A student has asked me for a letter of recomendation. Should I refuse or should I just right a generic one?

I teach a vocation course. It is like a back to work program (welfare to work). My students have either never had a job or do not know how to get a job. Regardless of what I teach and the examples I provide in real world scenarios I always get the same behavior from the bulk of the lot. Class starts at 9 AM and ends at 3 PM. Many swagger in at 10 AM, 10:30 AM, sometimes 1 PM. During class many surf the Internet because they do not have computers at home.


That is a bit of background. One student on one occasion told me, "Why is you botherin' me?" when she was not doing assigned work. We discussed her behavior that day and it got better but only temporarily. This was not her first snap back. today as class is being held she is in another room working on her resume. This same student sent me an email today while in the other room asking me for a reference. How do I say, "No" without dampening her spirits but showing her that she really needs to make some improvements?

A student has asked me for a letter of recomendation. Should I refuse or should I just right a generic one?
no recomendation... explain that a recomendation needs to be earned, and that when you write a letter of recommendation you are putting your reputation on the line. It is your word as a decent person advising someone else, who is going to put the trust of piece of there business and lively hood into the hands of this person... If you just hand out recommendation letters then if someone else in the future who deserves one presents one to someone, who may have given a chance to someone else who provided them with a letter of recommendation with your name on it, they may be passed by, when they deserve the chance, because your name, and recommendation will diminish and not mean much..





if you wish to compromise, you could write a letter stating that this person was in your class, and has completed the course, etc.. keeping it short of a letter of recommendation.. keep everything factual.. dont recommend someone you wouldnt want working for a company that you or someone you know owns..
Reply:**I just realized now that I spelled the word "write" incorrectly in my question. I apologize for this error.





Again, thank you all for such wonderful answers. Report It

Reply:If I were you I would give her the reference. I would use positive wording, but be honest. Based on what you have written, I would describe your student as a person who "...may be most suitable for tasks that do not involve punctuality" and "...may have more potential than she usually demonstrates". I also think that she's "very candid in her reactions, even in contexts where her behaviour may be misinterpreted as rudeness", and that "she has an inquisitive nature and always wants to learn the reason behind policies and instructions before she can commit herself to implementing them"
Reply:I would not right any recommendation if the person is not deserving. A generic recommendation will most likely not be in the benefit of the student. Students are to learn and not be passed thru the system. They must learn to be accountable else their entire life will be full of grief and distrust. Sometimes there is no good way to say no. Perhaps you should talk directly with the student and remind that student how he/she has acted and that actions define the person and not words. Inform the student that you will be more than willing to write a good recommendation should the student start doing the assigned work properly. Then turn your attention to how that can be done. Try to approach it in a positive way. Be the teacher.
Reply:I agree with fordman. Write and say it like it is and don't hold back a thing. This "student" is in for a shock. Maybe you should have a few Bill Cosby tapes handy. He woke up a lot of young people.
Reply:Have a discussion with her, explain things just as you did here. Now is the time to ask her, Why you botherin me?


Explain to her how the real world is, if she is going to cop an attitude with you or her future employer, she is not going to make it in the world.


Remind her of all the things she has done, her tardiness, attitude, and disrespect. Then ask her what would you do in my place.? You can write a reference for her but it would need to include the problems you've encountered and unless she improves, she may not want you to write the letter.
Reply:Tell her no and explain why by telling her exactly what you told us.





Those are very valid reasons!





ST
Reply:Write her a generic one and let her know that she still needs to make improvements... but at the same time you may be helping her make improvements.
Reply:What I would do in that case is, ask her to stay a few minutes after school and just be straight with her. Ask her what kind of recomendation do she think she deserves. Tell her that doing the things she has done or not done in the past does not qualify for a very good recomendation.


If you have time before she needs it.. Tell her that she is on probabtion until the final day that she has to have it.. If she improves you will give her a good report, if she doesn't you will give a report that yes she attended but that would be all you could do.





Maybe, when your next session of student arrive you may want to address this within the first week or two. Let them know that you do recomendations and what they receive from you would be up to them.


You may could even start a marks program. And keep a record of what the students do and don't do through out the course so that you can go back and see the marks they make. This would help you write the recomendations. Also, you could put up some sort of board that lets the students see their marks.. Maybe without everyone else knowing what they did or didn't do but they would be able to look at the board and see if they need to make improvements or not.





If you can't put the students names on the board or would rather not for privacy to each student then you could privately give each student a number or letter that they can refer to on the chart...





Good Luck
Reply:I would suggest telling her that you are willing to provide a reference, but you will be honest -- in addition to positive things about her work and skills, you will also mention any attendance, attitude, or work completion problems that she has. If she is willing to improve that, she will get a great recommendation. If she keeps giving mediocre effort, she will have to settle for a mediocre reference.





Best of luck!
Reply:Do you feel threatened by not telling her the truth?





If not, then I would tell her that I will give her a generic letter of recommendation, however the letter would not do her any good if she does not change her attitude.





If yes, then I would check with the school and find a way to prevent the school from giving the letter. Then I would tell her that the school policy prevents you from giving recommendations.





And finally, if you care for her and want to help her, try to find the strong point in her and base your recommendation on her strong point (example: xxx is strong minded can handle responsibility when required . . .)





You can also use a reflective tactic. You can tell her to write the letter herself and give it to you. This will give her an exercise to reflect on herself and to really evaluate if the characteristics match the character.





Good luck.
Reply:When I taught I would have just written a vague letter that could not even be called a reccomendation for such a student. The student probably won't have enough sense to know that it is not a reccomendation. If it feels more honest to you, you can explain to her that you can write a letter stating that she was in your class from x date to y date and that she passed the course and you do not feel comfortable writing any more. I would never write anything negative in a letter, but you do not have to write anything positive.