Imagine being outside and hearing the birds sing, but when you open your eyes all you can see are blurry figures. That is what it was like for Anne Sullivan, yet she still managed to teach a blind, deaf, and mute girl how to communicate with the world and as a result she is remembered as a great teacher. Listen carefully as I tell you about Anne Sullivan.
Anne Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills, MA. When she was 5, she got an eye disease called trachoma, which severely damaged her eyes making it difficult for her to see. In 1874 when she was 8 her mother died and later her father abandoned the family. After she and her siblings became orphans they were sent to live at the Tewksbury Almshouse, where her brother later died. In 1880, Sullivan got into the Perkins School for the blind where she had surgery on her eyes which made her eyesight better. At her graduation in June 1886, she gave a speech telling her classmates “ duty bids us go forth, into active life. Let us go cheerfully, hopefully, and earnestly, and set ourselves to find our especial part. When we have found it, willingly and
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After a long month, Helen and Sullivan had a huge success; Helen made her first connection with sign language and the objects around her. It all happened on April 5, 1887, when Sullivan spelled “W-A-T-E-R” into Helen’s hand while running water over her other hand. Thanks to Sullivan, Helen learned approximately 600 words, most of her times tables, and to read Braille within months! News of their success spread and Helen became a celebrity. As a result of their work, Helen went on to Radcliffe College and despite her own bad eyes Sullivan helped her with her studies there. Sullivan spelled class lectures into Helen’s hands and spent hours translating information from textbooks for Helen. Thanks to Sullivan the result was that Helen became the first blind and deaf person to graduate from