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The Western Breeze · Issue 3

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April 2025 · Student reporting

Front Page

Students Put Teachers to the Test

Would allowing students to grade their teachers improve education? Are students too biased to fairly evaluate their teachers? Allowing students to grade their teachers could potentially improve education, but it also raises concerns about fairness and effectiveness, with potential benefits being improved teaching quality, increased accountability, and student voice. There are also potential drawbacks like bias in evaluation, lack of expertise, and potential for misuse. While student feedback can be valuable, it may be most effective when combined with other evaluation methods, such as peer reviews and administrator observations.

Giving students the ability to grade their teachers raises important questions about accountability and educational quality, bridging the gap between student experiences and institutional improvement. According to Leah Wade a science teacher at Western Hills, “ To give a traditional grade A-F, No. Teachers are professionals and students are not. It would be fair and valuable for students to offer feedback throughout the years.” Allowing students to grade their teachers, however, may have negative consequences, such as skewed assessments that focus more on personal preferences than on the efficacy of instruction. According to Kelvin Cruz-Anton a Senior at Western Hills, “ Some drawbacks could be negative or bias from students that may simply dislike the teacher for their own personal reason. Another issue could be students not taking the survey or other criteria at all or not answering truthfully.

This can lead to misinterpretation between the teacher and students.” If student evaluations provide constructive feedback and are used effectively, they have the potential to enhance teaching quality by helping educators identify strengths and areas for improvement. In discussing the topic Faustina

Ansah, a Senior at Western Hills, said, “ Education is always evolving and there are always new technologies so student feedback will help a teacher know what works and what needs improvement. The teacher will be able to adapt new techniques to teaching.” When evaluating their teachers, students should consider criteria such as clarity of instruction, engagement in the classroom, fairness in grading, and willingness to provide support, as these factors directly impact their learning experience and overall academic success.

In relation to the topic about the criteria Cruz-Anton said, “ I think students could do quarterly or semester surveys rating how the teacher did. The criteria I think what should be used is, ‘How often has the teacher communicated with students,’ ‘How well did the teacher teach.’ and ‘Were the topics hard to understand?’ Any questions like these question whether the teacher is truly helping the students or not.”

To ensure that student feedback is fair and unbiased, schools can implement structured evaluation methods, such as anonymous surveys, clear rubrics, and diverse feedback channels, which minimize personal biases and encourage constructive criticism. In accordance with student feedback, Ansah said “ The school must randomly choose students from different bells, different grade point average students, and so forth. The group must be mixed with different sets of students, not just those who have good grades in that class or those who have bad grades and never show up to class.

Some teachers are nice but many do not teach well.” In conclusion, allowing students to grade their teachers can provide valuable insights into teaching effectiveness, classroom engagement, and areas for improvement. However, to ensure fairness and objectivity, schools must implement structured evaluation systems that minimize bias and focus on constructive feedback.

Front Page

College: The Rising Costs and Time Investment

When it comes to college people have many different , whether you have been to college or not. Some of them who have been there mostly say similar things. However, people, like high schoolers, are afraid of whether they can do it or not; they need to be more confident or it could be they are afraid of the thousands of student loan debt. Many students don’t think they can afford that much money just to get more education, and I think it makes sense they think that way in this generation because we see many people being rich without a college degree. People make so much money by being an influencer.

However, most people who went to college didn't regret it. Aaron Thompson, an English teacher at , said “College is NOT a waste of time. People who go to college and who don’t are not the same; people who go to college change in a good way; they become more responsible. You will learn a lot of things about the world and about life.” In many ways, not getting a college degree doesn’t limit a per son’s work opportunities. However specific careers in areas like law, healthcare, finance, business development and leadership areas may require that applicants have college degrees. Without a college degree you will miss out on a lot of important social, political and global knowledge that comes from being part of a student body on a college campus. Those who don't get a college education are mostly having a lack of confidence and a lack of critical thinking. Education can help people advocate for themselves and protect themselves. When it comes to going to college , never go for the money because sooner or later you may regret it.

Going to college is something that you are not doing for the money or to find a professional job, but you are doing it because you want to become what you want to become; otherwise you will regret it for many reasons, you will not be happy with your work, and you may be satisfied with your salary, but I don’t think that should be the priority. It is hard to go to a job you don’t enjoy. According to Joshua Elmore, an American History teacher, at Western Hills University High

School, “ being rich in the U.S is to get luck to get wealthy or your parents are wealthy. Teens don't go to college because social media influences them and I think it’s a bad thing because the thing is everyone has their own destiny, maybe the one who influences you has a different destiny than you.” Mustafa Yisrael, an African American History teacher at , said “ first two years are dedicated for students to find their purpose. What directions in life do they want to choose? They should start beginning to build a career.

Those four to five years should be used to strengthen their manhood/womanhood, so they are in a better position to take care of themselves, family, and community.” Mustafa added “when students go to college they should find their meaning, like who do they want to be in life, and start thinking about responsibilities, and be in a better position to take care of themselves, family and community.” Some people think college is a waste of time and money, spending four or five years in college, mostly graduate at 24 years old with a $60,990 loan debt or more, while you could start a business and be a successful business owner by that age. Personally I think it is not about the money, it’s about doing what you love to do, what do you want to do as a career for life and be happy with it but not doing it in a fast way without happiness. No matter what you do in life, it needs to be something you love or makes you happy. The money is not worth being at a job that makes you unhappy, not liking it just for the money. It might sound scary, but at the end of the day you will have to think about it so you can just start thinking about it from now on, asking yourself questions, thinking about what you want to do.

What do you want to pay for your education? Is that worth it? Think about what you will earn. Will it cover you? I understand that you should not study something just for the earning; however, I think it’s important to study something that is highlydemanding and pays well. Yisrael said, “college is not a waste of time whether it be trade school, or some type of technical training; the time spent completing the programs moves students into a better economic position”.

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