Graduate School Recommendation Letter From Professor

Graduate School Recommendation Letter From Professor Every recommendation letter is unique, written for a particular student. But good recommendation letters share similarities in format and expression. Below is a template showing one way of organizing a recommendation letter for graduate study. Here the emphasis is on the students academic work. The letter begins by explaining the context in which the student is known, followed by details of the work that forms the basis for the writers recommendation. It is the details that count. December 19, 201x Dr. SmithDirector of AdmissionsGraduate School University101 Grad AvenueGradTown, WI, 10000 Dear Dr. Smith: I am writing to you in support of Mr. Stu Student and his desire to attend Graduate School University for the Basket Weaving program. Though many students ask me to make this request on their behalf, I only recommend students whom I feel are well-suited for the program of their choice. Mr. Student is one of those students and therefore, I highly recommend that he be given the opportunity to attend your university. As professor of the Basket Weaving Department at Undergrad University, I work with many students who have substantial knowledge of basket weaving. Mr. Student has consistently shown such a strong desire to learn basket weaving that I simply could not turn down his request for a recommendation. I first met Mr Student in my Intro to Basket Weaving course during the Fall 2010 semester. Compared to the class average of 70, Mr. Student earned a 96 in the class. Mr. Student was evaluated on [explain basis for grades, e.g., exams, papers, etc.], in which he performed exceptionally well. Stu is an outstanding individual with a strong character. He has the ability to produce impressive results in a wide variety of areas. Stu is/has [list of positive traits/skills, e.g. organized, motivated, etc.]. I have seen astonishing results on complex projects that offered great attention to detail where quality was never compromised. Additionally, he has a very positive attitude and truly embraces learning all there is to know about basket weaving. Though Stu has consistently exceeded in all areas of his coursework, the best example of his intelligence shone through a [paper/presentation/project/etc.] on theories of basket weaving. The work clearly showed his ability to deliver a clear, concise, and well-thought presentation with a new perspective by demonstrating [embellish here]. In addition to his coursework, Stu also dedicated some of his] time volunteering at [Club or Organization Name]. His position required him to [list of tasks]. He felt volunteering was an important leadership role, in which he learned [list of skills]. The skills acquired through volunteering will be beneficial to all of Stus future endeavors. Stu has the ability to manage and organize his time and schedule around different activities without having them interfere with his work. school. I believe Stu is destined to be a leader in basket weaving, and therefore is an excellent candidate for your school. I highly recommend that you consider his application, as he will be a great asset to your program. Im sure you will find him to be a student whose talents will only grow. If you would like further information, please feel free to contact me. Sincerely, Tea Cher, Ph.D.ProfessorUndergrad University

Biography of Sociologist George Herbert Mead

Biography of Sociologist George Herbert Mead When fields such as psychology and sociology were still new, George Herbert Mead became a leading pragmatist and pioneer of symbolic interactionism, a theory that explores the relationships between people in societies. More than a century after his death, Mead is widely considered to be one of the founders of social psychology, the study of how social environments influence individuals. Having taught at the University of Chicago for much of his career, he is also associated with what is now known as the Chicago school of sociology. Early Years and Education George Herbert Mead was born on  Feb. 27, 1863, in South Hadley, Massachusetts. His father Hiram Mead was a pastor of a local church but moved the family to Oberlin, Ohio to become a professor at Oberlin Theological Seminary in 1870. His mother Elizabeth Storrs Billings Mead also worked as an academic; she taught at Oberlin College and would go on to serve as president of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts. In 1879, George Herbert Mead enrolled in Oberlin College, where he pursued a bachelors degree focusing on history and literature, which he completed four years later. After a brief stint as a school teacher,  Mead worked as a surveyor for the Wisconsin Central Railroad Company for a few years. Following that, he enrolled in Harvard University, where he studied psychology and philosophy, but he left in 1888 without a graduate degree. After Harvard, Mead joined his close friend Henry Castle and his sister Helen Kingsbury Castle in Leipzig, Germany, where he enrolled in a Ph.D. program for philosophy and physiological psychology at the University of Leipzig. In 1889, Mead transferred to the University of Berlin, where he began to study economic theory. The University of Michigan offered Mead a teaching position in philosophy and psychology two years later and he stopped his doctoral studies to accept this post, never actually completing his Ph.D. Prior to taking on his new role, Mead married Helen Castle in Berlin. Career At the University of Michigan, Mead met sociologist  Charles Horton Cooley, philosopher  John Dewey, and psychologist Alfred Lloyd, all of whom influenced the development of his thought and written work. Dewey accepted an appointment as the chair of philosophy at the University of Chicago in 1894  and arranged for Mead to be appointed assistant professor in the department of philosophy. Together with James Hayden Tufts, the three formed the nexus of American pragmatism, referred to as the Chicago Pragmatists. Meads Theory of the Self Among sociologists, Mead is most well known for his theory of the self, which he presented in his well-regarded and much-taught book Mind, Self and Society (published in 1934 after his death and edited by Charles W. Morris). Meads theory of the self maintains that the idea people have of themselves stems from social interaction with others. This theory opposes biological determinism  because it holds that  the self does not exist at  birth and may not be present at the beginning of a social interaction, but it is constructed and reconstructed in the process of social experience and activity.​ The self, according to Mead, is made up of two components: the â€Å"I† and the â€Å"me.† The â€Å"me† represents the expectations and attitudes of others (the generalized other) organized into a social self. Individuals define their behavior in reference to the generalized attitude of the social group(s) they occupy. When people can view themselves from the standpoint of the generalized other, self-consciousness in the full sense of the term is attained.  From this standpoint, the generalized other (internalized in the â€Å"me†) is the major instrument of social control, for it is the mechanism by which the community exercises control over the conduct of its individual members. The â€Å"I† is the response to the â€Å"me,† or the person’s individuality. It is the essence of agency in human action. So, in effect, the me is the self as object, while the I is the self as subject. According to Meads theory, the self is developed through three activities: language, play, and game. Language allows people to take on the â€Å"role of the other† and respond to their own behaviors through the symbolized attitudes of others. During play, individuals take on the roles of different people and pretend to be them to express their expectations. This process of role-playing is key to the generation of self-consciousness and to the general development of the self. People must comprehend the rules of the game and internalize the roles of everyone else involved. Meads work in this area spurred the development of symbolic interaction theory, now a major framework within sociology. In addition to Mind, Self, and Society, his major works include 1932s The Philosophy of the Present and 1938s The Philosophy of the Act. He taught at the  University of Chicago until his death on  April 26, 1931. Updated  by Nicki Lisa Cole, Ph.D.