A German teacher who had sued to shut down a web site where pupils rank their instructors according to competence and "coolness" lost her battle in court on June 23, AFP reports. The Federal Supreme Court, Germany’s top civil tribunal, rejected the claim of the teacher, Astrid Czubayko-Reiss, that her right to privacy was violated by the site, spickmich.de (loosely translated, checkmeout.de), where she received a mediocre rating from students. "The right of students to exchange opinions and communicate freely outweighs the right of the teacher suing to determine information available about her," the court said. The web site allows students to turn the tables on teachers by anonymously grading them in categories including "cool and funny," "popular," "motivated," "relaxed," and "teaches well." Czubayko had lost her case before lower courts and appealed to the federal tribunal. The German Teachers’ Association criticized the ruling. "It is inexplicable that the [court] values the personal rights of teachers less than an anonymous assessment of teachers by students on the internet," Association President Josef Kraus said…

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