April 2, 2017!

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To Whom It May Concern, !
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! I am writing to recommend David Han for an elementary teaching position in the Santa
Barbara School District. I am a second grade teacher at Franklin Elementary, and I had the
pleasure of being Davids cooperating teacher this past fall. !
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! One area of expertise that impresses me about David is his attention to foundational
understanding and teaching. He is able to compartmentalize the different aspects of
mathematics, for example, and figure out a way to teach the foundations at an appropriate pace.
On many occasions, he asked the questions, What have the students been taught so far? and
What do they already know? He would then use this information as a starting point to plan his
next lesson. This is an important skill that takes time to develop, and David has picked up on
this very quickly. !
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! I appreciate Davids flexibility throughout each lesson that he teaches. During a math
lesson where he was introducing how to determine whether a number was even or odd, David
instantly picked up that the students were not quite understanding the concept. Instead of
continuing to follow the pre-typed lesson plan, he began to teach the idea a new way- one that
was more simple and slow-paced. While it is sometimes easiest to follow the path you have
mapped out in your mind when teaching, its not always what is best for the students, and David
has the ability to recognize this and teach to the students, not to the textbook. !
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! I admire Davids ability to build strong connections with his students. Although he was
only with us for a span of three months, David created a strong bond with our class. He took the
time to talk with the students one-on-one, learn their personalities, and understand their
personal skills and areas of improvement. On Davids last day in our class, many second grade
tears were shed as they were sad they wouldnt be seeing their new friend on a regular basis.
Anyone can come into a classroom and teach children, but not everyone can teach with heart.
David Han can teach with heart. !
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! I think David would be an exceptional addition to our school district. If you have any
questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me at any time. !
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Sincerely,!
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Mary Gish!
2nd Grade Teacher!
Franklin Elementary!
SBUSD!
mgish@sbunified.org!