Helpful Teacher Recommendation #4 - Sophia
The quirks of school timetabling being what they are, I found myself in the happy position of
teaching Sophia English at both the intermediary and senior stages of her school career – in other
words for the major public examinations of General Certificate of Secondary Education and
Advanced Level. These, by the way, are each two year courses. From the very first day she was
an extraordinarily responsive, appreciative and conscientious student, and I could see that her
qualities were complemented by outstanding ability and scholarship. Sophia also proved, in the
course of time, to be a remarkably friendly and gregarious person – the sort of person with whom
one can easily strike up a conversation outside the classroom.
I have always admired her independent approach to learning. This goes far beyond her simply
doing things “her way” and suggests, rather, a readiness to take full responsibility for her own
progress. At the same time she will always listen to, and act on, advice. Yet Sophia does not
expect material to be pre-packaged or spoon fed, and takes it for granted that she will carry out
her own preparation and research. In this respect she has the stamina and the interest to read
widely and then go on to process copious material from many sources. She has a shrewd sense of
what is relevant, and yet is able to convey richness and depth. Her secret here is to write a good
essay and express herself with commendable fluency. Over the years she has made a point of
developing a well-honed and elegant written style. Being very well disciplined and well
organized, she always delivers these essays on time. She possesses both scholarly and moral
integrity.
Sophia has many qualities specific to my own subject of English Literature. I particularly admire
the way she combines a trained intelligence with refreshing spontaneity, and critical acumen with
deep emotional engagement. I like too her sense of both comic and tragic experience, her sense of
laughter and pathos, and her belief that lessons themselves can sometimes be “fun” and
sometimes in dead earnest. It was a pleasure to introduce her to the deeply moving text of Death
of a Salesman when she was fifteen. Just a year or so later, I valued her delights in the brittle
sophistication of Pope’s apparently frivolous Rape of the Lock. She also engaged with the broad
sweep of E.M. Forster’s A Passage to India and appreciated its exotic descriptions, colonial
context and spiritual depth. This year I find myself teaching Sophia Hamlet, and as I write she is
appreciating the angst of early seventeenth century Melancholy. A colleague, equally fortunate, is
introducing her to The Grapes of Wrath and Tender is the Night. I am also aware that she has
tackled advanced philosophical and theological concepts in her Religious Studies courses, and
has worked specifically on the relationship between mind, body and soul. This is the kind of topic
perfectly tailored to Sophia’s manifest strengths in both the Arts and the Sciences. The long and
brilliant paper on the Brain that very recently won her a prestigious and coveted prize at this
school is still further evidence. She is a scientist with a deep love of literature and culture, and my
firm feeling is that she would be particularly in tune, sympathetically and intellectually, with the
liberal values and breadth of the American system.
Sophia is indeed a student of many talents whose superb time-management allows her to be
active in so many areas on and off campus. She is a keen debater, an impressive mover and
shaker, a violinist and a guitarist, a rower and fencer; she is also the founder, no less, of our very
own and very popular Dance Society. She would indeed make many excellent contributions to
campus life. It is not often that such a natural, friendly and ebullient personality joins forces with
an intellect of such versatility and quality. Sophia is a very special student whom we are happy to
recommend at the very highest level.