given the opportunity.


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## Gabriel (9 May 2005)

Eyeseeyou said:
			
		

> I've just read back over this entire thread and one question repeatedly springs to mind. Why is it that we think second level students should have no opportunity to evaluate their teachers? ESY



I don't think that is being suggested at all if you read the entire thread.



			
				Eyeseeyou said:
			
		

> When a student enters third level education, as little as three months after completing their second level studies, they are expected to provide feedback and complete evaluation forms at the end of course modules. Suddenly teacher evaluation by students is not only desirable, but is an accepted part of the professional development portfolio that third level educators are expected to maintain. It is coupled with exam results and formal peer review to provide a framework on which educators improve their performance and update the content of their teachig modules.
> ESY



Exactly, but this is done in a formal manner, conducted by the proper authorities and in the correct format...not on some second rate website.

If the board of education wants (secondary level) students to assess their teachers then that's fine by me. A good idea no doubt.


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## Eyeseeyou (9 May 2005)

Cahir - yes, all third level teachers SHOULD use a number of methods of appraisal for continuing professional development including student feedback questionnaires. I never got them in my day eiither, but this method is increasingly being implemented mostly for formative purposes by individuals, rather than for summative reasons by educational authorities.

Gabriel - I agree with you completely regarding the use of formal methods of evaluation rather than some "second rate web site", and I do suggest that RMT is not the correct forum. Do you know if such formal strategies exist at either local or national level?


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## macnas (11 May 2005)

When I spoke to a student recently to give out about his/her lack of application I was told that I would get a bad rating on the web and as a result I did. 

   In my school's site there are several past pupils (the gas men!) included as teachers and rated as such.

There are ratings for a few teachers who are no longer alive. 

There are ratings for a few teachers who have been retired for several years.
 There are personal references, references to families, insults and uninformed comments and more.   

Is it free speech when the identity of the speaker is not known? There is no right of reply.


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## Gabriel (12 May 2005)

Thank you macnas for giving some good 'real world' reasons for why this website (ratemyteachers) is a load of sh*te.


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