OK, so as of the end of the semester that just ended, one of the instructors in the massage therapy program I just finished has been fired. I won’t go into the list of non-reasons that was given to her because I wasn’t a fly on the wall in the room. I will say this much. One of the instructors who I have a tremendous amount of respect for regards her as a “lazy incompetant bitch”, and, quite frankly, she really wasn’t all that good of a teacher.
Anyhoo, today, she e-mailed my grade to me (she does this for all the students) and asked me to write a letter stating my opinion of her as a teacher.
I’m kind of reluctant to do this because, as I said, she really wasn’t a very good teacher, was unprofessional in her demeanor. She’s basically trying to rally the students into writing letters supporting her so that she can go over the Head of Program’s boss’ head and fight to get her job back.
She’s not a bad person, really. She’s a nice lady and all, but I really don’t think I can support her in this. OTOH, her being a nice lady and all, I don’t want to hurt her feelings. If I write a letter saying that she really wasn’t all that, she would most likely ignore it and only produce letters supporting her. She seems to be a bit vengeful and spiteful in this matter.
My gut instinct is to just bite my tongue and not respond to her request.
Is she just asking you for a letter or is she asking all of her students?
Not that it matters either way, just curious.
She’s a nice lady, but she would act vengefully and spitefully? That seems a bit on the contradictory side. If you feel she’s trying to rally support to get her job back and you feel like she shouldn’t get her job back and that she’ll use the letters she does get manipulatively, go ahead and write the letter honestly and dispassionately. Advise her in the letter that you are sending a copy to the appropriate person at the school, and do it.
Well, she does have some contradictory aspects to her personality. She’s one of those generally bubbly nice people, but underneath, she does have a vindictive streak that shows when she feels she’s been wronged some way.
I think I’m going to sit on this for a day or two before I reply. I may or may not contact administration. I do want to phrase the letter as gently as possible. On a personal level, I don’t dislike this woman, but she’s not someone I would choose to socialize with either.