One of the main goals of students everywhere is to obtain and maintain ‘good’ grades. However, a popular website called ‘RateMyTeachers’ has flipped the script by allowing students and parents to anonymously post ratings and feedback on teachers, staff members, and the school itself. Whitney Young has its own page on RateMyTeachers, where it has an average school rating of 4.17 out of 5, which, according to the website, is “based on teacher ratings.”

RateMyTeachers is relatively well known around the school. Last school year, DubTV created a segment where teachers had the opportunity to read and react to ratings posted about them. The majority of the teachers who appeared on the segment reacted positively to their ratings, with some finding them entertaining and funny, while the remainder reacted neutrally.

Many students approve of the website. Alexis Ramirez ‘19 remarked that the website has “produced a lot of good and interesting gems…gems, [in this case] being reviews.” He proceeded to compare the website to reviews made on websites like Amazon. However, he added that “some people are more likely to post reviews that they think others will find entertaining instead of serious reviews…but it can go both ways.” Sandy Mizhquiri ‘19 said that she found a good portion of the reviews on the website to be “funny.” When reading through the ratings themselves, the ratio between genuine reviews and silly reviews is roughly 50/50, give or take. An anonymous Sophomore ‘21 observed that the site can potentially “boost accountability and help hold teachers, staff, and the school to a higher standard based on the feedback found [on RateMyTeachers].”

Surprisingly, some students are opposed to the website. An anonymous Senior ‘19 vented, “No one should take what is posted on that website seriously. I lose brain cells every time I look at it, and I believe it should be removed from the Internet.” When asked why they would return to the website in the first place, they said they had to go to class and quickly walked away, despite the interview taking place right in the middle of their lunch period. Another anonymous individual remarked that the reviews on the website tend to be “irrelevant and quite farcical.”

Whenever any degree of anonymity is added, there is a certain freedom individuals feel they possess.What one does with that freedom (be it genuine or perceived), however, is what is important. It’s okay to be funny and goof around on the Internet sometimes, but it’s always important to be considerate of others…and remember, cyberbullying is never cool, and don’t feed the trolls. 

What do you think? Is RateMyTeachers a valid tool for school and faculty evaluation, or is it just a place where people go to post silly things? What would happen if there was a “RateMyStudents” website?