Petaluma Top Ten

9. RateMyProfessors.com
Before students sign up for fall semester, they’ll use this online resource to scope out the best – and worst – professors on campus. It serves as a repository for ongoing commentary on nearly a half-million college professors at more than 4,000 schools across the country. Submissions are anonymous so there’s no fear of reprisal 20 years down the line when you’re up for tenure in front of the dinosaur who redlined your essay on global warming. You can rate teachers on the basis of such traits as easiness, helpfulness, clarity and even how “hot” they are (symbolized in the ratings by a chili pepper). Some profs have complained about the site and vowed to shut it down, but in reality nearly 70% of the ratings are positive. The advice, on occasion, can be essential: As one reviewer said of his music appreciation teacher, “Don’t sit in the front of the class room … she spits when she talks.”