Started by a Californian group, RateMyTeachers.com allows middle school and high school students across the country to anonymously rank the quality of their teachers. With zero dollars spent on advertising, the Web site has grown to list more than 34,000 schools and close to 700,000 individual teachers solely through word of mouth and media attention.

A controversial topic in classrooms across the country, most teachers and administrators are not pleased. The general complaints are that the site is a breeding ground for unnecessarily negative and cruel comments that can hurt teachers. In an attempt to combat frivolous remarks that do not pertain to the teacher’s teaching, each school has a designated student administrator who monitors the postings. In order for a rating to be posted, it must first be approved by the administrator. Despite the fear from educators that the Web site would trigger a torrent of cruel and malicious comments, a surprising 60 percent to 80 percent of all the ratings posted have been reported to be positive.

The National Education Association along with other educational organizations and schools have taken action by discouraging students from using the site and blocking access on their school networks.

“It’s unfortunate that unions can protect mediocre teachers from scrutiny,” said Michael Hussey, the mastermind behind the Web site.

And I cannot agree more.

As a student who has been through the K-12 public education system of America, there were times, particularly during my high school career, when I truly questioned not only the teaching abilities of certain instructors, but also their motives for being in the field of education in the first place. It is obvious to students which teachers genuinely care about expanding a student’s academic horizons and which teachers don’t seem to really care, but somehow get by day-to-day. I used to ask myself how it was possible that these individuals were still being allowed to teach when it was common knowledge to most students and possibly even many of the teachers, of their poor teaching abilities.

Discussing this matter with my other teachers at the time, however, I found out about the power of teacher unions. Although I personally think that teacher unions are an overwhelmingly positive development, the one flaw with it, in my mind, is that it is nearly impossible to fire incompetent and slacking teachers – especially if they have been teaching for many years.

Web sites such as RateMyTeachers.com finally allow students to have a voice in demanding the best from their teachers – something they have every right to do. But until now, students have never been able to have an audible voice in honestly expressing their opinions. The Web site has caused such a stir that people are definitely starting to pay attention.

Curious, I decided to check the ratings posted for my own high school alma mater. Reading over the familiar names of my former teachers, the accuracy and honesty of the ratings and comments amazed me. The phenomenal teachers received excellent ratings and raving comments. The mediocre and not-so-impressive teachers received low ratings and mostly constructive criticism. I was not surprised.

The honesty of the ratings struck me. High school students who currently have teachers I once had have the same thoughts and feelings I felt about many teachers I had during high school. More importantly, the ratings were extremely consistent across the board, increasing the validity of the responses.

I believe that for teachers, RateMyTeachers.com is an excellent method to receive straight-up and honest feedback on their teaching abilities. Inevitably, not all teachers are going to be pleased with what they read. But if the comments that they are receiving are consistently similar and negative, it can be used as an excellent resource to improve upon or revise their methods of teaching. They will no longer be able to hide behind the shield of the teacher union, but be forced to actually try harder. And for the teachers who really do inspire and engage students in the pursuit of knowledge, RateMyTeachers.com affirms and acknowledges their dedication and passion for their students as they deserve.

Jen Choi is a senior in English. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].