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They're Talking About YouDec 14 '04 Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line They're talking about you, and you should know why. You want to get into school and you need to know they want to help you. There was a teacher in my high school named Mr. Belding, who evidently had an inferiority complex. Either he changed personalities, or just decided to become an oversized jerk without telling anybody. The particular story is that of an old classmate. Katie was someone I graduated with in 1998, and she was active in the high school band. Mr. Belding was her mentor and Katie, in trust had asked him to write her recommendation to school for him. So Mr. Belding wrote said thing, Katie read it, and was deeply unhappy. The aformentioned piece that he wrote on Katie, who was an honors student with a sure shot of getting into a good school, was a humiliating piece on why she shouldn't be accepted to this particular school. Suffice to say, Katie felt and was betrayed by this man she'd known for a long time, and entrusted him to write a somewhat positive recommendation highlighting her success in school through her extracurricular activities and involvement with the high school band. A man who seemed like a positive influence had pulled a complete about face, and revealed an ugliness no one saw coming. It seemed that in my last few years of school, the stories of Mr. Belding's attitude toward his students was slowly declining into negativity. To them, he was a jerk who seemed to lose sight of treating his students well, who may have felt the sting of his job stress catch up to him, or he just didn't care anymore. Now, I never had Mr. Belding, but I did know the man and well enough to know that he did change his personality toward his students. It was quite surprising to see how much he was adored, and then loathed by some of the people he coached into being fine musicians by just the turn of the screw. What constituted this kind of behavior no one knew and no one really suspected, passing it off as just a simple mood change. But focusing on the subject, you want to get a recommendation and you definitely don't want a bad one from the likes of Mr. Belding. So my advice is to KNOW whom you're getting the recommendation from. TRUST Trust is obviously the most important element in any friendship/relationship. It's mere existence depends on how well you know a person and how much they like you. So the trust between a student and teacher is something never to be taken lightly. The people whom I received recommendations from, were people that I knew for years. Unfortunately, their recommendations didn't do me much good after the schools that required them turned me down, but it was worth effort. So in trust, you should always know whom you want to write your recommendation. Do they know you well enough? Do they understand why you want to study a particular major? Do they think you possess the motivation to succeed in college? These are all questions you have to ask yourself and think about these from their perspective. Basically, do they think you're a willing student? Another aspect about trust, is if you want to see the recommendation. You could simply give a self addressed envelope with the recommendation, or ask for the teacher to give you the paper to read it over. Depending on what kind of patience you have, you can do either. Changing the subject, when I was interning, my boss had to fill out the recommendation for a grade which I gave him an envelope. When he asked if I wanted to read it, I said I didn't need to because (and not to sound cocky) I knew what grade I was going to get and I knew it was going to be an A. Seriously, I put up with the guy's dog which made no bones about trying to sniff my butt. I think I deserved an A alone just for putting up with that and not getting paid with cash. COMMUNICATION There's a two way street to many subjects, so it's no surprise that it's such a thing with writing a recommendation. For instance, say you wanted to go to Harvard and you asked your pre school teacher to write your recommendation. Now, granted they probably will not remember you through the hundreds of students they have between the decade they had you as a student, and whom they have now. Unless they're a neighbor, relative, or friend, it's unlikely that they'll write a recommendation if they don't know enough about you. What's worse is if they don't even remember you? So the particular person you would want to write your recommendation, is the person you have kept in touch with. For me, I knew my Radio & TV teacher since I was eleven, but got to know the man much better when I started volunteering at the station when I was in the eighth grade and just starting high school (the home of the station). Having worked periodically throughout my five year run, and concluding my last two years with his class, he'd be a natural choice to write my recommendation. Considering he also specialized in a field I want to work in, he'd be the ideal fellow to speak with. So if you want a particular school employee to write your recommendation, you should look at these factors: 1. Will they remember you? 2. Have you kept in touch? 3. Why them? Remembering you is probably about 50% of the importance of their recommendation. Keeping in touch makes up part of the other 50% because why did you keep talking to them. Why them, is simply why them. What is it about this particular person that you think you'd benefit from their words. Going back to trust, make sure this person is responsible enough to actually write your recommendation, and not some busybody who will discard said thing like junk mail in a trash bin. TIMING I think it's important to consider the time between asking for a recommendation, and getting one. You don't want to give your teacher any sudden surprises by saying "Hey, can you write a college recommendation for me in three hours, because the deadline is tomorrow." That's just poor planning. The proper thing is to let this person know ahead of time so they can actually process what they want to say, without saying something sporadic in a series of unorganized thoughts like "He's great at Math. I've known Jim since he was five. He's great at History." While such a series of words might seem well thought, it's still a little messy and you want your teacher to have just the right flow of words to use. FINAL WORDS A recommendation is a reflection upon the student, and there are certain factors that should be considered when getting a good recommendation. You have to approach a recommendation with a serious attitude, and not just a "I know I'll get a good one from him so I'll ask him when I feel like it." thought. Feel out your candidate and why they're such a good idea to write a recommendation about you.  |
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