The Story of Anne Sullivan, Helen Keller's Teacher

You probably know the basics of how Anne Sullivan changed an almost feral blind and deaf child into the highly educated Helen Keller, especially if you've seen the movie The Miracle Worker. But the movie (and play) only showed the most dramatic parts of a lifelong story. There's a lot more to learn about it, like how Anne Sullivan came to have the skills she would need to take on such a challenging job. She had overcome her family's poverty, learned how to deal with the world as a blind person, and worked alongside both blind and deaf students at school, including one who was both deaf and blind. Besides the unique experiences that armed Sullivan for the task of educating Helen Keller, she also possessed a combination of stubbornness and patience that led to great things for Keller later in her life. She took a very difficult job and saw it through, because she knew that success would be worth the effort.