Teachers across the country are now openly subject to criticism as their students exert their opinions publicly through http://www.ratemyteacher.com, a site that is rapidly growing in popularity, as teachers are recognizing and encouraging students to use the site.
Since its creation, the site serves as an anonymous-but-public means to criticize or commend teachers’ abilities.

Seventy-five teachers from Palo Alto High School are currently under scrutiny in the web site database, as well as 550,000 teachers in more than 30,000 schools in the U.S., according to Michael Hussy, a co-founder of ratemyteacher.com.

On the site, users may add teachers not currently listed in the teacher database and grade teachers in several categories. Teacher ratings include clarity, helpfulness, and easiness, which are evaluated on a scale from one to five. Users also have the option of adding comments along with their evaluations.

"At this point in time, Palo Alto High School will employ a minimal policy standard. We’re unaware of any problems this site has caused and we plan to take any actions if necessary," Palo Alto High School principal Sandra Pearson said.

Most Paly teachers have mixed feelings about site evaluations.

"As a teacher I have a problem with it because I wouldn’t want public comments to be made about me like there are currently on the site," Paly’s student activities director Joann Vaars said. "However, I don’t think the administration has legal rights to stop students from posting their comments."

However, some instructors, like science teachers Gul Eris and Linda Leyva, are taking advantage of the convenience the site offers and have requested that their students evaluate them on the site.

Others, like English teacher Mike McNulty, believe that students have the right to express their opinions.

"I believe that the web site should be available to students," McNulty said. "Access or talk is the students’ right. I can’t change the way I teach or make everyone like me but I welcome peoples’ opinions."

However, various schools in the U.S. disagree with public style of criticism. Five hundred and forty schools and their districts have already put an end to the open forum.

Despite efforts by about 1,800 volunteer high school students to screen obscenities, threats, and inappropriate language unrelated to the teachers’ performances, instructors have still taken offense to the students’ responses.

In response to teacher complaints, the New York State Unified Teachers hired an attorney to argue the legality of the site. The courts found that the Web site consists of opinions, and they are therefore protected by the Constitution.

"We do not have a policy and do not foresee a policy in the future," Vaars said. "It’s a public web site and if we instituted a policy, it would be one of those rules that are impossible to enforce."