Reply to Teacher only writes “elite” students college recommendations

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]If my child could not obtain recommendations for college I would contact the principal, the superintendent, and the school board. This is a basic duty and the idea that teachers can pick and choose has civil rights implications.[/quote]

See, the thing is that the teacher is doing you a favor in declining to write a rec if they can’t write a good one.  These are anonymous, and the teacher could very well write a negative one to avoid confrontations with parents like you when they try to politely decline.  The sensible thing is to stick with teachers who you know can write a positive rec, not try to bully any teacher into writing one.  You don’t want a letter of rec from a teacher who doesn’t think they can provide a glowing one.[/quote]

For sure, and I appreciate the amount of work and thought teachers are clearly putting into these! It is clearly a labor of love.

I’m a DP, and it is also discouraging for me to hear how hard it must be for kids who have made mistakes to get recommendation letters. The letters are a key required component of applications, and it sounds like they may be challenging for many students to get. I have a kid with Bs and Cs, was once the class clown, and I am sure has used his phone in class. He’s grown a lot in the past couple years, but he’s got a way to go. He is also earnest, kind, and participates enthusiastically in discussion, so he does have teachers who know him and have offered to write his letters. But he could be the same kid and also shy and cranky and not have anyone who’d do that for him, and that seems unfair. Not criticizing teachers a bit - just observing that this phase of life is hard for kids who mature late, or who aren’t high achievers.[/quote]
NP here. The letters of recommendation aren’t that critical for kids who aren’t high achievers. They are applying to middle of the road schools and need a recommendation that says they are a decent person. I teach science and I get requests from two types of students- STEM kids who were really engaged in class and I have a lot to say about, [b]and average, nice kids who finally realized in late September they needed a letter, and I was the nice teacher who finally said yes. They all get into perfectly fine schools.[/b][/quote]

As a parent of a kid who falls into this category, thank you. My daughter realized that just getting a good grade and turning in work didn't mean teachers knew who she was let a lone would write a recommendation. She wasn't trying to get into Harvard or even UMD, she just needed the letter to complete applications [/quote]

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