Helen Keller's Methods of Learning to Write

Helen Keller's story is a testament to the power of determination and innovative teaching methods in overcoming seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Born a normal baby, Helen lost her sight and hearing at 19 months due to a severe illness. Trapped in a dark and silent world, she faced immense challenges in communication and learning. However, with the help of her devoted teacher, Anne Sullivan, Helen not only learned to communicate but also became a prolific writer, advocate, and inspiration to millions.

Discovering a World Beyond Sight and Sound

Helen Keller's education highlights the importance of recognizing and catering to diverse learning styles. While visually motivated students thrive on written information, others have tactile needs. Helen, deprived of sight and hearing, relied heavily on her remaining senses, particularly touch, to explore the world. She became incredibly adept at feeling textures, vibrations, and movements.

Anne Sullivan understood that Helen's hands were "untaught and unsatisfied," leading her to destroy anything they contacted. Sullivan's breakthrough was teaching Helen through her hands, providing interesting stimuli that engaged her mind. Helen identified flowers and plants by their scents and described their physical qualities in detail. She even learned Morse code by having it tapped onto her hand, allowing her teacher to communicate from across the room by tapping on the floor.

This illustrates that there is a world that can be discovered beyond the average student’s visual or auditory capabilities. Just as tactile learners benefit from pop-up books and touch-and-feel materials, Helen's experience shows the potential for learning through alternative sensory pathways.

Engaging the Mind Through Active Hands

The story of Helen Keller emphasizes the importance of active engagement in the learning process. A child who cannot sit still during lessons may relax and become an academic sponge if allowed to draw, play with blocks, or hold a favorite toy while listening. Insisting that students sit still with empty hands and give undivided attention to every spoken word can hinder their learning. Some children's movement is a vital part of how they take in information.

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Anne Sullivan recognized this and provided Helen with opportunities to engage her hands while learning. When Helen's hands had interesting stimuli, Helen learned. This approach aligns with the understanding that visual students absorb information through their eyes, auditory students absorb information through their ears, and tactile students absorb information through their hands.

Focusing on What to Learn, Not Just What is Known

A pivotal moment in Helen Keller's education occurred while she was stringing beads. When Helen's attempts proved incorrect, Anne touched Helen's forehead and then spelled the word "t-h-i-n-k" into Helen's hand. Helen quickly grasped that words could relate to ideas and intangible concepts, opening a world to her far beyond the straightforward naming of physical objects.

This breakthrough demonstrates the importance of focusing on what a child can learn, rather than being limited by preconceived notions of what they should know at a certain age. Educational scope-and-sequence listings can be harmful if they cause educators and parents to become unduly concerned when students reach benchmarks either before or after the scheduled date. Instead, we should follow the lead of the child who wants to take on an ambitious project, though perhaps helping him to scale it back as needed in the beginning.

Anne Sullivan abandoned scheduled lessons and simply led Helen on daily adventures through normal life, believing that "lessons" might limit the range of knowledge Helen could absorb. Her hunch proved correct, as Helen excelled far beyond what anyone dreamed possible and far beyond any progress made by previous deaf-blind students. Helen rapidly made up for lost time by learning to "read" lips with her fingers, learning to speak audibly, learning to read five different versions of Braille and raised print, and learning to write with pencil and paper, as well as with a typewriter and a Braille-writer.

Language as the Key to Learning

Anne Sullivan believed that language was the key to unlocking Helen's potential. She communicated with Helen in complete sentences, even before young Helen understood all of the words. Once Helen grasped the fundamentals of the manual alphabet, Anne began reading books to her, spelling word after word, sentence after sentence, and page after page into Helen's hand.

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Helen's mind soaked up the intricacies of language at an amazing rate. Having learned very little of spoken language before losing her hearing, her mind was virtually a blank page. However, she learned the grammar and sentence structure necessary for intelligent communication through the language of the books that were read to her.

This highlights the importance of reading aloud to children, even as they grow older. Their minds can comprehend language far sooner than their eyes can read the words for themselves. Exploring the world through textures and movements adds another dimension for visual and auditory learners, but it may also be the key that opens the door of learning for the tactile student.

Visual Aids and Accommodations

As Helen progressed in her education, she relied on various visual aids and accommodations to access information. These tools played a crucial role in her ability to learn, write, and participate in academic life.

The Manual Alphabet

The manual alphabet was Helen's initial gateway to communication. This method involves someone finger-spelling every word they say with their signing hand held to the listener's hand. Each letter is a distinct sensation experience, and with practice, Helen began to recognize the differences, similar to how sighted people recognize the visual differences in printed alphabets. Within a few months, this method of hand-reading became second nature to her, expanding her vocabulary and increasing her speed at signing and receiving.

Braille and Raised Print

After learning the manual alphabet, Anne Sullivan began using it to read to Helen. Sullivan signed every letter into Keller’s palm. Inspired by how one of Keller’s baby cousins was learning language by listening to her mom, and thought that continuous exposure to language through her hands would give Helen the chance to learn language as fluidly as hearing children.

Sullivan started teaching Keller to read raised print first because the alphabet resembled printed letters and would allow her to write on her own. Raised print was a prototype to Braille, which was invented by Louis Braille in 1824 while he was a student at Institut National des Jeunes Aveugles, the first ever school for the blind, located in France. Raised print had some weaknesses- 1. The letters had to be printed in a very large font in order for someone to trace each letter with their fingers. This meant each page could only contain a handful of letters and words and every book needed far more paper to be printed in full. 2. Eventually the letters would fade and wear out. Braille letters wear out too, but at a much slower rate. These books did not have much longevity.Braille had its own weakness in that there was no standardized Braille alphabet for all English speakers until 1932. In The Story of My Life Keller mentions being able to read in multiple varieties of Braille: English; American; and New York Point.

Accessible College Experience

Helen was determined to go to college, and she wanted to go to Harvard specifically. There were a few problems to this goal: 1. Harvard did not admit female students, but they had a sister school, a women’s college, on the same campus called Radcliffe College. 2. Radcliffe was incredibly competitive, and unlikely to want to accommodate a disabled student.

Keller was only a teenager at the time but she was by then very used to everyone doubting she’d accomplish anything and doing everything in her power to surpass their expectations.

While there she had a massive struggle obtaining accessible reading materials. The textbooks her teachers assigned had never been printed in raised print or braille before, and though Keller had friends who volunteered to transcribe her reading material, there was never enough time to transcribe all of it. When Keller could not rely on accessible reading material, Anne Sullivan would step in and read to her through the manual alphabet. Sullivan was also present for all of Keller’s lectures to translate what the professors were saying. Keller would listen to Sullivan’s hand and try to remember everything she could, and at night when her classmates were sleeping she would be up transcribing what she remembered into notes she could read.

Writing by Hand and with a Typewriter

Helen learned to write with pencil and paper, as well as with a typewriter and a Braille-writer. She also learned to lip-read by placing her fingers on the lips and throat of the speaker while the words were simultaneously spelled out for her. These tools enabled her to express her thoughts and ideas in written form, contributing to her success as a writer and advocate.

Overcoming Skepticism and Achieving Greatness

Helen Keller's achievements were often met with skepticism and disbelief. Some questioned whether she could have possibly written multiple books or graduated college. However, her mastery of language, combined with her determination and the support of Anne Sullivan and others, allowed her to overcome these doubts and achieve greatness.

Helen rapidly made up for lost time by learning to “read” lips with her fingers, learning to speak audibly, learning to read five different versions of Braille and raised print, and learning to write with pencil and paper, as well as with a typewriter and a Braille-writer. Helen learned to read and speak in English, French, and German - all before she entered a private high school to prepare for college. Helen had set attending college as her own goal while still a young girl just beginning to learn and accomplished her graduation from Radcliffe College under a schedule considered normal for hearing and sighted students.

Helen Keller's Enduring Legacy

Helen Keller's life and work have had a profound impact on the world. She demonstrated that individuals with disabilities are capable of achieving extraordinary things with the right support and opportunities. Her advocacy for the rights of people with disabilities, her writings, and her lectures helped to change societal attitudes and promote inclusivity.

Helen’s case is so significant for study because of what she overcame. She was not only left blind after her sudden illness but also deaf. She never let her weaknesses be stronger than her strengths. Over the process of hardwork and patience she learned to write, read, talk and do mathematics. No one thought it was even possible for her to be taught.

Helen Keller's story is an enduring saga of how sheer will, education, and compassion can help one sail through the harshest challenges life throws at a person. Helen Keller and Braille remain synonymous with hope as well as inclusivity. Her education and training represent an extraordinary accomplishment in the education of persons with these disabilities.

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