Contemporary people are accustomed to a variety of ratings. Now people tend to rate everything. Films, restaurants, educational establishments are rated. Of course, new ratings appear every day. Thus, now students may rate their teachers at ratemyteacher.com.
On the one hand, this is quite a nice idea to have such a resource as students may be prepared for a particular teaching style or even can avoid choosing classes of a teacher whose professionalism is doubtful. However, there is one obvious problem with this site. The reliability of this source is rather doubtful. In the first place, all the commentaries and evaluations are quite subjective as different people like or dislike different teaching styles, different personal qualities. Apart from this, students may try to damage a teacher’s reputation as they wish to take revenge for bad marks.
There is another point to be considered when thinking about the website. It is necessary to think of the site from the teachers’ perspective. On the one hand, it can be quite unpleasant to realize that you are being rated (just like a product in the market). Negative commentaries may also make teachers feel frustrated. However, I believe the rating can be helpful for teachers as they understand how well they are doing.
I would monitor my rating and would pay attention to the commentaries as I would like to know whether my classes are effective and interesting. Students’ opinion does matter, and the website helps to identify it. Of course, it is not pleasant to read some criticism, but it can help a teacher improve and develop to become a real professional.