rate a teacher

Salome

Administrator
So, I had an email from a visitor today that I am sharing below. I omitted her name, names of teachers etc. As I'm sure she was not intending her email to go on a public forum...

I think it would be useful if there was a way to comment and rank the instructors on this site. I have had a difficult time finding local instructors until I found this site; however finding good reference for these people even if just a simple as a youtube video is quite a task! For example I tried to work with teacher XYZ however she was forgetful rude and a terrible dancer come to find out. We had an hour long conversation and weeks later she found my number on her phone and called me and had no idea who I was or what we had talked about or even that I had signed up for classes. This happened 2-3
times. I showed up to class and NOONE was there! She said it would be a small class but without an instructor it is not a class. Worse off I was required to prepay and it was non refundable. Thank goodness after I waited for hours for her to show up they finanly said oh we cant contact her and refunded my money. A huge waste of time. On the other hand teacher ABC was wonderful to work with. She was kind and creates many opportunities for her students. Anyway I just think a comments and rateing system would help us who are new to our area to make a better informed decision.

My first thought is that a rating system would be too vulnerable to a host of things that would perhaps skew a teacher's rating. On the other hand there are practical aspects...

How helpful would you find it to have some sort of rating system in our teachers directory?
 

da Sage

New member
So, I had an email from a visitor today that I am sharing below. I omitted her name, names of teachers etc. As I'm sure she was not intending her email to go on a public forum...



My first thought is that a rating system would be too vulnerable to a host of things that would perhaps skew a teacher's rating. On the other hand there are practical aspects...

How helpful would you find it to have some sort of rating system in our teachers directory?

Hmmm. We are supposed to rate our teachers in community ed, and that's always....awkward.:(

The problem with a rating system is that it doesn't account for the preferences of the individual student. T might have a perfectly good and effective warmup, but I would rate it low because I like to ease into class. Or I would rate C highly because I like working with zills and movement in class, but someone else might rank her low for the same reason.

So a rating system would have to be extremely complex to be useful, but still would not tell the whole story. Maybe we could randomly assign a "can-o-worms" rating instead?
 

jenc

New member
My first thought was post some positive reviews only. Then I thought new teachers, or teachers of beginners may not have positive reviews because they don't have any reviews. Without mentionning names was XYZ in your directory of teachers?
 

da Sage

New member
I think rating teachers would be sure to drive a lot of people (and sock puppets) to this site...:shok:
 

Safran

New member
I am not very fond of the idea of rating. I do understand the need for information, but I think bringing it down to mere structured rating can also display information very wrong. Plus, what saSage said.

If someone needs info about someone, let them post the inqury. Then we can have different people present their different opinions + explain why.
 
Maybe instead of a rating system, what about how many years one has been teaching and performing?
Since there are many teachers, ahem, who begin teaching after a year of classes. This may be a way to weed out the less experienced. However, this would present problems if you'd allowed the teacher to self-report his.her credentials. The same would apply to revealing comments from students.

I wonder how teachers of other genres are rated or even there's a rating system for them?
Yasmine
 

kayshier

New member
I think rating in itself is very subjective but it is a good idea to have some sort of standard applied when it comes to teaching something.
I mean if we are learning a musical instrument, we go to someone who has qualifications in teaching music..or at least credentials that indicate that they have experience. normally this is by certification from an accredited body.

is there accreditation for belly dance? *not even sure if there are for other forms of dance, but to be honest if i were learning another genre of dance, modern, jazz etc, i would probably more likely go to someone who was trained in Julliard or some other top rated school of learning.

are there such academies for belly dance?
 

Shanazel

Moderator
There is such a big push in recent years to have JoAnna Q. Public rate everything from videos on YouTube to political candidates that the process has become meaningless- just one more game for people with lots of opinions to play.

Posting years of experience could be misleading. A person can go through the motions of instructing people for years without ever becoming a decent teacher.
 

Marya

Member
Instead of rating teacher a survey might work. Questions could be simple and direct like did teacher show up on time, how many other students were there, how long did class last, were there handouts etc.

Other questions might just be to present information like what kind of music was used, what style is taught. what is the studio like etc.

Answers to questions like this would help me select a teacher.

Marya
 

lizaj

New member
It's a terrible idea. Open to abuse by those hell bent on mischief.
Students rate their teachers by staying or going. They are also perfectly capable of making suggestions and complaining.
And one teacher may suit a student and another not like his/her approach.
Just as those who found belly dance is a mistake for them, they will either feel at home with a teacher or not.
I do wish students and employers would enquire as to the "qualifications" ( be they paper or based on long experience) and it would be useful if this were listed somewhere astudent could check on. The teacher, teacher has studied with and the nature of those studies. The styles taught etc. Teacher listings could be fuller...rating teacher mmmm...:think:
 

Marya

Member
It's a terrible idea. Open to abuse by those hell bent on mischief.
Students rate their teachers by staying or going. They are also perfectly capable of making suggestions and complaining.
And one teacher may suit a student and another not like his/her approach.
Just as those who found belly dance is a mistake for them, they will either feel at home with a teacher or not.
I do wish students and employers would enquire as to the "qualifications" ( be they paper or based on long experience) and it would be useful if this were listed somewhere astudent could check on. The teacher, teacher has studied with and the nature of those studies. The styles taught etc. Teacher listings could be fuller...rating teacher mmmm...:think:

I tend to agree with this opening a can of worms to those hell bent on mischief. I was appalled to learn that a friend of mine who teaches at a university and has a PhD in Business is rated by students and this rating is used in determining whether she will get tenure or not. She told me of a few students who didn't like her curriculum and rating her poorly, only to tell her a year or two later that she was right. too late for her.

Marya
 

Salome

Administrator
Ok so noted that, so far, folks poo poo the idea. :) And with lot's of valid points. But I have to admit though that the idea is kind of growing on me. Sure it is vulnerable to misuse and subjective... but am I being naive in thinking that the majority of people are not evil doers out to do mischief? For example, the reputation system here on the forum seems to work well- not exactly the same thing since we are talking opinions - but the system itself is set up so that one person or a group cannot unfairly tear someone down or build them up...
 
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Eshta

New member
We would need someone to volunteer to go around as a full-time teacher critic giving teachers michelin stars :) I'll go!!!!!

I can't think of a quick & practical way of making this work, although love the idea of it in abstract. But people go to belly dance classes for so many reasons. I remember being hugely frustrated at one class where we had to stop whenever we started to break a sweat, and I mean that literally. Literally, someone in the class would say 'Can we take a break, I'm starting to sweat?' and then there would be a 5 minute natter. They all came dressed up in all sorts of hafla wear but didn't want to sweat!

Could you maybe fill in a quick tickbox thing that had:
-years teaching
-years performing
-main focus: technique, social, interpretation, props
- describe your classes in three words 'sexy, erotic, non-sweaty' :)shok:not going to this class!)
 

da Sage

New member
Could you maybe fill in a quick tickbox thing that had:
-years teaching
-years performing
-main focus: technique, social, interpretation, props
- describe your classes in three words 'sexy, erotic, non-sweaty' :)shok:not going to this class!)

Don't forget years of study. People make a big deal out of years teaching and performing, but completely forget the base--years of study, and with whom.
 

Shanazel

Moderator
but am I being naive in thinking that the majority of people are not evil doers out to do mischief?

No, you are not naive to think this. You are perhaps underestimating the power of a vocal and vicious few. The vast majority of people also do not commit arson, grand theft or barratry, but the few who do bring a lot of misery to their innocent victims.

If you give teachers a choice as to whether or not they wished to be included in this potential free for all, it might be more palatable.
 

Caroline_afifi

New member
They say World War 3 will be the war of water...the fight over oil..weapons of mass destruction...


No! it will be the rating of teachers... dont even go there!
 

jenc

New member
I would like more info - and perhaps a regular request to update or else be removed. I have PMd Salome about a teacher that appears to have disappeared - but is still listed. Also another teacher that I know states that she teaches Raqs Sharki (amongst other things) but I stopprd going as it was very strenuous Tribal Fusion.
So I would like to know how long dancing, how long teaching (some of the other sites do list this. I would also like teachers to be requested to list only those styles that they teach SEPARATELY (unless they state that their dance is a mixture of...)
PS just looked again and the teacher that disappeared states that she teaches Bellydance, Raqs Sharki, Turkish, Egyptian.
I understood when she was around that she had been dancing for only 2 years. maybe that is why she doesn't appear to know that Raqs Sharki is Egyptian.
 
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jenc

New member
Maybe we could all check out local teachers and PM Salome to enquire if we don't think the description fits!!
 

Caroline_afifi

New member
Yes, I think description is more important than rating. This will help people alot where there are various teachers in one area.

I think it would be nice for teachers to say what they do and dont dont and perhaps a biog?
 

da Sage

New member
Most of the teachers I know spend their time dancing, teaching, and planning classes and events...

I would personally be against any sort of rating system that requires a teacher to check her online feedback regularly, in order to protect her position.

EDIT: The last thing we need is more online drama draining energy from our art.
 
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