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 Miracle Worker. But the movie only showed the most dramatic parts. There's a lot more to the story, about how Anne Sullivan came to have the skills she would need to take on such a challenging job. 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.
I can only imagine Sullivan’s frustration trying to communicate with Keller in the beginning. For that matter her whole life was days, weeks, months of trying punctuated by eureka moments. Every parent knows the irritation of trying to make a point to a kid that can't, or doesn't want to, grasp it.
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