Letter from Dr. Alfred E. Stearns to Mr. Thomas Lee, March 26, 1915
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Dr. Alfred E. Stearns to Mr. Thomas Lee, March 26, 1915
Subject
Letter from Dr. Alfred E. Stearns to Mr. Thomas Lee, March 26, 1915
Description
Typed letter sent from Dr. Alfred E. Stearns to Tommy Lee. Unsure if Vreeland's letter or Lee's letter is accurate. Advises Lee to meet with Vreeland to discuss situation. Worried over Lee's academic standing. Admonishes Lee to examine standing.
Transcription
My dear Tommy:
Your letter reached me this morning, and only two or three days after a most distressing one which was sent me by your Registrar. I hardly know which one to bank on. According to Mr. Vreeland, your work is in extremely bad shape, and you yourself in a very dangerous position. From your letter I should judge that the situation was decidedly better than formerly. My advice to you is to consult the Registrar at once and make sure just where you stand. I am afraid you will find the situation is distinctly worse than you paint it in your letter to me.
I am perfectly willing to accept your explanation of the probation situation. That in itself need not worry us greatly, provided you mean business, for the matter is wholly in your hands. The low standing in your studies, however, is a much more serious affair, and I cannot account for it. Boys who stood distinctly below you in Andover are doing much better work than you at New Haven. The only inference I can draw is that you have not been applying yourself with the serious purpose that should have characterized your effort. For Goodness' sake just stop up short and take a good account of stock and see where you stand. If you were to flunk out at Sheff. it would be a lasting disgrace to you, to the school, and a blow to your family and friends from which they would hardly recover. You certainly cannot afford to trifle with a situation fraught as this is with so many possibilities of evil and good.
Faithfully yours,
Your letter reached me this morning, and only two or three days after a most distressing one which was sent me by your Registrar. I hardly know which one to bank on. According to Mr. Vreeland, your work is in extremely bad shape, and you yourself in a very dangerous position. From your letter I should judge that the situation was decidedly better than formerly. My advice to you is to consult the Registrar at once and make sure just where you stand. I am afraid you will find the situation is distinctly worse than you paint it in your letter to me.
I am perfectly willing to accept your explanation of the probation situation. That in itself need not worry us greatly, provided you mean business, for the matter is wholly in your hands. The low standing in your studies, however, is a much more serious affair, and I cannot account for it. Boys who stood distinctly below you in Andover are doing much better work than you at New Haven. The only inference I can draw is that you have not been applying yourself with the serious purpose that should have characterized your effort. For Goodness' sake just stop up short and take a good account of stock and see where you stand. If you were to flunk out at Sheff. it would be a lasting disgrace to you, to the school, and a blow to your family and friends from which they would hardly recover. You certainly cannot afford to trifle with a situation fraught as this is with so many possibilities of evil and good.
Faithfully yours,
Creator
Dr. Alfred E. Stearns
Publisher
Phillips Academy
Date
March 26, 1915
Rights
All Rights Reserved By Phillips Academy
Language
English
Type
Correspondence