Subject: Letter of Recommendation for William Hackbarth

12 April 2021

To Whom It May Concern:

It is with great pleasure that I write to recommend William Hackbarth as they seek the
opportunity to further their teaching career with you. I have gotten to know Will over
the past two years as their course instructor and through field experiences with the
Michigan State University Teacher Preparation Program. Mr. Hackbarth is a really
intent and adaptive listener, a caring member of their teaching community, and perhaps
above all, someone who is fearlessly steadfast in their devotion to the idea that
education should be a compassionate and human process.

During our English methods studio, Will’s class worked to establish a series of
afterschool literacy clubs at a local middle school. In the second session – planned
around the creation of different forms of audio media – Will’s group of students
elected to record and produce music. This was a terrifying prospect, as music
production was the one topic in our planning processes that was universally feared
for is unfamiliarity. Nonetheless, Will volunteered to work with these students, and
flourished in so doing. It seemed that almost daily the musicians would wholly
reimagine their projects, taking cues from the podcasters and soundscapers around
them, building in more and more complex recording needs. Will took all of this in
stride, establishing listening circles in which students would share their successes,
their obstacles, and teach one another. Will researched all the necessary technology,
College of collaborated with fellow teachers to make possible the students’ visions, and very
Education intentionally made music alongside them – but to do so, Will listened and adapted,
and did so brilliantly.
Department of
Teacher Education
This skillful listening was apparent in Will’s work beyond the literacy clubs, most
Michigan State memorably, for me, in the space of planning together with their peers. The studio
University experience in preparation for the clubs was a hectic one. We had little time together to
Erickson Hall
620 Farm Lane coordinate two distinct teaching teams’ work across 4–5-week curricula. Often, we
Room 116 entered into the work headlong, without the attention to one another that was
East Lansing, MI 48824
deserved. Will disrupted this pattern of productivity to make certain that everyone was
517-355-1726 heard and known. Will excels in asking follow-up questions, whether in the case of
Fax: 517-432-2795
education.msu.edu/te/sec hasty icebreakers or hard-hitting philosophical inquiries, and it is this dialogic habit that
ondary/ allows Will to know their colleagues really well, to best work together with them.

Something that has stood out about Will since first meeting them, and that is reinforced
with every conversation I have had with them since, is their possession of a really clear
idea of what education is and does for people – carefully crafted over many years of
growing up with educators, working as a daycare provider, and now in the classroom.
The clarity of Will’s intention to value student strengths and desires while rejecting

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deficit framings, to build curriculum around autonomous choice, and to return always
to criticality provides a foundation that I believe will serve a long-lasting career in
education.

If I have communicated one thing in these few paragraphs, I hope that it is the constant
humanity with which Mr. Hackbarth attends every situation. They truly demonstrate the
possibilities of teaching as a caring profession that must recognize people holistically
and presently. I will miss working with Will and learning from them. I wholeheartedly
recommend Mr. Hackbarth to you today and would be more than happy to speak
further to their gifts should you so require. Please don’t hesitate to be in touch and best
of luck with your decision. Thank you for the work that you do.

Sincerely,

Michael C. McLane
Course Instructor
mclanem5@msu.edu • 720.320.7611