Anne Sullivan: From a Poorhouse, Nearly Blind… to Helen Keller's Teacher

A nearly blind girl in a poorhouse ran up to an important visitor.

She said, "I want to go to school!"

This is the story of Anne Sullivan.

Welcome to brightlivesenglish.com, where we teach real English using real-life stories.

Poorhouse. In the past, a poorhouse was a place where very poor people lived, paid for by the government.

At 9, she and her brother were sent to a poorhouse.

Beg. To beg is to ask for something very much, with deep feeling.

She begged him to let her go to school.

Operation. An operation is when doctors cut into the body to fix something.

Operations helped her to see better.

Graduate. To graduate is to finish your studies at a school or university.

In 1886, she graduated at the top of her class.

Patience. Patience is the ability to wait and keep trying without getting angry.

With great patience, she spelled words into Helen's hand.

Now, one pattern: by the time, plus the past perfect.

By the time she met Helen, she had learned a lot.

It means: first she learned a lot, then she met Helen.

Ready? Let's begin.

Anne Sullivan was born in Massachusetts, in the USA, in 1866, to a poor Irish family.

At about 5, an eye disease badly damaged her sight.

Her mother died, and her father left the family.

At 9, she and her brother were sent to a poorhouse.

It was crowded, and many people there were old or sick.

A few months later, her little brother Jimmie died.

She could not read or write, but she wanted to learn more than anything.

Would she ever go to school?

In 1880, an important man, Frank Sanborn, came to visit the poorhouse.

Anne ran to him and cried, "Mr Sanborn, I want to go to school!"

She begged him to let her go to school.

It worked. At 14, she went to the Perkins School for the Blind, in Boston.

Richer girls laughed at her because she knew so little.

She had a quick temper, but she studied hard.

Operations helped her to see better.

She learned to read, and she learned the finger alphabet, which lets people who cannot see or hear feel words in their hand.

In 1886, she graduated at the top of her class, and she gave the main speech.

She told her classmates to go out into life cheerfully and hopefully.

In 1887, she went to Alabama to teach a girl of six who could not see or hear: Helen Keller.

By the time she met Helen, she had learned a lot, from books and from her own hard life.

Helen was angry and out of control.

With great patience, she spelled words into Helen's hand.

One day in April, at a water pump, Helen understood that everything has a name.

That night, Helen kissed her for the first time.

Anne wrote, "I thought my heart would burst."

She stayed with Helen for almost 50 years.

At college, she spelled every lecture into Helen's hand.

The writer Mark Twain called her a "miracle worker".

She died in 1936.

Let's review. At 9, she and her brother were sent to a poorhouse.

She begged him to let her go to school.

Operations helped her to see better.

In 1886, she graduated at the top of her class.

With great patience, she spelled words into Helen's hand.

And remember: by the time she met Helen, she had learned a lot.

Anne Sullivan's story teaches us: a great teacher can open a whole world.

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