How not to get into Grad School

A former student, whom I shall call Josh, mistook the fact that I like him for the idea that I respect him, and it's probably going to cost him a spot in graduate school.

Josh took three classes from me. He took Modern Algebra twice, and failed it both times. (He finally passed it when he took it from someone else. In fairness to Josh, the person who was teaching it that semester does not have a reputation as an easy grader, so Josh clearly did learn something. Finally.) He also took History of Math, and withdrew. So he never actually passed one of my classes. What in the world made him think that I would be a good reference?

Well, one thing is that I was his advisor for his Senior Seminar. The way our Senior Sem works, there are a couple of instructors of record, and then each student has an advisor who works with them on their paper and presentation. And I must say that Josh's paper and presentation went better than I had expected. It was darn near the best that I could possibly have expected from him. And if that sounds like I'm damning him with faint praise, you should have heard me talking to the lady from graduate school.

One problem is that Josh didn't give me a chance to decline. He sent e-mail that sounded like he was asking permission to use me as a reference. I wrote him back (not right away, I'm afraid, but not weeks later, either) suggesting that perhaps he could find a better reference. You know, like someone who had actually passed him in some course. But before he replied to that, I got this call. Josh had given my name as a reference, and I didn't see any graceful way to get out of it.

I did my best to put a good face on it. I talked about the fact that he is a nice guy and a hard worker. I talked about his Senior Sem paper and presentation, and what a good job he did with them. But when it came down to questions about his academic preparation, I had to be honest. Also, they talked about this program being an accelerated one, and asked whether he could handle the pace. Let's see, when it took him three tries to get through Modern Algebra....

So, I'm afraid that Josh's grad school bid is through, for now. Maybe not. Maybe he gave another reference who was more positive. But for my part, I'm afraid I didn't do him much good. I feel bad about that, but not particularly guilty. He asked me to give them my opinion, and I did.

technorati tag: teaching-carnival