> At my blue blood private school, I had a math teacher who explicitly told my dad that he gave me a bad letter of rec on an MIT summer camp application, becaus

> At my blue blood private school, I had a math teacher who explicitly told my dad that he gave me a bad letter of rec on an MIT summer camp application, because as a black person affirmative action would make life too easy for me. How horrible. The only lesson of value is, "this specific teacher cannot be trusted." To deny a student an opportunity to learn to teach some bizarre life lesson is completely misguided. Sorry you had to experience it. > Standardized tests helped protect me from teacher bias. Me too. I got terrible grades because I was busy trying to be a rebel in high school. Many of my teachers thought it more important to teach "life lessons" instead of their subject. I did very well on the ACT and SAT and got into college despite lackluster grades.