Teacher still hasn’t submitted letter of recommendation

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I wish these worked like references on a resume. Pick 2-3 teachers to be your "references", and if you're a borderline kid in February the AOs reach out to your recommenders and ask for commentary. For the majority of kids that are clear yes's or no's, there's no need for a response.

But by that time it will be 9 months since the student was in that teacher's class (if they aren't currently in a class with same teacher in senior year). Unless student was one of a kind, teacher may have less to say a year since student was in their class. If only teachers could get two weeks off at the end of the school year (at the end of student's junior year) to write LORs!

You're not wrong, but I'm going to be honest... Unless the student is one of a kind, I don't have much to write in recommendation letters even when I write them in June. "The child was a strong (class) student, managed their workload responsibly, was kind to those around them, always on time for class. They wrote polite emails, participated well in class, and notified me if they were going to be out so they managed their workload outside of class too." Throw in an anecdote about how they one time did xyz, the end. The average kid is not passionate about my subject, they just want a good grade. They aren't unique, highly analytical thinkers who go above and beyond in my class, they just follow directions well and do what it takes to get an A or a B.

I try, but unless your kid has made a real effort to talk to me, it's hard to differentiate. A set of checkboxes having me rate the kids on various things from a scale of 0-100 would probably do just as well. (That I would agree would be more accurate in June than the following year.)

I really do try. I talk to the kid about what they remember from my class (not much), any anecdotes they'd like me to include (rarely do they have one), or any adjectives they'd like me to include (always "hard working"). We brainstorm ways to incorporate their strengths, I write every letter from scratch, but an average nice kid gets a pretty cookie cutter letter.

And I don't want to write them in June. About 50% of kids who ask for them in May/June never follow through with the application, or end up applying to schools that don't need them. I never write any of them until my name shows up as a recommender.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, teachers.

I know from personal experience in writing letters of recommendation that writing a good letter of recommendation takes a significant amount of time and thought. I know that you do it on your own time, and I know that you filled multiple letter requests from students. Your hard work on these is really important and is so appreciated!

My DC is a great student but is very shy, so they are working up their nerve to ask for letters of recommendation. They think they are “bothering” teachers, no matter how much I tell them that teachers will greatly appreciate as much heads-up advanced notice as possible.

Clearly this thread shows that many teachers are bothered by it so your child is not wrong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, teachers.

I know from personal experience in writing letters of recommendation that writing a good letter of recommendation takes a significant amount of time and thought. I know that you do it on your own time, and I know that you filled multiple letter requests from students. Your hard work on these is really important and is so appreciated!

My DC is a great student but is very shy, so they are working up their nerve to ask for letters of recommendation. They think they are “bothering” teachers, no matter how much I tell them that teachers will greatly appreciate as much heads-up advanced notice as possible.

Clearly this thread shows that many teachers are bothered by it so your child is not wrong.

No, we aren’t bothered by writing recommendations. We ARE bothered by parents demanding that they be completed before the deadline.

There’s a clear difference.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, teachers.

I know from personal experience in writing letters of recommendation that writing a good letter of recommendation takes a significant amount of time and thought. I know that you do it on your own time, and I know that you filled multiple letter requests from students. Your hard work on these is really important and is so appreciated!

My DC is a great student but is very shy, so they are working up their nerve to ask for letters of recommendation. They think they are “bothering” teachers, no matter how much I tell them that teachers will greatly appreciate as much heads-up advanced notice as possible.

Clearly this thread shows that many teachers are bothered by it so your child is not wrong.

No, we aren’t bothered by writing recommendations. We ARE bothered by parents demanding that they be completed before the deadline.

There’s a clear difference.

You should read what your fellow teachers have posted. Some clearly are bothered.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, teachers.

I know from personal experience in writing letters of recommendation that writing a good letter of recommendation takes a significant amount of time and thought. I know that you do it on your own time, and I know that you filled multiple letter requests from students. Your hard work on these is really important and is so appreciated!

My DC is a great student but is very shy, so they are working up their nerve to ask for letters of recommendation. They think they are “bothering” teachers, no matter how much I tell them that teachers will greatly appreciate as much heads-up advanced notice as possible.

Clearly this thread shows that many teachers are bothered by it so your child is not wrong.

No, we aren’t bothered by writing recommendations. We ARE bothered by parents demanding that they be completed before the deadline.

There’s a clear difference.

You should read what your fellow teachers have posted. Some clearly are bothered.

Point it out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, teachers.

I know from personal experience in writing letters of recommendation that writing a good letter of recommendation takes a significant amount of time and thought. I know that you do it on your own time, and I know that you filled multiple letter requests from students. Your hard work on these is really important and is so appreciated!

My DC is a great student but is very shy, so they are working up their nerve to ask for letters of recommendation. They think they are “bothering” teachers, no matter how much I tell them that teachers will greatly appreciate as much heads-up advanced notice as possible.

Clearly this thread shows that many teachers are bothered by it so your child is not wrong.

No, we aren’t bothered by writing recommendations. We ARE bothered by parents demanding that they be completed before the deadline.

There’s a clear difference.

You should read what your fellow teachers have posted. Some clearly are bothered.

Point it out.

How about the one is getting too much pressure from counselors and is going to limit the number of recommendations?

And no I’m not going through any more. Teachers come on here to complain and then like to pretend that they are only complaining about parents.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It’s infuriating, college and medical school applications held up for months because teachers can’t take 5 mins.
Have your kid make an appt during office hours and sit there while they do it.
Teachers, do what you say you’ll do in a timely manner.

High school English teacher here, and I was asked to do 32 letters of rec for kids applying this year.

1. It takes me a minimum of about an hour to do a thoughtful, individualized letter of rec.

2. My contract does not require me to write these letters of rec. I agree to do them because I want to help, and I will have every one of them done by the deadline. If you are going to prod and pester me because you don't trust that I will submit the letter on time, then ask another teacher.

3. If your child were so breathtakingly rude as to appear in my classroom, sit down, and inform me he/she was going to wait while I finished the letter, I would probably be annoyed enough to do it. The results would not be what you expect and intend in advising this course of action.

Parent and former teacher here.

Some parents make you almost want to go ahead and write that kid the "5 minute" letter of recommendation that the parent is demanding

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, teachers.

I know from personal experience in writing letters of recommendation that writing a good letter of recommendation takes a significant amount of time and thought. I know that you do it on your own time, and I know that you filled multiple letter requests from students. Your hard work on these is really important and is so appreciated!

My DC is a great student but is very shy, so they are working up their nerve to ask for letters of recommendation. They think they are “bothering” teachers, no matter how much I tell them that teachers will greatly appreciate as much heads-up advanced notice as possible.

Clearly this thread shows that many teachers are bothered by it so your child is not wrong.

No, we aren’t bothered by writing recommendations. We ARE bothered by parents demanding that they be completed before the deadline.

There’s a clear difference.

You should read what your fellow teachers have posted. Some clearly are bothered.

Point it out.

How about the one is getting too much pressure from counselors and is going to limit the number of recommendations?

And no I’m not going through any more. Teachers come on here to complain and then like to pretend that they are only complaining about parents.

Nope, not buying it.

There’s a difference between complaining and pointing out unreasonable expectations.

Ultimately, these letters are a gift. Teachers are not required to write them, nor are teachers provided a second of extra time to get this task completed.

So when a teacher says they are frustrated by parents imposing earlier deadlines, that’s reasonable. When a teacher says to be patient and that the letter is coming, that is also reasonable.

And at the end of the day, we need to remember: this is a gift of teachers’ time. It’s a bit appalling how demanding some posters are on this thread.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’d ask another teacher.

It's too late for that

[Anonymous]

For the record, I (parent) have never contacted this teacher. Ever. I am just frustrated that a) my kid needs thus recommendation and b) it is not done

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the record, I (parent) have never contacted this teacher. Ever. I am just frustrated that a) my kid needs thus recommendation and b) it is not done

And it’s not late. The teacher still has close to a week to complete it.

You NEED to understand that these letters are completed on our own time. We are provided no time at work (nor any extra compensation) for the many hours we spend on these letters. We are not obligated to do them; some of our colleagues refuse to, meaning others of us get slammed.

I understand you’re frustrated, but so are the teachers. We go to great lengths to get this done for your students, including taking our own sick leave to sit at home and write letters for hours.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:For the record, I (parent) have never contacted this teacher. Ever. I am just frustrated that a) my kid needs thus recommendation and b) it is not done

I’m a parent and went through this. And I am that person who has everything done two weeks in advance, as is my kid (she picked up one of my better traits). So it was stressful. But it all got done. Before the deadline. There wasn’t a single complaint from our school.

I am close friends with both counselors and teachers at the school my kids went to and the head counselor told me to just trust the process. They are not changing it for us because it works. They get it done. But it was hard for us not to be stressed.

They have a lot of pressure and a lot of work. Just like I want my clients to trust that I will meet all of my deadlines, I had to do the same.

Good luck to your child OP and good luck to everyone else whose kids are in the post HS prep phase of life.

[Anonymous]

Rec letters from me are submitted the day they are due, not before. And when someone asks me for one, I ask them to email me a week before, 3 days before, and 1 day before. It gives them a productive way to support the process, keeps the deadline on my radar screen, and keeps us in touch. It also lets them know that contrary to resenting reminders, I depend on them!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Rec letters from me are submitted the day they are due, not before. And when someone asks me for one, I ask them to email me a week before, 3 days before, and 1 day before. It gives them a productive way to support the process, keeps the deadline on my radar screen, and keeps us in touch. It also lets them know that contrary to resenting reminders, I depend on them!

I’m a teacher, as well. Once I say I’m going to do something, it goes on my to-do list and gets done. I don’t need reminders.

I especially don’t want to spread my work to the nearly 50 families depending on me, now depending on *them* to remind me of my agreed-upon task. That would exponentially expand my workload, as I’d be responding to email after email saying I’m on track to get work done.

If a parent does reach out, I have a standard response thanking them for their concern and assuring them it’ll be done by the due date. I certainly wouldn’t want them to feel like they have to keep reminding me to do something so important.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thank you, teachers.

I know from personal experience in writing letters of recommendation that writing a good letter of recommendation takes a significant amount of time and thought. I know that you do it on your own time, and I know that you filled multiple letter requests from students. Your hard work on these is really important and is so appreciated!

My DC is a great student but is very shy, so they are working up their nerve to ask for letters of recommendation. They think they are “bothering” teachers, no matter how much I tell them that teachers will greatly appreciate as much heads-up advanced notice as possible.

Clearly this thread shows that many teachers are bothered by it so your child is not wrong.

No, we aren’t bothered by writing recommendations. We ARE bothered by parents demanding that they be completed before the deadline.

There’s a clear difference.

You should read what your fellow teachers have posted. Some clearly are bothered.

Point it out.

How about the one is getting too much pressure from counselors and is going to limit the number of recommendations?

And no I’m not going through any more. Teachers come on here to complain and then like to pretend that they are only complaining about parents.

You seem to struggle a lot with reading comprehension. I saw the post you are referring to here.

I hope your child is better able to undestand how context and connotation shape the meaning of a text.