[lit-ideas] Re: Enter Psmith
- From: "Ursula@xxxxxxxxxx" <ursula@xxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 8 Feb 2007 19:22:29 +0000 (UTC)
A charming letter, David. But you neglected to mention how she
singlehandedly mediated all those sandbox fights in her pre-school
years (mentioning the Nobel Peace Prize nomination is probably over the
top, though). Sandbox mediation is a skill much needed in Academe.
Good luck to her,
Ursula
----Original Message----
From: ritchierd@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Date: Feb 8, 2007 13:52
To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Subj: [lit-ideas] Re: Enter Psmith
A college that shall remain nameless has written to invite either or
both parents of our potential student to submit a letter of
recommendation in support of her application. What do you think a
parent's letter of recommendation could reasonably add to the
information in the Common Application and all the supplementals?
Here
is the prompt: "...we know that you have insights about your daughter
that could assist us in understanding her academic potential as well
as
her capacity to contribute to other aspects of campus life."
I wondered if something along the following lines, stretching the
truth
just a little, might be appropriate:
Dear Psmith College Entrancepersons,
How entranced I was by your invitation to submit a letter of
recommendation, so entranced in fact that I shall now abandon my
usual
reserve and tell you the secret and absolute truth about our
daughter.
The fact that today we live in a rather large house is the result of
all the years--I'm sure she's too modest to have told you this--she
spent learning about construction with Habitat for Humanity. She
raised all the roof beams on her own back, stapled every shingle,
installed each inch of plumbing. If your campus has expansion plans,
you will probably want to ask her to consider volunteering to build
you
say a chapel, or a new library.
As a member of a faculty myself, with twenty years' experience
hearing
of academic infighting at other institutions, I must report how sorry
PNCA will be to lose E's mediation skills. She has been attending
faculty council meetings since the day she was born, and so it was
with
six or more years of listening experience that she first spoke up,
suggesting a simple and elegant solution to the then perennial fuss
about how to improve retention. With a small expenditure on "snack
time" at three, we now have enthusiastic classes right the way
through
to six pm and sometimes even later. To get maximum benefit from her
experience, I would urge you to consider asking her opinion on almost
any administrative issue as soon as she sets foot on your campus.
A key member of the team that designed the Linux operating system and
a
personal friend of Linny Torvalds, E. has enough IT knowledge to fix
almost any IT problem on a campus.
Winning the lottery would be for some eighteen year olds a
life-transforming experience, but in our daughter you would be hard
pressed to notice a single hint that she is now worth thirty seven
million dollars. As her Habitat experience suggests, she is a very
generous individual. I can't think of much else to say but please
don't hesitate to write if you have any further questions. The best
contact for me nowadays is the Fullbright Awards Committee number,
but
you can also find me through the Phil Knight's brand new charitable
foundation.
I remain sincerely yours,
David Ritchie,
Portland, Oregon
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