Letter: Distrust online teacher evaluation
Gov. Andrew Cuomo is seeking to limit the disclosure of teacher evaluations to parents of students, not the public. (September 6, 2011 ) Credit: File Photo
Teachers should be evaluated by the students they teach ["Website goes where schools fear to tread," Opinion, June 18]. This happens in every college I have ever gone to or taught in. At the end of the semester, the students are given an evaluation form where they bubble in responses and write in comments. The teacher is not in the room and does not even see the results until the students are a distant memory.
The feedback has helped me pinpoint areas that needed correction and grow as a teacher.
Columnist Daniel Akst compares this sort of evaluation to the very controversial RateMyTeachers.com. If he looked closely at that site, he would see that the evaluations are almost meaningless. There is no way to know if the evaluator has actually had the teacher, or has rated the teacher once, twice or 100 times. Many of the comments are mean and offer no constructive criticism.
Many teachers are listed multiple times, and first and last names are mixed up. I know there are comments on that site not meant for me. I've asked for a correction, but none has been made.
Teachers need to be evaluated. Bad teachers need to be removed from the classroom. Parents and students need to see what they are up against, but not this way.
Linda Silverman, Bellerose Manor
Editor's note: The writer is an adjunct lecturer at Queensborough Community College.
