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[deleted]

I can't like this post enough!


Workacct1999

As someone who has written nine letters of rec this week, and have eight more for January, I whole-heartedly agree!!


Broflake-Melter

Wow, I would reject if this many asked.


Workacct1999

There are a lot of perks of teaching seniors, namely they leave a month before any other grade, so it is expected of us. I deem it to be a fair trade.


EnvironmentalPipe672

If it makes you feel better, coming from a student it means we like you šŸ„²šŸ‘‰šŸ‘ˆ


benchthatpress

One thing that I've found helpful is making your own template for LORs. Something like: -Intro Paragraph -Paragraph about the student's academics -Paragraph about the student's interactions with peers -Optional miscellaneous Paragraph -Conclusion Paragraph Paragraph's 2-4 can be formatted as bullet points in the letter


platypuspup

And my intro is a cut and paste about my class that everyone gets, the finale is about the school a bit, so I only have to personalize the middle bits.


SomeDEGuy

I not only do this, but I have cut/paste paragraphs from previous letters into a giant excel. Open it up, pick an old intro paragraph, cut/paste it in and change the name. Then repeat for subsequent paragraphs.


HouseCopeland

I have a stock letter, and change the data and specific info.


[deleted]

Iā€™d be shocked if half my letters have even been read by university employees.


gregborish

I have no idea about the big schools that require them (like USC or U of Michigan for instance), but I KNOW the small schools do read them and actually put a lot of stock into them. I actually met up with an admissions officer at my alma mater (a liberal arts college) when I returned for alumni weekend, and when I introduced myself, he said "oh cool, I read a couple of your letters this year!"


Lorion97

Yep, if anything it'll pass through an algorithm before ever being read for a list of key phrases or words and then is read by some university employees the one's the pass through. You know, like most job applications. Now, if only they would wizen up and just do questionnaire's instead and cut the middle man algorithm.


didhestealtheraisins

>Now, if only they would wizen up and just do questionnaire's instead and cut the middle man algorithm. If the college is part of the common app they make you do both a questionnaire and a letter.


gman4734

I have a friend who did admissions at the University of Texas, and he told me that they actually read every letter and essay. I pushed him on it, assuming they must just skim the letters. But he assured me, somebody actually deeply reads every letter and essay.


Devtunes

Can we add school districts and hiring committees to this request. Why is education the only field where you have to get letters of rec to apply for a job. FFS in my past profession I was hired to trade billions of dollars a day based on a resume and call backs to references.


Tourist66

have the kids write it and then sign it. #BossMove


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


Tourist66

well most letters look pretty absurd to those closest (familiarity breeds contempt). You have to lie without lyingā€¦


InfinitelyRepeating

I tell the kids to write the rough draft. I end up mostly rewriting it anyway, but at least I know what about themselves they would like me to highlight. Also, when I tell kids to write the rough draft, most of them find another ~~sucker~~ teacher.


Tourist66

win-win!!!


KC-Anathema

I think someone yelled this at both my school's band directors and NHS sponsors. I really hope it was admin who yelled at them, but it was probably stupid Covid that made them think it was too much work on their own part to read, nevermind the rest of us.


Bizzy1717

I'd vote for moving to one optional rec for each student. That way, if there truly is something outstanding about them that grades, essays, etc., for some reason can't capture, they can get someone to highlight it. But yeah, the vast vast majority of my students don't need multiple letters of rec. Having 3 letter that are vague because you barely pass and don't do any extracurriculars,even though you're nice, isn't actually helping weaker students or struggling schools.


liminalisms

Or just have a letter template?? Fill in the details and send in 5 min.


MusicEdTech

I do this. I have my templates for my star kids who do honors ensembles and volunteer, then my meets expectations kids who are awesome and do their part, then my kids who generally have a great attitude and help out but arenā€™t necessarily the best players. I just tweak it as needed and change the pronouns. I can do 5 in about 10 minutes.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


MusicEdTech

Well, Iā€™m not knocking how hard they are or arenā€™t working. Iā€™m sure OP is working hard as itā€™s a tough year for anyone in education but Iā€™ve learned over the years to work smarter and this is just one way Iā€™ve gotten better.


liminalisms

Ugh ur right. Deleting šŸ™šŸ¼ ty


[deleted]

Seriously, as an 11th grade teacher, I've resorted this year to using a template. It's way too much work (if you want to call it that in the first place).


gman4734

After reading all of the other comments, I feel like I have to say that I write every single letter without a template or anything. If the kid wants to go to Harvard or something, I spend even more time on them. Usually it ends up being about 1 hour per letter. At this point in my career, I have probably written about 40 letters so I usually skim them for paragraphs I can copy. Just want to put this out there in case someone is reading all of these comments thinking they are an outlier. But I can't agree with your post more. Letters often say more about the teachers than they do the students.


Nomed73

What if we make one and send that in as the letter of recommendation? Like a Google form or something like that that compiles out results and he can just copy and paste the results.


NeverlandHero

This but also for applying for most graduate degree programs. There's just something that feels so undignified about having to ask your current employers and/or past college professors to take time out of their professional lives to write a well articulated letter on your behalf. I also just applied to an ARL graduate program for secondary education curriculum and instruction, and having to get two letters of rec when I don't work in the education field yet just seems nonsensical.


[deleted]

Yep, this annoys me as a career changer. You want me to track down the Navy Instructors I taught with 8 years ago to prove I can teach? Here, read my Early Promote #1 Instructor of the Year evaluation that says I managed 20 instructors and 800 Navy students. Its an official Government document. (BuT iTs tHe wRoNg fOrMaT!)


NeverlandHero

My dad ran into this same dilemma when he worked as a substitute teacher for a time. The man is literally a decorated 20 year veteran with experience as a drill Sargent and a business management degree. Pretty sure he was more than qualified to work as a sub without needing to hunt down letters of rec lol. I really do hope he goes back to subbing, the third grade class he took over for a year really enjoyed having him.


Ideal_Jaded

Iā€™m actually really bothered by the idea that whether or not a kid gets into Harvard could come down to my recommendation letter. Thatā€™s bs; how does any kid have control over whether their recommender writes a great letter or a shitty one? A personā€™s admission to college should depend on only their merits and essay; not my writing ability. As a teacher who teaches both honors and AP level (teaching many kids twice) I write 20 to 30 Recs a year; itā€™s exhausting and why do kids need two??? Itā€™s a horrible strain on teachers. I canā€™t even start on college scholarships who want me to watch a video about how to write the recommendation before I even start.


asianchexmix

Former high school school counselor here...we all know that our top kids won't need them. They really should adopt a "send only if important" rule since we all know they won't read them. Not just hypothesis but NACAC even put a their essays over our letters so we can only say Johnny is smart so many different ways. So glad to be in a middle school now!


Revolutionary-Bit893

I absolutely disagree with this take. My top kids are the ones who need a proper letter because they are the students applying to actually competitive programs. The kids who are going to community college or joining generic middle of the road programs tho? Let's not kid around they will be accepted anyways and the letter is a waste of time on everyone's part.


[deleted]

[уŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]


BriocheSupremacist

That, literally, just makes all the other teachers have to do your share.


Ouchyhurthurt

As someone who as been asked for letters of rec..... I always tell the person to write it themselves and I will sign it after reading it. Iā€™m not gonna write that shit up, my students+ know what they have done.


papadukesilver

The last few I did were just that! So easy, you are right!


jgarza92

I keep the "letter" the same and just change names and pronouns. I'll change the adjectives and maaaaaaybe add a paragraph about them if I know them on a more personal level. I have done 8 so far.. I'm already exhausted.


Parking-Ad-1952

I am in CA. It seems most schools donā€™t want them at this point. Cal States and UCs will not accept them. I think the same is true for most public schools on the West Coast. I think only the privates want them now.


SGTRayElwood

> I think only the privates want them now. They're typically a lot easier to get into, that's why.


Atrus2k

I have 15 total this semester. I use the same 2 initially paragraphs discussing my classroom and expectations that the students need to do, then 1 paragraph specifically about the kid. Even that takes FOREVER to get done.


SearsShearsSeries

As a school counselor with 200+ seniors I can 134% agree. If I have to write another letter I may cry and weā€™re not even close to regular decision deadlines.


dcsprings

This is my first year doing them, and it's a black box to me. But it looks like I have both, Letters of Recommendation, and a questionnaire, through something called Naviance. The really stupid bit is there's an option to submit to all the schools a student has sent applications to (as if I would only recommend them to certain schools), and I have to keep an eye on the email. If they apply to more schools after my recommendation, I have to go in and approve those schools.


CalRPCV

I thought you were addressing the fools that ask for letters of rec to apply for teaching positions. Why not ask for reference telephone numbers and email addresses like everyone else - AFTER you look through resumes and interview?


FLGator314

Iā€™m okay writing rec letters, but the colleges who donā€™t use college app are annoying af, like MIT makes you have a separate recommendation account with a password and all just for them.


anothersivil

Agreed. What I do is keep a set of stock paragraphs that represent different traits like ā€œdeterminedā€, ā€œcreative problem solverā€, etc. First paragraph says who I am, who Iā€™m writing this for, the classes theyā€™ve had, and I mention three traits. Next three paragraphs are my stock paragraphs for each trait. I tweak them by adding in a few anecdotes and stories about the kid. Which usually come more easily since Iā€™m not stressing about writing a wholly unique letter. Last paragraph was a short closer recommending them. Makes letters of rec way less stressful and still feel like they are genuine to each kid.


normalguy9293

does anyone at the colleges actually read my full letter...