What do you think of HS teachers who tell kids to write their own letters of recommendation?

[Anonymous]

Wow! These responses are interesting. I am a HS teacher who writes many college recommendations. It is a burden for sure but I have never asked any kids to write it themselves. I also don’t ask for a brag sheet as I try to focus on the student in my class. The brag sheet information gets included in other parts of the application so I don’t want to be repetitive. I do try to limit recommendations to about 25 students each year. I have 150 kids each year in all my classes. I work hard at building relationships with my students but obviously it works better with some than others. I say no to some kids when I don’t know them well or I don’t have many positive things to say. Recommendations are a lot of work but I recognise they are very important for college applications. I usually spend several weekends working on recs. 17 and 18 year olds are too young to write their own recommendations

[Anonymous]

How is the content any different from 100% of the counselors asking certain questions: adversity, COVID issues, accolades, grades, etc? Whether the teacher write it or it’s written for the teacher, in both instances, the teacher was fed the information.

Teacher wrote it: Tim was a good student bc a, b, and c.

Kid wrote it: bc of a, b and c, Tim was a good student.

The voice may vary, but the content is the same. This is nbd

[Anonymous]

If you think that's what is being said, you're wrong. You're wrong about the exact words. Even if the student did submit a recommendation letter of their own to the teacher, the teacher might use some of the knowledge gained from it, as guidance: what is important to the student, interests. They would always rewrite it and write it differently, what they wanted to say

[Anonymous]

I don’t think the teachers recs actually matter that much for most students. Only if the teacher is honest and like this kid is lazy AF and a mean girl or if the kid is actually that spectacular they rank the kid as top 5 they have ever taught.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:A good tip we got before starting HS was -
- maintain a bragsheet from beginning of HS.
- always have your recommendations written out, so you can hand it in if the teacher asks for it.
- check out the teacher recommendation questions on common app and tailor your answers according to that.
- have at least two meetings with the counselor each year.
- be memorable and cultivate a good relationship with several teachers who can recommend you.

Does anyone have these questions?
Kid doing brag sheet today….

[Anonymous]

Pretty standard practice. If employed do you not write your own performance review?

[Anonymous]

Teachers aren’t given school time to write these letters so I understand. I am thankful they say yes so my kid will do the pre-work for them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think this is a gift.

I'd give your brag sheet + some anecdotes to a trusted friend who writes well and have them write it, so it's not in your DC's voice. Then, you can make edits if needed.

Agree

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It seems rude to me. I can understand a teacher feeling overwhelmed with requests for recommendations, and some get asked for a lot more than others. But this still seems very inconsiderate.

Also, if it's relevant to your opinion: the student in question is extremely involved has received straight As in the teachers classes (has taken multiple with the teacher) and is very involved in an extra-curricular activity the teacher runs (has participated all four years and served in a leadership position with the group starting in junior year.

So it is not a question of the teacher having too little interaction with the student or not having good things to say about them -- even if there is a personality mismatch, the teacher could simply explain why the student has done well in class and point to their participation/leadership in the activity and it would be a positive recommendation pretty much by default.

This is not rude... in fact your entitlement is a bit rude. Teachers are not paid to write letters of recommendation. But, as a high school teacher, I think this is a terrible practice because it renders most letters of recommendation worthless.

In your case, if a teacher needs to write from scratch, maybe they choose to limit their letters to only 20 per year and your child may not be one of those. Be careful what you wish for.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a teacher who does this here is my rationale:

First of all, I never send a letter verbatim that is written by a student. The tone must be mine. But I often do not know what gifts or challenges a student has or has dealt with beyond what I see in their work or in class. And this can be very boring and impersonal to write.

Most public HS teachers have hundreds of students at one time, so developing a personal relationship with all of them is impossible. The last thing you want is a teacher who writes 3 forms of a letter for average student, good student and struggling student and just changes the name of student and school to which the letter is going. You risk this by providing no insight into yourself when you ask for a recommendation.

A recommendation should highlight more than what is obvious - just saying someone is a good focused student who does well and participates in class will get you no further than what a report card is telling an admissions committee. Getting personal input helps the teacher craft a more personalized and individualized letter.

Often schools require each student to write a brag sheet to aid teachers with this process. i have had parents do it too. These are not letters, but do provide guidance and insight into a student.

If a student is willing to do a letter, it is a sign to me they are taking their college or job prospects seriously and personally. A student who cannot engage with those they are enlisting to support them may not have the energy needed for the programs to which they are applying. This tells me something about who wants to get in more. Who is most committed.

Lastly there is a lot I don't know about my students. Why do they sleep in class (taking care of siblings, sick parents), why are they over or under organized (everything from undiagnosed ADHD, which based on their description of their behavior might give me insights they do not have - I cannot stay focused, I like to listen to music while I work) why is their work always on time or late, yet they do well? Or they may have a dream I know nothing about that explains why they are pursuing certain programs. (I want to record music so I am focused on computer science as our school does not have a solid music program, or I love nature but we have no environmental studies class, but I work at a community garden for my volunteer hours and am an avid hiker.)

Fellow teacher here - but it really isn't your job to excuse someone's behavior/results because of their home life. You are writing an academic recommendation. The Counselor's letter and student essays are more appropriate ways to contextualize that academic performance and participation.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Wow! These responses are interesting. I am a HS teacher who writes many college recommendations. It is a burden for sure but I have never asked any kids to write it themselves. I also don’t ask for a brag sheet as I try to focus on the student in my class. The brag sheet information gets included in other parts of the application so I don’t want to be repetitive. I do try to limit recommendations to about 25 students each year. I have 150 kids each year in all my classes. I work hard at building relationships with my students but obviously it works better with some than others. I say no to some kids when I don’t know them well or I don’t have many positive things to say. Recommendations are a lot of work but I recognise they are very important for college applications. I usually spend several weekends working on recs. 17 and 18 year olds are too young to write their own recommendations

+1

Teachers have a unique perspective about where each student fits into the continuum of academic performance, diligence, self-advocacy, etc. Our recommendations need to focused there. (Of course, as the advisor of an EC, it would be important to talk about that also, but other random activities, no.)

[Anonymous]

I agree it's a gift.
our HS counselor has said she will put our versions into her own words. That is probably a good option.