Whatever happened to giving the teacher an apple at the end of the day to say thanks for a job well done?
It seems that notion has gone by the wayside with the news of a controversial teacher-rating website.
Ratemyteacher.com has been in existence since 2001 and now students across Canada can heap praise or scorn on their teachers.On the Coast, Chat and Elphi students have gotten into the mix, rating many of their teachers.
The website lists the name of the teacher and the school where they teach, but the comments made by students or parents are anonymous.
Under rating rules on the website, they ask that you keep comments appropriate. You can't state something as fact if it isn't, and you are asked to tone down vulgar or profane words. They also have an item asking if students think something on the site is slanderous or libelous to write a note and they will consider removing it from the site.
Maybe the people who are running this site should enforce their own rules. A quick surf of some of the comments reveals many mean-spirited notes - things like: "She's a great teacher, but don't approach her when she is busy." "Might be a Communist." Or how about this one: "He smells funny."
How are comments like these helping our education system? I'm sure the teachers love having their names all over the worldwide web.
And why is it that teachers' names can be flaunted all over the place, but students and parents remain unnamed?
If a student has a problem with a teacher, wouldn't it be more effective to approach the teacher and try to resolve the situation face to face? If that's not an option, why not talk to the principal or a school counsellor? Get parents involved and talk about it rather than jumping on a website and venting frustration for the whole world to see.
This website does nothing but hurt teachers - it's the equivalent of a witch-hunt. How is this helping education?
