By Belinda Nolan
A CONTROVERSIAL website that allows students to publicly criticise their teachers has provoked outrage in the Brimbank community, with education leaders labelling the site defamatory and inappropriate.
The Rate My Teacher website provides a forum for anonymous students and others to score their teachers and publicly comment on their performance.
At least 70 Brimbank teachers have been named on the site from schools including Keilor Downs College, Catholic Regional College, Brimbank College Copperfield College and Sunshine College and given a rating out of five based on their ‘helpfulness’, ‘easiness’ and ‘clarity.’
Some teachers received glowing comments but others were judged harshly, with comments ranging from “she is full on evil” to “she’s a witch” and “worst teacher ever.”
The comments have infuriated local teachers. They said they were slanderous and offensive.
Catholic Regional College North Keilor principal Greg Wade said the posts were defamatory and the school would be contacting the website’s owners to have them removed.
Mr Wade said he would also be meeting with teachers and students to advise them of the website.
“Nobody would want to have these sorts of things publicly written about them,” Mr Wade said.
“I’d imagine that staff would be outraged.”
Copperfield College Principal Tony Simpson described the website as “outrageous” but said “no one in their right mind” would give the comments any credence.
Australian Education Union Victorian Branch president Mary Bluett said the Independent Education Union had concerns about the site and had attempted to contact its administrators, who dismissed their claims.
“I don’t believe it should exist,” Ms Bluett told Star.
“If statements are going to be made about people, they shouldn’t be anonymous. There should be some way to hold people to account for what they put out there to the world as individuals.”
St Albans lawyer Sam Agricola called the website “outrageous” and said slighted teachers had a legal right to pursue the website conveners for defamation.
“It’s disgusting and teachers named on this site certainly have a legal recourse but in reality it would be very difficult to pursue,” he told Star. Star contacted the website owners, who are based in California, last week but had not received a response by deadline.
