Video Game Design/Developers

 View Only

  • 1.  Wednesday Discussion - Letters of Recommendation

    Posted 11-29-2023 10:12 AM
    Edited by Brian Bautista 11-29-2023 01:01 PM

    UC/CSU applications are due tomorrow, and if your students are anything like mine, they waited until the last minute to ask for letters of recommendation. So,

    • what are your practices on writing letters of rec?
    • do you use a template?
    • do you ever feel "good" about the letters of rec?

    I tell the student to provide me a list of what they want me to talk about, then I use that with my own input to write the letter. I do not use a template per se, but I sometimes copy/paste previous letters to get a layout and change the necessary info so it saves me a bit of time. I feel I write okay letters of rec, but I have never felt I have written a truly great one. How many ways and times can you say "this student is awesome, you should take them and give them money"? Most students are all equally qualified/deserving; how do we differentiate ours students from the masses?



    ------------------------------
    Wesley Jeffries k12teacher
    Riverside CA
    ------------------------------



  • 2.  RE: Wednesday Discussion - Letters of Recommendation

    Posted 11-29-2023 10:43 AM
    I do pretty much the same as you do.  I have small classes so I know my students pretty well and what they have done over the years so I can get inventive with the recommendations.  Students I do not know well I just tell them no.

    --
    Garth Flint
    Computer Science Teacher
    Loyola Sacred Heart High School
    406-531-7497





  • 3.  RE: Wednesday Discussion - Letters of Recommendation

    Posted 11-29-2023 11:15 AM

    I basically have three tiers of Letters of Rec dependent on the student.

    1st Tier are students I know really well, I don't really need a brag sheet from them, but I ask anyway. I spend a fair bit of the letter focusing around some accomplishment or story from their time with me.

    2nd Tier are students I don't know great, but I am still comfortable getting a brag sheet and returning a fairly generic Letter of Rec, that may or may not be drafted by ChatGPT.

    3rd Tier are students I am uncomfortable recommending and I just tell them no. I only write letters for pathway completers, so it basically never comes up anymore.



    ------------------------------
    BrianBautistabbautista@rjuhsd.usCA
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Wednesday Discussion - Letters of Recommendation

    Posted 12-04-2023 02:25 PM

    I seem to get requests about 5-10 times a year. So not too often. I typically copy and edit a previously written letter. Doesn't take much time, and its not too often.

    I love when they do ask, typically kids I had in previous years (not currently), allows me a chance to get caught up.

    I have asked in the past for a brag sheet/list from the kids for their letters, they often don't have a very complete list though.



    ------------------------------
    Melanie Honeycutt k12teacher
    Lompoc CA
    ------------------------------



Related Content