letter of recommendation question

Applying to College
1

<p>Hey CCers! I have a situation that I need some advice on...</p>

<p>My AP US teacher will be my AP Microeconomics teacher next year. However, though I know he likes me, we never really connected. See, I have a lot of trouble speaking up and participating during class because I just have self esteem issues and other bad, baaaad experiences with teachers. The few times I spoke during class, he would always tell me after class that he wished I would speak more often because I'm "very concise and speak eloquently." Since I didn't participate much, I assume he won't have much to say about me, and I didn't ask him for a recommendation at the end of junior year. And since my APUSH class was the first period of the day, I was always late, and figures that too wouldn't bode well in a letter.</p>

<p>However, now I wish I asked him because he has a good reputation for writing letters. If I participate a lot more often and put in a lot more effort in my AP Eco class during senior year, would it be a good idea to ask him for a letter of recommendation? Or will he see through my sort of deceptive ways and decline/mention my timidness in APUSH?</p>

<p>Thanks for any imput, guys!</p>

2

<p>Not to worry. I think that you should go up to your teacher when school starts and tell him that you are going to try to be more active in class discussions? Are you trying to deceive him or something? I think that one of the benefits of doing this (telling him that you’re going to try hard to participate and speak up during class, and then doing it) is that when you ask him for a recommendation, he can also mention that while you haven’t spoken up much in AP US because you had self esteem issues, that now you’re a great student and contribute to the classroom. I hope that you’re doing this not for the recommendation, but because it’s important to participate in class discussions, and you’ve got to get over that when you’re in college and have small classes.</p>