<p>I attended a meeting at my son’s school not long ago. One of the agenda items was the burden of writing numerous recs. It is a large public school with teachers writing recs from anywhere from 20 to 80 students. Then the students can be applying to numerous schools, creating a huge workload for those teachers. And imagine this scenario: 20 of the kids are applying to the same college (eg Yale). Imagine the challenge to make each rec individualized, different and helpful to the student. And they don’t get paid for these countless hours. At the meeting was the head of almost every dept., a number of teachers, a few parents, and the principal. Two common complaints: not giving the teachers enough advance time and information they may be seeking, and not letting the teachers know how the application process turned out. A simple expression of gratititude or appreciation goes a long way. As a result, the PA has communicated to all parents to urge their students to thank their teachers and and let them know the results.</p>
<p>My own son wrote a short note and enclosed a gift card to a book store. Most of the students at the school do not do gifts, but they are urged to send an email at a minimum. Some send baked goods. And as a previous posted said, it is not a quid pro quo, certainly months after they are writtten, no one would think that. So please, tell them to thank them and let them know the results (good or bad, they care about how they did).</p>
<p>Can you guys give me some examples or help in writing a card?
I seriously suck at writing thank you cards/notes.
I’d appreciate it if someone points out how I should start/end the note, etc.
Thanks!</p>
<p>I said thank you to all of them when they gave them to me, but for one teacher who I’m really close with, I’m writing a thank you note, but not just for writing a rec. All year I had early release and no way to come back to the school if I left for drivers ed/extra help and whatever else, so she let me go sit in her room whenever I needed to, helped me with some projects, wrote me a rec in december within a week (I was afraid one of my other teachers wouldn’t have it done in time), gave me advice on college and where I she thought I should go (I’m going to the same school she went to), and was an awesome teacher when I had her and really made me interested in science, so much so that I’m going to teach the same subject she taught me =] </p>
<p>I plan on giving her a nice card, with memories from when she taught me, and thank her for everything she’s done, along with a bouquet (my grandparents own a flower shop) on the last day of school. I think it’s a nice gesture of appreciation, especially considering the way some of her students treat her.</p>
<p>I’m planning on sending them a thank you note. Would it be appropriate to make them a mug? I’m a Ceramics TA and I could probably whip up a few mugs for everyone. I’d probably give them the notes and then make the mugs (the line for the kiln is really long, so it’d take a few weeks before they were done). Thoughts?</p>
<p>We honored the teachers with a tribute card for the Pittsburgh Promise (in case you don’t know, students who attend the Pittsburgh Public Schools get a 5,000 to 10,000 a year scholarship to any post-secondary program in PA, including 4 year colleges and 2 year colleges or trade schools.) For any Pittsburghers out there, the tribute cards are available on the Promise website; you can order them and then write your note on the card, which also states that a contribution has been made in the recipient’s honor.</p>
<p>I’m done with my application process and know where I’m going next year. I will be also applying to scholarships. I’m going to wait until the end of the year to give them thank yous.</p>
<p>My counselor has told my class of 2010 that we should give:</p>
<p>hand written thank you notes. <minimum</p>
<p>however if we know the teacher on another level, ie. sports coach, club leader/advisor, something more personal will be fine. For example, my bio/apbio/tenniscoach/clubadvisor, who was one of my teacher recommendations, may be getting a starbucks gift card (he loves coffee) or something related to tennis (not too expensive, of course)</p>
<p>My D hand-wrote cards, and made chocolate chip cookies from scratch and boxed them nicely. They loved it. Best to give in private so that they don’t have to share with others!</p>
<p>Hey folks, I’m bumping this thread because I’m getting ready to write thank you notes for the LOR my CC teachers wrote for various colleges, scholarships, and so on. I’ve got a pretty good idea of what I want to give two of them, but I’m really stymied on the third. I’m getting little fun/goofy things off ThinkGeek for the other two, but the third teacher is more serious and I’m not sure if she’d enjoy something in that vein.</p>
<p>sorry to dig this thread out after years… I have this question in my mind too.
In our area, I learned that a $30 gift card in advance has become a “tradition” and after that, another $50 to $100 depending on which top school your child is enrolled. (Let’s assume it is one of the dream school from Ivy.) </p>
<p>I am surprised that you guys just sent a note with a chocolate!?</p>
<p>@macGao4Gao … Where do you live? I want to put it on my “Never Move There” list. At my son’s school, students show gratitude for recommendations with everything from a heartfelt verbal thanks to a small gift or gift card. My teacher friends tell me that they are grateful when a student clearly appreciates their extra effort but that they don’t expect anything beyond a note and are even occasionally embarrassed when a gift arrives from a child that may not be able to afford it. </p>
<p>Another question pertaining to this dinosaur of a thread: when is it appropriate to thank recommenders? I have been thanking them constantly throughout the school year, but when might be the best time to give them a letter? When I’m accepted and I know where I’m attending? Right after they send it in? Any input would be appreciated.</p>
<p>@icepierre–There’s no right or wrong way to do this. But I’m going to ask my son to give a thank-you note and a token gift (each one appropriate to the particular teacher) within the next couple weeks, now that he knows that the two recs have been sent and received. Then, once he has all his college verdicts, I’ll make sure he tells the teachers how he fared and where he’ll be heading and thanks them again, but this can be in a less formal way. </p>
<p>I’m planning on giving my teachers dry erase markers. They always complain about not having them and giving them dry erase markers is sort of joking and playful but also something they want. And my other teacher really enjoys anatomy themed jewelry so i want to find a cheap ring like that or something</p>
<p>@bozllie–I think it’s a super idea to get teachers gifts that aren’t necessarily lavish but that ARE meaningful. That’s what my son just did. He recently ordered funny dog toys for a teacher who has two dogs (One with the same name as mine, “Sally,” so it’s kind of a joke with my son) and for the second recommender, he got an unusual cribbage board because the teacher introduced the calculus class to cribbage last year. Who knows … maybe the teachers will wish that they’d gotten a gift card instead, but hopefully they’ll smile when they see their gifts and appreciate the thought behind them. </p>
<p>I hand-wrote thank you notes to my teachers, baked them my family’s special christmas cookies (as I thanked around Christmastime) and got them a book that related to their subject (I got my APUSH teacher “Capturing Camelot,” with candid pictures of the Kennedy family. They thanked me and said they were very touched.</p>
<p>I thanked them in person and bought them relevant books (books by authors I know they like). My college essay editor, another teacher at the school, got a bottle of Scotch which I (legally) purchased in Edinburgh a couple months prior (my essay had a lot to do with Scotland).</p>
I think that’s very cute although I know that some folks would question a gift of alcohol from a student to a teacher. But, many years ago, when my husband and both taught the same students at an American school in England, we used to get very different gifts at Christmas and at the end of the year. The kids would typically give me stuff like Avon perfumes and soaps (a number of them seemed to have Avon-saleswoman moms) but, when stuck for a gift for a guy, they’d give my husband bottles of wine and brandy. I always thought that he he got the better end of that deal.
My son, at Christmas time, gave gifts to all the teachers who wrote recom, and helped him in his process. We gave them a card with a gift card to a local restaurant, and fresh baked cookies. They liked them : )
At my son’s school, students show gratitude for recommendations with everything from a heartfelt verbal thanks to a small gift or gift card. My teacher friends tell me that they are grateful when a student clearly appreciates their extra effort but that they don’t expect anything beyond a note and are even occasionally embarrassed when a gift arrives from a child that may not be able to afford it. </p>