Teacher recommendation from a teacher I don't like

[kepler94]

I've posted here before about how I dislike my physics teacher for various reasons. He ignores kids' questions, and he mostly talks about sports, or makes pop culture references and jokes just to get laughs from the class. No one thinks he is a good teacher, and he focuses more on his football coaching than physics teaching.

Also, another problem is I don't have any friends in this class, so I tend to not talk that much. I occasionally answer or ask questions when the teacher does lecture.

So, I don't really like him, and although I get good grades and act polite in class, he doesn't know me personally. So the question is, should I ask for a recommendation from someone I don't personally like, and someone that doesn't even know me other than the shy kid that gets good grades in class?

The thing is, I already have 2 letters of rec in mind from two different teachers, and I would assume the third should be from my favorite subject, physics. I want to major in physics, too. But, would it be alright to get letters of rec from an English teacher, Math teacher, and Chemistry teacher?

 

[jedishrfu]

Well if you're getting good grades in Physics and haven't done anything for him to dislike you then I don't see why you wouldn't want to get a recommendation from him. However if he senses that you don't like him or he doesn't like you then it wouldn't be such a great idea.

Clearly having a recommendation from your Physics teacher and wanting to major in Physics will cause less questions to be asked when you apply to college..

The biggest indicator for college will be your SAT scores followed by your essay and anything you've done out of the ordinary related to your interest in Physics that gives some indication of your skills and abilities and finally these would be bolstered by your teacher recommendations.

College admissions get so many applications that they go through a weeding out process using some sort of criteria with SAT scores as the first indicator. Soce too low and they take your money and skip to the next applicant. You want to make it as tough as possible for them not to skip your application. Have you visitied the college, had any interviews with profs?...

 

[kepler94]

Well if the SAT is the first step, then I won't pass. I can get into college with my SAT score, but this is for merit scholarships. I guess I should have clarified.

So yeah, my SAT is a little bit above average, so good enough to get into the college. The college doesn't require or recommend having LORs for basic admission, but for scholarships, i need them.

 

[mathwonk]

if you don't like them they may not like you, and it could be reflected in the letter.

 

[20Tauri]

Unless the merit scholarship is in some way connected to your potential major or to the university's physics department, I assume you could have whichever teachers you like write your recommendations. Teachers with whom you have good relationships--who like you and know you well--would presumably write the strongest recommendations.