Jake Steele

English II, Acc.

Mrs. Jobst
20 April 2015
Striving Toward Ethical Educators

Every student experiences one teacher in their lifetime that needs to be fired or undergo severe
readjustment. Unfortunately for the students, the firing or readjustment rarely occurs, so they are forced
to deal with the foul teacher for a whole semester or longer. An invalid instructor will fail to fill the role
of a sufficient teacher. The role of a teacher is to counsel students, help them learn how to use their
knowledge [about the main subjects] and integrate it into their lives so they will be valuable member of

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society (Cox). Because a teachers impact on a students life is monumental, valid instructors

are necessary to prepare the youth to be successful in their adult years, socially and mentally. To
solve the issue of dealing with unacceptable teachers, student surveys and third-party
observations should be implemented in teacher evaluations.
Counter-arguments are correct to a certain extent. Although administrators watch and
highly-regulate teachers to keep them on track, the instructors styles and attitudes have close to
no boundaries. Some argue parent emails regulate teachers behavior, but parent emails are bias
and school authorities do not take them seriously. Others stress a student survey would turn into
a witch hunt. The student survey is designed to hunt for the destructive and negative
teachers, but the purpose is not to persecute them. The goal of the survey is to evaluate and
improve the teachers. Also, an objective response towards teacher evaluation is achieved through
the third-party observation. Lastly, individuals disagreeing with the survey declare students are
bias and do not possess the skills to evaluate an instructor fairly. Bias is inevitable because
everyone acquires bias towards something to an extent. Yet, the student survey is a questionnaire,
like a test, and students are experienced at answering complex questions because they respond to
those every day in class. Finally, students observe the instructors daily, so a misinterpretation of a
teachers behavior is rare.
Administrators rarely view teachers in action, while students are there regularly. This
concept is important because an instructor could feign a personality while school authorities are
briefly present. When parents or school officials enter the classroom the teacher and students
are on their best behavior, similar to when our boss observes us at work. It is impossible to fully
evaluate the day-to-day atmosphere in a classroom unless one is in the classroom daily (Eccles).
Only the students are able to experience the interaction and depth of connection with the teacher.
Because students obtain first-hand experience with the instructors, any evaluation on their style
would not be as thorough and valid if it was produced from anyone else other than the students

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themselves. Akin to your friend assessing the quality of your parents, a credible survey cannot

attained without the people who spend the most time with the teachers.
Lack of evaluation allows ineffective teachers remain employed. In college and jobs,
evaluations of professors and employees are implemented to assess their effectiveness in the
classroom and the workplace. A student myself, I have personally experienced lazy, negative,
and dull teachers throughout my schooling. Unfortunately for me and the rest of the students, we
could not do anything to solve the issue and as a result, received in impaired sense of knowledge
on the subject and an unbearable school year. In June 2012, Richard Rack, a Shorecliffs Middle
School teacher, was jailed for stealing the innocence of three young girls. Rack pressured the
youths to have sexual conducts with him by offering the students better grades and more help
on tests in return for sexual relationships. [He] violated the trust of students, teachers, parents
and the principal (OC Register). Although a radical case, Racks immoral actions could have
been stopped at the first attempt towards sexual intentions through increased regulation
achieved in a teachers assessment by student survey. The student survey allows the students to
have an input in teacher evaluations, whether highlighting the ineffective teachers or praising the
sufficient ones.
Instructors are valuable tools for a country because they prepare the youth, or the future
of a nation. The teachers are trusted to properly instruct the students, who have no clue about a
certain subject, until a teacher gives them information. Also, students respect teachers because
they possess knowledge which students cannot discover until taught and obtain power to
discipline a student at will. Because of all of the respect and trust towards teachers, a said teacher
can practically declare anything about their subject and it will be believed. Like a baby, a student
is malleable in school subjects because the instructors are their primary source of information.
For this reason, the impressionable students desperately need top quality instructors to prepare
them for years to come. The improper cultivation of a student leads to a less developed future.

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Achieving acceptable teachers is only possible through objective, third-party observations

and student surveys. Despite students bias, the survey will fail to hide the terrible and superb
teacher that everyone dreads and enjoys at least once in their lifetime. Also, administrators are
unable to understand the connection from teacher to student, which is why teacher evaluations
without the students themselves are inaccurate. A student evaluation will guarantee poor
instructors be readjusted or fired, while effective instructors will be praised. Because students
believe anything teachers exclaim about a subject, effective teachers are necessary to prepare the
future of the country. Like flowers, if students are not cultivated properly, they cannot blossom
into their brightest hue.

Works Cited
"Should Students Grade Their Teachers ?" Should Students Grade Their Teachers ? N.p., n.d.
Web. 30 Mar. 2015.

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Manjoo, Farhad. "Grading Teachers, With Data From Class." The New York Times. The New
York Times, 03 Sept. 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.

"Cause and Effect Essay: Should Students Be Allowed to Grade Their Teachers?" N.p., 24 July
2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

"Should Students Be Allowed To Grade Their Teachers." Essay about by Anubha Gupta. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

"Should Students Grade Their Teachers? - The Hechinger Report." The Hechinger Report. N.p.,
14 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

"High School Students Should Evaluate Their Teachers / Connie Eccles, Editor / ComPortOne of
Rockford Illinois." High School Students Should Evaluate Their Teachers / Connie Eccles,
Editor / ComPortOne of Rockford Illinois. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2015.

Cox, Janelle. "What Is the Role of a Teacher?" N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Apr. 2015.

"Ex-teacher Sentenced to 8 Years for Sexually Abusing Girls." The Orange County Register.
N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Apr. 2015.