Pinellas schools ban ratings Web site

Students can't use school computers to log onto RateMyTeachers.com. Nationwide, there are hundreds of schools that have joined the ban.

[Times photo: Kathleen Flynn] Countryside High editors, from left, Justin Saturley, Chelsea Leiter and Lauren Solomon plan a story on the ban of RateMyTeachers.com, backed by their adviser, Joyce Dimmer.

Kids have gossiped about teachers since the days of the one-room schoolhouse, telling peers who is cool and who should be avoided at all costs.

For the past couple of years, students throughout North America have had a high-tech way to dish.

They can simply log onto the Web site RateMyTeachers.com, and share their comments or read those of other students.

But not from a terminal in a Pinellas County public school.

The district blocks the site from all district computers following a complaint last year that the site distracted students at East Lake High School.

"We will block sites that don't have educational value or are disruptive to the classroom," said Bob Liles, director of delivery and technical support systems for Pinellas County schools.

That means neither students nor teachers can log onto the site on campus, even during free periods or after school.

The teacher rating site, which includes contributions from students in 25,746 middle and high schools in the United States and Canada, is not special in that regard. Liles said he gets one or two requests a month from schools to block certain sites. And the district subscribes to a filtering service that blocks out sites with nudity, pornography, violence and racist themes.

Since last fall, about 500 schools and school districts throughout North America have blocked access to RateMyTeachers.com, where more than 12,000 Florida teachers are rated, said site co-founder Michael Hussey, 25, of Washington, D.C.

So far, the Hillsborough County School District is not one of them. School spokeswoman Linda Cobbe said the site doesn't "fall within the district guidelines for what sites should be blocked." But she added, "There is not an educational purpose for students going on there, so they would be discouraged from doing that."

Not surprisingly, Hussey said banning the site is overkill because it's beneficial to both students and teachers.

"When school districts are blocking the site, they are overreacting," Hussey said. "They have to remember these are only opinions."

At Countryside High School in Clearwater, the staff of the student newspaper doesn't like the idea of the district banning the site and plans to do a cover story on it next month.

Lauren Solomon, co-editor in chief of the Countryside Paw Print, said students have a right to know what their teachers are like in advance.

"I just think the teachers don't want it because some of them have less-than-flattering ratings," said Solomon, a 17-year-old senior.

Junior Caitlin Howley, 16, who is reporting the story for the Paw Print, said she's been presenting online student comments to teachers.

"Generally, they thought it was a good idea to have a site, but teachers shouldn't take it to heart because not everybody knows about it," she said. "Pretty much the people that comment are the people that really love a teacher or dislike a teacher."

Howley said most teachers didn't think free speech was an issue with district filtering because students could log onto the Web site from home.

But that's not the way Countryside student government senator Caroline Dimmer sees it.

"I think we should have access," said Dimmer, a 16-year-old junior. "It's kind of like a free country, so why is our campus trying to block it? We have a right to say negative things about our teachers."

Dimmer's mother, Countryside High English and journalism teacher Joyce Dimmer, said she respects the district for blocking objectionable material but she doesn't see the harm in the site.

"If I were a kid, it would be a fun site," she said. "As a teacher, I would love to see what kids say about me provided that it's not derogatory."

Randall Marshall, Florida legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union, said blocking the site at schools is a "poor civics lesson although it may, in fact, be legal."

Marshall said the site has educational merit because it allows students to weigh comments about educators and helps them choose one class over another, an evaluation system that's been in place at college campuses for years, he said.

Schools have the right to regulate curriculum, Marshall said. But he questions the legality of blocking sites on the basis of individual complaints without a review process.

"That type of censorship is probably problematic," Marshall said.

- Lorri Helfand can be reached at 445-4155 or at lorri@sptimes.com

Rating categories on RateMyTeachers.com:

Smiley face with sunglasses: Popular

Smiley face: Good

Straight face: Average

Sad face: Poor

Not the greatest, but the subject matter was interesting.

I loved this man; he made me interested in history. I thought he was amazing.

Kind of rude. Movies are outdated and boring. Quizzes are confusing at times. Scored a 98 on project, though. Study!

He was one of the best teachers!! He got me ready for high school.

Such a great Spanish teacher! A class to look forward to during the school day!

She's a very, very, very bad teacher and it's not my imagination when none of the students don't like her!

The chapter tests are hard! Way too many oral projects in front of the class!! - East Lake High

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