Bullying of all kinds is abhorrent.
When a child is bullied it is rightly considered unlawful, yet when a teacher is bullied it’s considered free speech. The only thing stopping the vulgar website Rate My Teachers from being banned is the fact that it is an American website which is allowed to operate under the guise of free speech.
The teachers’ union wants the Education Department to shut down a website it says allows students to make defamatory and slanderous comments about their teachers.
The State School Teachers Union council resolved recently to write to the department asking it to close the Rate My Teachers website that some students use to abuse teachers personally and professionally.
“The website has allowed anonymous postings for some years, many of which would be found to be defamatory and slanderous of teachers if tested against legislation,” the resolution said.
The US-based website’s rules state posts will be removed if they contain profanity, name-calling or vulgarity, but recent comments about WA schoolteachers include “She is a whore”, “He is a douche bag” and “Sadistic bitch, she is a horrible teacher”.
Other posts say teachers are “bad” or “completely incompetent”. The website emerged in Australia six years ago, but this is the first time the union has made a formal request for help from the department.
Can you imagine if there was a website called ‘Rate My Students’?
Freedom of speech? I don’t think so!
Tags: Attempts to ban Rate My Teachers website, Bullying and free speech, Bullying Teachers, Cyber Bullying, Defamation against teachers, Education, News, Rate My Teacher website, Teacher Welfare
Topical Teaching 
May 19, 2013 at 4:10 am |
Hi I found a crazy parent I had recently write a nasty comment about me on rate my teacher. I have been ignored by the website to remove my name. Where do I send a lawyers letter to get my name removed from this site?
May 22, 2013 at 8:04 am |
Unfortunately that awful site is 100% legal. There is nothing you can do about it. However, your school should be supporting you and putting pressure on the parent to remove it ASAP.