Poor Immigrant Makes Good

Posted on April 14, 2016 by annetbell

‪#‎HappyBirthday‬ to Anne Sullivan Macy born ‪#‎OnThisDay‬ in 1866. Macy was the eldest daughter of poor, unskilled Irish immigrants. When she was 7 years old, Macy developed trachoma, a bacterial infection of the eyes, which was left untreated. At age 10, she was sent to the Tewksbury Almshouse, an institution for the poor. In 1880, Macy was sent to the Perkins School for the Blind. It was not until Macy was 15 years old, and almost completely blind, that she had an operation to restore some of her sight. While at Perkins, Macy learned to read and write and the manual alphabet used by the deaf. Graduating valedictorian of her class in 1886, Macy found a job working for the Keller family whose 6 year old daughter, Helen, was deaf and blind. When Macy started working with Helen she would sign words into Helen’s hand, trying to help her understand the idea that everything has a name. Anne took what she learned at Perkins and adapted it to produce a more natural way of teaching. Macy’s work with Keller helped establish education for children who were blind, deaf-blind, or visually impaired that is still used today. (Photo Credit: Perkins School for the Blind Archives)‪#‎womenshistory‬

Unknown's avatar

About annetbell

I am a retired elementary teacher, well seasoned world traveler,new blogger, grandmother, and a new enthusiastic discoverer of the wonderfully complex country of India. Anne
This entry was posted in empowering women, service, Uncategorized, USA and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

11 Responses to Poor Immigrant Makes Good

  1. Chris The Story Reading Ape's avatar The Story Reading Ape says:
    April 14, 2016 at 3:32 pm

    Reblogged this on Chris The Story Reading Ape's Blog and commented:
    YOU CAN make a difference – Regardless of your ‘limitations’ 🐵

    Like

    Reply
  2. lbeth1950's avatar lbeth1950 says:
    April 14, 2016 at 3:42 pm

    Thanks for pointing sting this.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  3. Shauny's avatar ShaunyNews says:
    April 14, 2016 at 5:30 pm

    Didn’t know this story made it across the pond. She is pretty famous over here x
    But it did happen over the pond…so, fair’s fair 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.