<p>I think some people on here are overreacting a little. We need to stop looking at the words he uses like "perfect" because he is trying to describe the situation, whether he believes his essays are perfect or not.</p>
<p>it IS all connected....if he has the attitude that school is boring, that he doens't need to interact because he knows it all</p>
<p>If he things his writing is perfect, that implies an arrogance, and it probably comes across to his teachers, because they don't know him any other way</p>
<p>Recommendations are good if the teacher can see a real passion, curiosity, CARING and stretching themselves, and if the student has an attitude, well, everything is already perfect, doesn't talk because he knows it all already and couldn't be bothered, there is an attitude adjustment to be made if he wants to get good recs that actually mean anything</p>
<p>He is desrcibing the situation he has created because of his attitude, and his talking about his work being perfect </p>
<p>His words, btw, are all his teachers have to judge him, not his interactions with them, because he comes across, at least here, as being above all that stuff like participating in class cause he knows it all already</p>
<p>I forwarded OP's original post and #8 to my D. (btw, she got phenomenal recs from 2 of her teachers.) Here are some of her thoughts....of course I think she's right---I'm her mom!
"Okay, umm, WOW. I'm probably going to be valedictorian, and I know all of my teachers. All of my teachers know me (and most of them genuinely like me). I have friendly conversations with my guidance counselor, too. Someone should tell this guy, being smart is easy, it's the people skills that are
going to get you through life."</p>
<p>No problem, I can write your letter...here goes: </p>
<p>Dear School: </p>
<p>Sheed30 knows it all. His essays are usually perfect so he has no questions about writing, therefore if you accept him your English professors will have loads of spare time to help the other students who do not know it all.
He goes beyond the minimum and almost always finishes studying a chapter before the material is covered in class, therefore he will not be learning anything at your school however he wishes to attend.
Again, he will not need any assistance as to this point he has been able to teach himself. </p>
<p>Listen to CGM please....if you go back and look at other posts, you will learn that many students who feel the way you do know go on to really struggle in college. You may be the "smartest" one at your high school but your college will be full of kids who were the "smartest" one. </p>
<p>The kids who succeed in college are those who are genuinely open to learning from professors, other students, the atmosphere, etc. Some of what you learn may be in class, some may not. The part where you learn outside of class is the part where you might need to pay a bit more attention.</p>
<p>Even if you are the smartest person to grace the halls of your hs, it seems to me like you have no intellectual curiosity. If you understand everything that is being taught to you why not ask your teacher about those things that are not included in a high school text book (ie. in science classes, ask about applications, or ask your english teachers for opinions on what books to read, etc).</p>
<p>Okay, can you guys please read every post that i wrote?
It looks like you just read the first post and did not care about anything else.</p>
<p>One other thing to consider with your attitude......interviews! Is it you don't have a relationship with your teachers, or do you have a problem with relationships with anyone? If you go into an interview as you do know it all...you don't need anyone's help....not going to look good from the university's point of view. Besides what they can offer you, they want to know what do you offer to the college! Plenty of time to change yourself, make a few connections and get involved! EC's are so important.....good recs are a positive, too.</p>
<p>Gee, Sheed30, your second post said:</p>
<p>"My essays are usually perfect so i have no questions about my writing and i am great at Economics and U.S. government and never really have questions about it."</p>
<p>and</p>
<p>"Not my fault for not needing my teacher because i teach myself."</p>
<p>What are we supposed to think?</p>
<p>SHeed, you asked a question, we are trying to give you some answers. You want to know how to get good recs. THere is no wand we can wave over your head.</p>
<p>What we are pointing out is from our observations on this thread, you have an attitude problem when it comes to learning</p>
<p>You come across as thinking you are smarter than your teachers, and you come across as thinking you perfect and you come across as you couldn't be bothered participating because just not worth your time because you know everything already.</p>
<p>Imagine what your teachers think of you, if they have any opinion at all it is:</p>
<p>gets good grades, can write a paper, but hasn't said a word all year
he is a bit arrogant and feels he knows everything already and is lazy in class
he sits in class looking bored
he doesn't share or ask questions so I have no idea if he cares or not</p>
<p>It is in your court now and you can ignore what we are saying and be stuck in the same place, or you can look at how you appear to us and to your teachers and say, hmmm...maybe they have a point</p>
<p>If you can't be bothered, well you get the recs you get, but this isn't just about recs</p>
<p>It is about real learning and succeeding in life and college</p>
<p>Dear OP,
As my Dad (of blessed memory) used to tell me, "sometimes there's nothing as practical as a good theory," so I'll cough this one up for ya:</p>
<p>Depending on which theoretician you read, there between 5 and 7 recognized forms of intelligence and you must have have several (logical/analytic, perhaps spatial/intuitive refleced in your maths and sciences, verbal (can write essays). You didn't mention musical or artistic, nor kinesthetic. FInally, there is also social intelligence, recnetly broken down into 2 forms: INTERPERSONAL and INTRAPERSONAL intelligence.</p>
<p>Education is a mutual responsibility, a contract between yourself and your school. Because you've had the unique opportunity to find out knowledge from your parents, you didn't tap into the school as much. Perhaps they let you down, too, with their dullness and easy acceptance of your work because your name was on it. After a while, that happens, too (see my story at bottom).
As many are advising you on this thread, it's now your responsibility to deelop some intrapersonal (self-awareness of your feelings) and interpersonal (get to know people in a room) intelligences. Look at this as your next challenge, for it, too, is educational.
Cultivate a teacher or two. If they overlap with an EC you like, they can get to know you there, not just in class. For example, if one of them advises science or math club, encounter them there. As long as you're a junior, you still have time to learn this.
Your life will be much more rewarding if you tap into this. If the thought of it makes you feel scared, go to your counselor, or even a psychological counselor, to work on it week-by-week. It is THAT important to your life and happiness, as well as your academic success -- no matter how smart you are, which is probably "very." Nobody's taking that away from y9ou; we're just telling you to take this in hand. Nobody will spoon-feed you that piece of your education. </p>
<p>My final story (it's cold up here in Buffalo so we tell stories just to get through the season;) ... sometimes a student is let down by the school when everything they hand in gets A. My dad and his younger brother were both SO smart, and it got to a point with my uncle that even the best teachers just automatically saw his name and marked him "A."
At his high school grad, he put a folder into his dad's hands and said, "hold this for me." As soon as grad was over, he handed the folder to the school's finest teacher. Of course, it had my uncle's name on it and the teacher's "A" on the front page.
My uncle urged the teacher to read it. Rolling his eyes, the teacher read a page or two, and said, "what's the problem? it's your usual 'A' work..."
My uncle said, "Keep reading." After around 4 pages, the writer's voice changed because my uncle had begun to stuff my dad's typewritten pages for the cetnral 90 pages of every paper (those were the days...).
And my uncle put his own final four pages on the back of each report, too.
The teacher lost all color from his face and kept the report. Twenty years later, when my brother went to the same (public magnet) school, that teacher had the reputation of mercilessly reading EVERY page of every student's report.<br>
So...dear OP, yes they might be letting you down at school, which is depressing. Don't let that continue. Take charge of your own fate.</p>
<p>WOW!! You people need to take it down a notch. While some people have written great advice, others have been bashing me for no reason. I did not do anything to you and i do not even you. I simply asked for advice on what i should do and all i got was your stupid for doing this, your arrogant for saying that, you have major life crisis problems and god knows what else. I appreciate the fact that you took the time to respond to my plea for help (probably with good intentions) however, all i asked for was advice. While I may have gotten some, the majority of the posts have been bashing me about my arrogance and attitude. I also wrote in one of the posts (the one you probably only read part of and not in its entirety). "I also do not just sit around because i always try my best to help all the students around me with everything from their social life to academics (however i do not think my teacher notices)." In addition, when i said i do not know my teachers i did not mean i shunned them out or anything, it's just that i do not a have a relationship with them meaning i will say a few things to them however they don't really KNOW me. Thanks to all of you who bothered posting and hopefully you can keep the advice coming because God knows i need it.</p>
<p>You sound to me like the perfect candidate for a gap year. It will accomplish a lot of things:</p>
<p>1) For your immediate problem, it gives you an additional year to get to know a teacher or two (offer to TA a class that you excel at and like, start a club that involves your favorite teacher and subject, pick a teacher's brain on what to read if you want to know more about their fields of expertise, etc...)</p>
<p>2) It will give you the opportunity to grow personally and intellectually before you end up spending 4 more years sitting in school. Next time you are in a classroom, you will know why you want to be there.</p>
<p>3) You may get so intellectually engaged by something you do that you want to ask questions, learn more, etc...It will be a life changing event, I assure you.</p>
<p>I think a lot of students who are bright but not motivated to participate in class find that a year doing something besides school whets their intellectual appetites. It doesn't have to cost much-sometimes you even get paid. Gap years are very common in UK, by the way. Just google the topic and you will see how much world is waiting for you.</p>
<p>Sheed, calm down there buddy. I hope I was on the side of giving you good advise. I agree some of the posts seem to be over the top, but my sense people reacted to the way you said it as to the way you meant it, at least I hope so.</p>
<p>I'm not sure you continuing to monitor here will be productive, as a mater of fact it may just PO you off more.</p>
<p>I think if you pickup on the constructive posts you have gotten out of this you have what you needed to hear. You got some excellent perspective's from concerned parents who have shared a lifetime of experience as it relates to personal, college, and work related experiences. Those posts that attacked you I would suggest just looking beyond them.</p>
<p>I worked with many young people when I was working in my management career, your not different than some that I had to have discussions with, but most listened made some changes and they did FINE. My final bit of advise is given all you have heard and read you need to decide what am I going to do differently starting tomm morning, beacause if you don't change the equation things just remain the same.</p>
<p>I have started talking a little more in class. Hope that helps me, and by the way Ray111 you were one of the people that gave me good advice.</p>