Letter from Dr. Alfred E. Stearns to Mr. H.K. Tu, September 12, 1927
Dublin Core
Title
Letter from Dr. Alfred E. Stearns to Mr. H.K. Tu, September 12, 1927
Subject
Letter from Dr. Alfred E. Stearns to Mr. H.K. Tu, September 12, 1927
Description
Typed letter sent from Dr. Alfred E. Stearns to H.K. Tu. Enclosed recent report cards from Genesee Welseyan Seminar and Huntington School. Questions whether son will be able to maintain scholarship requirements at Andover. Unsure if difficulty is due to lack of ability or lack of serious purpose. Waiting to see how son performs at Andover before making a decison.
Transcription
September 12, 1927
Mr. K.Y.Tu
C/o Mr. H.K.Tong
Chihli River Commission
Tientsin, China
My dear Tu:
I am enclosing report cards which I recently received and which cover the work which your boy have recently been doing at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary and still later at summer session of the Hungtington School in Boston. The reports emphasize the very mediocre quality of your son’s performance and raise seriously the question as to his ability or willingness to meet the scholarship requirements which will be demanded of him here at Andover. He has been very insistent that he should be allowed to undertake our work, and I am willing to grant him the opportunity, though I must admit with serious misgivings as to the outcome.
I am still unable to determine in my own mind whether the difficulty is due to lack of ability or the boy’s part or lack of serious purpose. Both the factors probably enter into the situation, though I am inclined to think that the latter plays the more important part. Once your son has shown us what is able and willing to do, I can form a better opinion as to the real difficulty and can in convenience, perhaps, plan more wisely for his future. On the basis of his work to date, however, I can’t help questioning seriously the wisdom of continuing indefinitely the experiment of an American education.
Very sincerely yours.
Mr. K.Y.Tu
C/o Mr. H.K.Tong
Chihli River Commission
Tientsin, China
My dear Tu:
I am enclosing report cards which I recently received and which cover the work which your boy have recently been doing at the Genesee Wesleyan Seminary and still later at summer session of the Hungtington School in Boston. The reports emphasize the very mediocre quality of your son’s performance and raise seriously the question as to his ability or willingness to meet the scholarship requirements which will be demanded of him here at Andover. He has been very insistent that he should be allowed to undertake our work, and I am willing to grant him the opportunity, though I must admit with serious misgivings as to the outcome.
I am still unable to determine in my own mind whether the difficulty is due to lack of ability or the boy’s part or lack of serious purpose. Both the factors probably enter into the situation, though I am inclined to think that the latter plays the more important part. Once your son has shown us what is able and willing to do, I can form a better opinion as to the real difficulty and can in convenience, perhaps, plan more wisely for his future. On the basis of his work to date, however, I can’t help questioning seriously the wisdom of continuing indefinitely the experiment of an American education.
Very sincerely yours.
Creator
Dr. Alfred E. Stearns
Publisher
Phillips Academy
Date
September 12, 1927
Rights
All Rights Reserved By Phillips Academy
Language
English
Type
Correspondence