Every year I write anywhere from 25 to 35 letters of recommendation. Every year I tell myself I am not going to do this anymore. This year, I mean it. There is no reason why a handful of teachers in one building should carry the burden of writing the bulk of letters of recommendation. So today I sought out the input of a member of our guidance department. I told her that I would be telling my students that I would be writing 15 letters of recommendation next year and that I would write letters for students whom I thought I could be most articulate and specific. I let them know that I would be informing those students and that there were thirty some other teachers in this building who were capable of writing letters for them. She thought it was a great idea.
Setting boundaries is difficult. I feel terrible about doing this. But I feel worse when a student who hasn't spoken a word in my classes all year asks me for a letter and I am faced with a blank page and nothing to say. What I am telling myself is that these wonderful students will have no problem finding other teachers who see the good in them and can expound upon it to admissions officers. And I'm not lying to me. These are great kids. They have had at least two handfuls of teachers by the time they need a letter of rec. And every year when I submit my letters to Naviance, I see the same five names over and over again submitting the letters. Next year, one of those names will be gone due to retirement. Which means more for the four of us that are left over. Also, next year I have just as many kids in four sections of AP Lang as I have this year in five. To keep me at my full time status, an hour of English 11 is being added to my schedule. There isn't any room in there to write 30 letters of rec. There will barely be room for 15. By the way, that number began at 10.
I guess that's all.
