Anne Sullivan was Helen Keller's private teacher for many years. I very much like this quote of hers: "I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built upon the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think. Whereas, if the child is left to himself, he will think more and better."
When I was a young professor of psychology at a small liberal arts college in Connecticut, I received an invitation from the mother of a child with disabilities. Her name was Kennedy but she was not a member of the illustrious family of our assassinated president. She was a mother who loved her challenged son and refused to keep him hidden as so many parents did. (Younger educators may find it hard to believe what many families did in the past to hide their children from the public eye.) She had a cause, a passion, and a compelling drive to get her son and others with similar problems into the public school system.
When I asked what I could do to help, she explained that she knew a pediatrician who was willing to volunteer twelve hours per week to see and evaluate the children. He said he would do it if she could find a licensed psychologist to work with him.
I was already teaching too many classes but I could not resist the chance to do what I was trained to do and help this valiant woman and others who were now finding ways to get their children into the school system. The good doctor and I worked together under the supervision of Mrs. Kennedy for three years. She brought in families who wanted our services and we tested the children-he physically and I psychologically. We wrote reports for the school system, certifying that these children could learn and, in many cases, become independent and even self-supporting. As they say, the rest is history.
The public schools in this country have done and are doing outstanding work with children who need extra help. There are few causes that are more worthy. We want to make the playing field as level as we can for these youngsters, as Anne Sullivan did for Helen Keller.
Back to Anne Sullivan's quote: she certainly didn't mean that schools shouldn't reach out to the deaf and blind. I believe, rather, she meant that people who are in need of added help may not be challenged in all aspects of their lives. We know now that Helen Keller was an extremely bright and perceptive person once she was able to communicate. She reached people all over the world and showed that indeed, she could think, feel, relate, contribute, and make life better for countless others.
Bless you Anne Sullivan. You never gave up on Helen. Today, others-many in the public schools-are following in your footsteps. The caregivers use their heads, hearts and hands to eliminate obstacles. All the youngsters need is a little help.