<p>I got bad grades in middle school, and I am a 9th grader now. Applying for 10th. I get A's and B's this year. However, I was the smartest one in my classes in MS. Should I get rec letters from my MS teachers?</p>
<p>Wait..You were the smarted in MS yet you still got bad grades?</p>
<p>rec letters from your current math and English teachers and Principal are required for all BS. In addition to thhow two teachers, you must get rec letters from science, foreign lanuage, and some other teachers depending on BS.</p>
<p>back to mpicz question, the conventional idea of being smart in schools means getting good grades, what did you mean exactly?</p>
<p>usually smartest people in classes get good grades, even if they aren't ranked first</p>
<p>please clarify (:</p>
<p>Hi romulus;<br>
Prep schools will want recommendations from your current 9th grade teachers only.
But, they will require both 9th grade & middle school transcipts.<br>
Keep up the great 9th grade work - improvement means a lot to admissions committees! </p>
<p>Also, if you weren't prepared well in middle school, you might consider repeating 9th grade. Depends on the rigor of the schools, their enrollments etc.</p>
<p>If Romulus's school practiced group work, he could be a good student with bad grades. The diligent student in a group often doesn't get the grade he should. He gets the grade the group's work has earned. The brightest students are often grouped with those at the bottom of the class. Just to make things fair, you see (bitter sarcasm intended.)</p>
<p>Alternatively, the grades might contain an "effort" segment. It is possible to get an "A" for achievement, and a "B" for effort. This doesn't necessarily mean that the kid has a bad attitude, just that he or she doesn't have to work very hard to be at the top of the class.</p>
<p>In those cases, a recommendation from a middle school teacher might help to put your grades into context. If, however, you got bad grades because you found middle school work beneath you, and you had a bad attitude, I wouldn't lift that rock.</p>
<p>"effort", isn't that pretty much participation? lol my school has that, but usually you get 90s or 100s so it's more of a freebie than an omggg kind of thing. but lately if you don't raise your hand at least once in class it's like an automatic 90 or 80ish grade UGH.</p>
<p>:D</p>
<p>btw i hate the group things. balance out my arse.</p>
<p>Every school defines "effort" differently. Our school counts participation, but that's not anywhere near the only thing, it also includes *really *your effort outside of the class, your attitude in and about class and the work, you enthusiasm for learning.</p>
<p>It's actually very easy to know all (or more) of the material taught and still end up with a bad grade. The last thing I would use to determine "smartness" is grades, especially middle school grades.</p>
<p>An example: In 6th grade my son got a 100% on every vocabulary quiz given. But his grade in vocabulary was an 88. Why? He didn't do the worksheets at home that were done in class while he was in a pull-out program for gifted kids! The test would be given the following day. He'd ace it. He, like any reasonable person, didn't think that it was necessary to copy out definitions with the book in front of you when you'd already proven that you knew the words. When his final grade came in, we found out that the worksheets were worth as many points as the test. She "cut him some slack" and bumped it up to an 88 because "he obviously knew the material, but it wouldn't be fair to the other kids if he got in A since he didn't do the same work." </p>
<p>So, a kid who omitted 2 synomyns and got every question right on the verbal part of the ssat had a B in vocabulary in 6th grade.</p>
<p>Our public school report cards were a joke. He consistantly had A's in "study skills" because he did so well on tests. Never once studied. He doesn't know how to because he's never had to. This is something that I am very concerned about for the future.</p>
<p>So, mpicz, it is VERY easy to get a B (or even a C) when you are graded on things that have nothing to do with your knowledge of the material.</p>
<p>As far as group work goes.....this is often called the "Robin Hood" effect. It is the most common type of grouping. The thinking is that the stronger student will teach the weaker one. Probably true, but what does the stronger student learn? Nobody seems to care.</p>
<p>Remember this, all those in public school.....about half of the assignments are designed so that the weakest student can get an A. Good teachers will differentiate the assignments so that more is required of those more capable. Most teachers don't and those few motivated students are on their own to make the assignment meaningful. It is difficult, however, to make a "science" assignment that consists of taping photographs of yourself at different ages onto a piece of construction paper (this is 6th grade science!!!!!) meaningful. But hey! even the special needs kid (or his mom) can do that and get an A.</p>
<p>Sorry for the rant. </p>
<p>PS: Son did explain the grading system at his interview.</p>
<p>Oh Romulus, I'm sorry! I didn't answer your question! If there was a MS teacher who you feel you really impressed, I see no reason why you couldn't ask him/her to do the personal recommendation. My son's gifted teacher, who taught him in 5th and 6th grade is doing his.</p>
<p>Every school defines "effort" differently. Our school counts participation, but that's not anywhere near the only thing, it also includes really your effort outside of the class, your attitude in and about class and the work, you enthusiasm for learning.</p>
<p>^ just have to answer this one XD for my school, ALL of that is "participation" though it is graded leniently.</p>
<p>Let me elaborate,</p>
<p>One of you hit it spot on, in math class we were forced to work in groups. I unfortunately was in the group with the stupid people, the teacher made the groups so each group had one smart kid. I don't want to bore you with the details, but I failed horribly in math that year. Not that I'm bad at math, but the group slowed me down.</p>
<p>In LA and Social studies, it was one class, I lead class discussions. And got A's on all in class work, but I didn't do my homework. Because they were stupid little annoying assignments, Like manually copying down history book chapters. However, every teacher from 5-8th grade likes me a bunch, and they all will wright me strong rec letters. Especially the 8th grade one. So should I attach some extra rec letters?</p>
<p>romulus, i know how you feel. that's why teachers should let us pick our groups.</p>
<p>Most schools welcome extra recommendations. Some have forms for and "additional teacher" or a character recommendation. We used the additional teacher from one school and a character from another (requried for one school each) and asked them to send to all the schools.<br>
I called the admissions offices and asked and they all said something like they welcome as much information as possible to get a complete picutre of the applicant.<br>
It may also be a good idea in your case since your middle schools grades are not great (and they will get those) to see what the middle school teachers say.</p>
<p>I am fairly sure that at least some high schools really understand that middle school grades don't always reflect knowledge well. My child got poor grades in middle school social studies because he wasn't all that keen on coloring maps according to a precise guideline. Use the wrong color or type of pen, or just have poor handwriting, and it was all over for you.
Recommendations, SSATs, and perhaps a few (very few) samples of your best work can help.</p>