RECENTLY, some professors have wondered why a Web site like ratemyprofessors.com needsto exist. According to The Chronicle of Education, one disgruntled professor has retaliated to this Web site with one of his own: rateyourstudents.blogspot.com.While professors might find it cathartic to mock ratemyprofessors, they should realize that such a forum has inherent value and that venting about the site through rateyourstudents is exemplary of the overarching problem of poor communication between students and professors.
Professors represent a diverse array of values, personalities and pedagogical methods: some are eccentric, some are hilarious, some are stern but caring, etc. Likewise, different students learn better from different types of professors. Ratemyprofessors simply allows students to learn more about a professor's style before taking the class. Above all else, I prefer professors who are passionate about their field, but one of my roommates prefers "professors who are very straightforward about what they expect." Without some form of peer advice, students can be stuck in classes they care little about and, in turn, will be unlikely to put much effort into them.
There are two primary objections to ratemyprofessors. First, ratemyprofessors has a rating for professor "hotness," a superficial and irrelevant function. While I personally ignore this rating, it is undoubtedly an offensive one that deteriorates the value of ratemyprofessors. The Web site, nonetheless, defends the function as a point of comedy and also references a study performed by a University of Texas economist indicating the advantages enjoyed by those who are more "attractive." Second, some professors are upset that ratemyprofessors has ratings for "ease" and level of "fun." When the subject is entertaining, there is greater personal incentive to go to class and do the readings, and the class is usually more memorable.
The "ease" ratings are often misinterpreted. Rather than picking classes based solely on ease, students pick classes in obscure subjects with difficulty in mind. For example, a mathematics major will probably not concern herself with ease when choosing a math class. However, when taking her first classics course simply for fun, she would not be wrong to desire a less difficult class. Why ruin a GPA just because you are curious about the Iliad? Knowing that certain classes will not be an onerous burden on the semester workload encourages students to pursue a more diverse liberal arts education.
Rateyourstudents exists for no serious reason. After perusing the site for 20 minutes or so, I was shocked and disappointed with the immature content I found. One teacher wrote about a student, "You may have the necessary ADDitude, but you got a loud mouth and you pissed this tizzy off one too many times. The rest, get you some Cs and Bs and gedd-da-fuq-out!" Now, it would be difficult to imagine the material is not mostly satirical; however, these professors are substituting mockery for the constructive communication that should be taking place.
Rather than create an elitist Web site where students are depicted as rude, iPod-sporting somnambulists, professors should advocate a better response to students' desire for information about their future professors -- a desire that stems more from insecurity than apathy.
The real answer can be found in an extension of our University's tradition of student-professor relationships, where students and teachers are encouraged to communicate, both in the classroom and outside. Such relationships help bridge isolated generations and prevent unfounded generalizations, such as one voiced on rateyourstudents by a professor from a university "in the South," who (in full seriousness) carped about the "creeping acceptance of lying, cheating and other forms of dishonesty" within our generation.
The University's student-professor dinners, lecture series, free lunches, etc. all serve this purpose. However, the controversy over such Web sites calls for more: specifically, the University would do well to organize a department social event for each COD release. For example, the professors teaching English classes in the fall 2006 semester could have an ice cream social, where prospective students, former students and professors could mingle. This would allow students to learn about their future professors without having to resort to ratemyprofessors.
Ratemyprofessors is undoubtedly popular with students. But, as professors nationwide have pointed out, it is not without controversy.
Those debating the site have missed the overarching problem: the lack of student-professor communication. Our University has been on the forefront of confronting nationwide issues ranging from racism to diabetes, and this should be yet another one. By setting an example, the University could lead the way to successfully addressing the nationwide problem of poor student-professor relationships.
Sina Kian's column appears Tuesdays in The Cavalier Daily. He can be reached at skian@cavalierdaily.com.
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