Letters of Recommendations
Hi Seniors!
College application season is here...or soon will be! This is undoubtedly an exciting time for you (and likely a nerve wracking time too :/ ). Before I delve into details, timelines and advice, I want to begin this little write up by saying how proud I am of each of you and what a honor and pleasure it has been to be your teacher for multiple years (for some of you, this will be year 3 with me...I am sorry for you, but it has been wonderful for me!)
I know many of you are applying for very competitive colleges and many of said schools require at least one teacher recommendation. If you think highly enough of our student-teacher relationship OR you believe your school would like to see a few teacher recommendations from different subject matters (humanities, STEM and/or arts), I would be agreeable and, in many cases, honored to write a letter espousing upon the virtues of you as a learner and all-round awesome human being. All that being said, here are a few pieces of unsolicited advice:
A few promises:
A few cautions:
If you are still reading this, thanks! I'll see you next class period.
Sincerely,
Mr. Hanson
College application season is here...or soon will be! This is undoubtedly an exciting time for you (and likely a nerve wracking time too :/ ). Before I delve into details, timelines and advice, I want to begin this little write up by saying how proud I am of each of you and what a honor and pleasure it has been to be your teacher for multiple years (for some of you, this will be year 3 with me...I am sorry for you, but it has been wonderful for me!)
I know many of you are applying for very competitive colleges and many of said schools require at least one teacher recommendation. If you think highly enough of our student-teacher relationship OR you believe your school would like to see a few teacher recommendations from different subject matters (humanities, STEM and/or arts), I would be agreeable and, in many cases, honored to write a letter espousing upon the virtues of you as a learner and all-round awesome human being. All that being said, here are a few pieces of unsolicited advice:
- Whoever you ask to write a letter for you, make sure to give plenty of time. I measure plenty of time in terms of weeks...not hours.
- If it is a toss up between two teachers, consider their relative strengths. I can write OK, undoubtedly your English and History teachers can write more better. ... (ok...I did the 'more better' on purpose to illustrate my point)
- **point 3 may not apply to all teachers, but it does apply to me (Mr. Hanson)** If you have a predetermined idea of what you would like the recommendation letter to look/sound/read like, I am fine having a conversation with you about my experiences with you in the classroom and what I would feel comfortable writing about. A case in point, years ago I had a student ask me to write a recommendation letter about their leadership abilities. The problem was I had never experienced or witnessed those qualities in my classroom (not to say the student did not have leadership qualities in abundance...It just was not present in the math classroom when I was around). I told the student this and then told the student what I could write about was their diligence and perseverance in the their work, their curiosity in their learning, their respectful and compassionate and caring attitude they continuously displayed towards their classmates and towards me. The student appreciated the kind words, but really wanted to highlight their leadership qualities. The student found another teacher who had witnessed these qualities and I am sure wrote a very fine recommendation letter. This was a better end result for everybody.
A few promises:
- I will use spell check.
- I will not use emoji's :)
- I will not ask for, request, require or in any form desire a gift as 'repayment'.
- If given three weeks notice, the letter (and common app form) will be completed on time.
A few cautions:
- I do not make the letters available for student viewing prior to sending/submitting. This is the standard and, quite honestly, the preference of university/college admission offices.
- I am honest about how well I know a student and about my experiences with the student.
If you are still reading this, thanks! I'll see you next class period.
Sincerely,
Mr. Hanson
