The Voice - Student Newspaper - February 13, 2008

Students grade teachers based on first-hand experience

With open registration a couple of months away, the big question on every student's mind is what classes to take. Another big question is how to find a teacher that matches your learning style. These questions can be answered in a couple different ways.

One easy way to find out what a teacher is like is to ask your friends. This way you can get an opinion from someone who has actually experienced a class with that teacher. Plus, the opinion also comes from a person you know and trust.

When Wes Watson, a Glendale Community College(GCC) student, was asked what he looks for in a teacher, he said, "First I see if they're full time faculty.

"If they're over zealous about their attendance policy, I won't take them. They seem to forget that we pay their salaries. We're not in high school anymore."

Students tend to weigh their decision of choosing teacher on what their friends think of that teacher. Another way to match your learning style with the right teaching style is to visit a website called www.ratemyprofessors.com. This website is basically students' opinions on almost any teacher from almost any college in the United States.

The teachers are rated on a scale of 1 to 10 in the categories of "easiness," "helpfulness," "clarity," "overall quality," and "rater interest." "Rater interest" meaning how interested were they in the actual class. The teacher is also rated with a smiling face for "good quality", a blank face for "average quality", and a frowning face for "poor quality." The student also has the option of adding his or her own comments which vary from good to bad depending on what they think of the teacher.

A word of caution about this site. Some of the critiques of the instructors could be fake. It's up to your good judgment to figure out which critiques are genuine.

"If a larger sample of students participate- and they are encouraged to be responsible in their rankings- the potential value of that information to that institution would only be enhanced," said the authors of Ratemyprofessor.com.

Could this system of rating teachers be of high value to the colleges in this country?

Whether it's asking a friend or relying on a website for advice on picking teachers, the choice is up to you. Happy hunting.