<p>So I'm trying to figure out who to ask for my second recommendation. (My first is from a math teacher, and I'm majoring in math.) Here's the two possibilities:</p>
<p>Teacher 1: Had her for English the past year. She's been teaching for many years so is probably pretty experienced with recommendations. Continously told me that my essays were wonderful, gave me great grades, and said that the class was too easy for me. I did way more than necessary on her long-term homework assignments. However...towards the end of the year, my participation in her class waned a bit, and my very last assignment for her was destroyed by my computer choosing to die the day before it was due. (She didn't make me make it up, she believed me completely, but she didn't seem too happy about it.) Also, I tended to be the chosen advocate to get her to get extend deadlines, etc, and she'd always complain (but always give in..), so I wonder if she resents me for that. </p>
<p>Teacher 2: Had her for American history the past year and human relations in middle school. She's only been teaching for a few years but seems like the sort of person who would dedicate a lot of time to recs. Absolutely loved me in middle school, took me to a special conference, etc. In high school...well, I started the year of her class really poorly. I was doing fine grades-wise, but I initially hated her college-ish style of teaching and made a big deal about trying to get out of her class and into another teacher's. This is where it gets interesting, though. She met with me when I was trying to switch out, and I had perhaps the most heartfelt talk I've ever had with a teacher about stress, etc. I was crying, she was crying. She wouldn't help me switch out at first, but said that she would if she felt I still wasn't thriving in her class. Well, things settled down with that, and I came to actually like going to her class. Tests were impossible, homework was ridiculous...yet I liked her classes. I was sometimes a wiseass, but I participated a ton and she loved me for it. My grades were great for the most part, she gave me her first ever 100. And I did some really noteworthy work on projects that she'd give out--she showed one powerpoint that I did to several classes and random teachers. AP test came and I flew through it, and in the end I sincerely appreciated her class. </p>
<p>So I guess the question is: do I go with the "safer" recommendation, aka Teacher 1, or the one that could potentially be a lot more personal, aka Teacher 2? Our school has a strict "no reading recs" policy, so seeing both isn't possible.</p>