<p>S is applying to a summer program and is required to get a recommendation from his current math teacher. This is his 1st year with this teacher and he is 11 weeks into the school year. He goes to class, pays attention, hands in all of his assignments, and had a 98 average the 1st quarter. That is the extent of what this teacher knows about him. He has had no reason to ever speak with her. This is not a touchy/feely school; he is conducting himself in the expected manner in her classroom.
Okay, so he can overcome the awkwardness of asking her for the recommendation by simply stating that he realizes that she knows nothing about him, but that he is required to get the recommendation from her. But how on earth can she be expected to answer the following questions? Character? Learning Style? Strengths and Weaknesses? I really feel this is imposing on the teacher and putting her on the spot to answer questions that she has no basis to discuss. Below are the guidelines. I would appreciate input on how to handle this. Thanks.</p>
<ol>
<li>Student Assessment Grid- You will be asked to fill out a short survey about your students
performance versus his/her peers</li>
<li>The formal Letter of Recommendation- Please make sure to include the following information:
a. Please provide a brief description of your course and all levels of math/science this
student will have attained by the end of his/her junior year?
b. Please assess how this student has performed in your class relative to his/her peers.
c. Please discuss this students character and drive.
d. Please discuss this students learning style.
e. How will this student benefit from the MITES experience?
f. Please discuss this students perceived strength and weakness.</li>
</ol>
<p>I would suggest providing the teacher with a “brag sheet” listing the student’s prior achievements, and also a statement of why the student wants to go to the summer program.</p>
<p>OP- your son can also make it easier for the teacher by handing her a piece of paper with the names of last year’s math teacher, last year’s science teacher, and a teacher who knows his learning style well (English, History, or whatever) and say that if she’d like him to give these teacher’s the heads up he’d be happy to.</p>
<p>And a two paragraph written statement of why he loves math wouldn’t be out of line…</p>
<p>If he’s a math guy you’ll be lucky to get one paragraph out of him! But does he do anything mathy out of class? My kid was on the MathCounts team in middle school, read books like The Book of Numbers, In Code, Turtle Geometry on his own, did a poster about Pascal’s Triangle for French Class etc.</p>
<p>Thank you for the advice so far. The application (and recommendations) are due Feb 1, so he has time to lay the groundwork with the teacher.
I think it is a good idea to give the teacher a statement about what he hopes to gain from the program for her to use, as well as suggesting she speak with some of his former teachers.
Still, I think this application assumes that a teacher has much more insight into a student than they truly have…</p>
<p>MITES is a fantastic opportunity and extremely competitive, so they want to make sure that the kids they accept are really going to take advantage of the program. I don’t think they’re looking for a full blown psychological work-up; just some assurance from a relevant teacher that the kid is not just a classroom slogger/brown-noser type who gets A’s and scrambles for every extra credit point, but someone who loves to learn and is intellectually curious, can apply seemingly non-related things to classroom learning, etc.</p>
<p>I’m sure the teacher can write a fine recommendation.</p>
<p>I think that all of the above advice is good. </p>
<p>I also want to say that a student shouldn’t discount the observation skills of a teacher. The teacher can tell a lot about a kids character by the student’s work ethic. The teacher knows that your s turns in his work on time and studies well enough to have a 98 average. This shows that he utilizes his resources and manages his time well in order to get a very good grade.</p>
<p>Consider this just a practice for the much more important college recommendation. And as others have said, she probably will have nice things to say.</p>
<p>He should make it as easy as possible for the teacher by providing information about the program, what they are looking for in their applicants, and why he really wants to attend.
He can also provide a short bio (about his background, experiences, ECs etc.) so the teacher can have some more personal details. Don’t worry–teachers want to help their students get into programs. Since he’s a good student, she’ll say something nice. She’ll figure it out.</p>
<p>Well you don’t always get the choices you want for college reccommendations. MIT required a humanities recommendation, sometimes teachers say they’ll only do a limited number of letters. I’m sure it will be fine and he’s got till February to become a little more memorable.</p>