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3.8 AVERAGE
3.8 AVERAGE
I give 5 stars to her life, 3 to the book. I am in awe of everything Helen Keller accomplished given her physical limitations. Truly, her life is remarkable and inspiring. However, this book felt like a chore to read at times. It took me a long time to get through it, in spite of its brevity. It was not very engaging although her perspective on life was fascinating at different times throughout the book.
Female autobiographies written in the early 1900s definitely leave out the more exciting details of their life, though I did enjoy and was shocked by the wildness of her pranks as a child. Despite that, I really had to rethink some of my biases while reading. For example, she mentions her love for going to plays, and I was like, "What does she get out of them!?" Or, I also would wonder about where she got her phrasing or wording from, and then realize, "Where does anyone? We are all effected by the people we're with and the entertainment we take in."
I went from thinking that I had respect for the deaf and blind to now realizing that I have some need for growth in that area based on some of initial reactions and reflections that I had.
Helen was a tremendous person, and I had often wondered prior to reading her story why out of all the people with her disability that she should be the most known representative. I now understand. For what she had to endure in understanding complex mathematics alone, she deserves to be remembered!
I went from thinking that I had respect for the deaf and blind to now realizing that I have some need for growth in that area based on some of initial reactions and reflections that I had.
Helen was a tremendous person, and I had often wondered prior to reading her story why out of all the people with her disability that she should be the most known representative. I now understand. For what she had to endure in understanding complex mathematics alone, she deserves to be remembered!
This. Was. Amazing. I remember learning about Helen Keller in school, but the only thing I actually remember reading or being told, was that she was a terrible child and her teacher had to strictly discipline her. Boy was that wrong. Yes, she was a mean child before being taught. But how can you really blame her? She couldn't see or hear anything, no one could understand what she wanted, and she was alone and scared in her darkness.Once it clicked that everything had a name and she could learn them, she became a curious child, eager to learn about everything. The actual disciplining was very short; only a few weeks. The rate at which Helen learned is remarkable, and Miss Sullivan was an amazing woman. I want to learn more about her now. Did she have her own life? What did she sacrifice to be with Helen 24/7? Did she ever get married? Things I plan to research. I have taught the kids briefly about Helen, and I can't wait until they are old enough to read and appreciate her story fully. Helen accomplished some incredible things while still young.
Below are some quotes that I found interesting to me personally, considering I homeschool. Some are from Helen, some from Miss Sullivan. There are a lot, so if you don't want to read through them all, I'll leave you with this one: "She excels other deaf people because she was taught as if she were normal."
"It is impossible, I think, to read in one day four or five different books in different languages and treating of widely different subjects, and not lose sight of the very ends for which one reads. When one reads hurriedly and nervously, having in mind written tests and examinations, one’s brain becomes encumbered with a lot of choice bric-a-brac for which there seems to be little use."
"“Knowledge is power.” Rather, knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge—broad, deep knowledge—is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low. To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man’s progress is to feel the great heart-throbs of humanity through the centuries; and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward striving, one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life."
"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content."
"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built up on 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, if less showily. Let him go and come freely, let him touch real things and combine his impressions for himself, instead of sitting indoors at a little round table, while a sweet-voiced teacher suggests that he build a stone wall with his wooden blocks, or make a rainbow out of strips of coloured paper, or plant straw trees in bead flower-pots. Such teaching fills the mind with artificial associations that must be got rid of, before the child can develop independent ideas out of actual experiences."
"Since I have abandoned the idea of regular lessons, I find that Helen learns much faster. I am convinced that the time spent by the teacher in digging out of the child what she has put into him, for the sake of satisfying herself that it has taken root, is so much time thrown away. IT’s MUCH BETTER, I THINK, TO ASSUME THAT THE CHILD IS DOING HIS PART, AND THAT THE SEED YOU HAVE SOWN WILL BEAR FRUIT IN DUE TIME. It’s only fair to the child, anyhow, and it saves you much unnecessary trouble."
"I need a teacher quite as much as Helen. I know that the education of this child will be the distinguishing event of my life, if I have the brains and perseverance to accomplish it. I have made up my mind about one thing: Helen must learn to use books- indeed, we must both learn to use them..."
"It’s a great mistake, I think, to put children off with falsehoods and nonsense, when their growing powers of observation and discrimination excite in them a desire to know about things."
"Of course I don’t try to explain everything. If I did, there would be no opportunity for the play of fancy. TOO MUCH EXPLANATION DIRECTS THE CHILD’s ATTENTION TO WORDS AND SENTENCES, SO THAT HE FAILS TO GET THE THOUGHT AS A WHOLE. I do not think anyone can read, or talk for that matter, until he forgets words and sentences in the technical sense."
"I NEVER TAUGHT LANGUAGE FOR THE PURPOSE OF TEACHING IT; but invariably used language as a medium for the communication of THOUGHT; thus the learning of language was COINCIDENT with the acquisition of knowledge. In order to use language intelligently, one must have something to talk ABOUT, and having something to talk about is the result of having had experiences; no amount of language training will enable our little children to use language with ease and fluency unless they have something clearly in their minds which they wish to communicate, or unless we succeed in awakening in them a desire to know what is in the minds of others."
"During the first two years of her intellectual life, I required Helen to write very little. In order to write one must have something to write about, and having something to write about requires some mental preparation. The memory must be stored with ideas and the mind must be enriched with knowledge before writing becomes a natural and pleasurable effort. Too often, I think, children are required to write before they have anything to say. Teach them to think and read and talk without self-repression, and they will write because they cannot help it."
"I believe every child has hidden away somewhere in his being noble capacities which may be quickened and developed if we go about it in the right way; but we shall never properly develop the higher natures of our little ones while we continue to fill their minds with the so-called rudiments. Mathematics will never make them loving, nor will the accurate knowledge of the size and shape of the world help them to appreciate its beauties. Let us lead them during the first years to find their greatest pleasure in Nature. Let them run in the fields, learn about animals, and observe real things. Children will educate themselves under right conditions. They require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction."
"...the constant companionship of good books has been of supreme importance in her education."
"It is not necessary that a child should understand every word in a book before he can read with pleasure and profit. Indeed, only such explanations should be given as are really essential."
"...never to silence a child who asks questions, but to answer the questions as truly as possible; for, says Miss Sullivan, the question is the door to the child’s mind. Miss Sullivan never needlessly belittled her ideas or expressions to suit the supposed state of the child’s intelligence."
"She excels other deaf people because she was taught as if she were normal."
Below are some quotes that I found interesting to me personally, considering I homeschool. Some are from Helen, some from Miss Sullivan. There are a lot, so if you don't want to read through them all, I'll leave you with this one: "She excels other deaf people because she was taught as if she were normal."
"It is impossible, I think, to read in one day four or five different books in different languages and treating of widely different subjects, and not lose sight of the very ends for which one reads. When one reads hurriedly and nervously, having in mind written tests and examinations, one’s brain becomes encumbered with a lot of choice bric-a-brac for which there seems to be little use."
"“Knowledge is power.” Rather, knowledge is happiness, because to have knowledge—broad, deep knowledge—is to know true ends from false, and lofty things from low. To know the thoughts and deeds that have marked man’s progress is to feel the great heart-throbs of humanity through the centuries; and if one does not feel in these pulsations a heavenward striving, one must indeed be deaf to the harmonies of life."
"Everything has its wonders, even darkness and silence, and I learn, whatever state I may be in, therein to be content."
"I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built up on 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, if less showily. Let him go and come freely, let him touch real things and combine his impressions for himself, instead of sitting indoors at a little round table, while a sweet-voiced teacher suggests that he build a stone wall with his wooden blocks, or make a rainbow out of strips of coloured paper, or plant straw trees in bead flower-pots. Such teaching fills the mind with artificial associations that must be got rid of, before the child can develop independent ideas out of actual experiences."
"Since I have abandoned the idea of regular lessons, I find that Helen learns much faster. I am convinced that the time spent by the teacher in digging out of the child what she has put into him, for the sake of satisfying herself that it has taken root, is so much time thrown away. IT’s MUCH BETTER, I THINK, TO ASSUME THAT THE CHILD IS DOING HIS PART, AND THAT THE SEED YOU HAVE SOWN WILL BEAR FRUIT IN DUE TIME. It’s only fair to the child, anyhow, and it saves you much unnecessary trouble."
"I need a teacher quite as much as Helen. I know that the education of this child will be the distinguishing event of my life, if I have the brains and perseverance to accomplish it. I have made up my mind about one thing: Helen must learn to use books- indeed, we must both learn to use them..."
"It’s a great mistake, I think, to put children off with falsehoods and nonsense, when their growing powers of observation and discrimination excite in them a desire to know about things."
"Of course I don’t try to explain everything. If I did, there would be no opportunity for the play of fancy. TOO MUCH EXPLANATION DIRECTS THE CHILD’s ATTENTION TO WORDS AND SENTENCES, SO THAT HE FAILS TO GET THE THOUGHT AS A WHOLE. I do not think anyone can read, or talk for that matter, until he forgets words and sentences in the technical sense."
"I NEVER TAUGHT LANGUAGE FOR THE PURPOSE OF TEACHING IT; but invariably used language as a medium for the communication of THOUGHT; thus the learning of language was COINCIDENT with the acquisition of knowledge. In order to use language intelligently, one must have something to talk ABOUT, and having something to talk about is the result of having had experiences; no amount of language training will enable our little children to use language with ease and fluency unless they have something clearly in their minds which they wish to communicate, or unless we succeed in awakening in them a desire to know what is in the minds of others."
"During the first two years of her intellectual life, I required Helen to write very little. In order to write one must have something to write about, and having something to write about requires some mental preparation. The memory must be stored with ideas and the mind must be enriched with knowledge before writing becomes a natural and pleasurable effort. Too often, I think, children are required to write before they have anything to say. Teach them to think and read and talk without self-repression, and they will write because they cannot help it."
"I believe every child has hidden away somewhere in his being noble capacities which may be quickened and developed if we go about it in the right way; but we shall never properly develop the higher natures of our little ones while we continue to fill their minds with the so-called rudiments. Mathematics will never make them loving, nor will the accurate knowledge of the size and shape of the world help them to appreciate its beauties. Let us lead them during the first years to find their greatest pleasure in Nature. Let them run in the fields, learn about animals, and observe real things. Children will educate themselves under right conditions. They require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction."
"...the constant companionship of good books has been of supreme importance in her education."
"It is not necessary that a child should understand every word in a book before he can read with pleasure and profit. Indeed, only such explanations should be given as are really essential."
"...never to silence a child who asks questions, but to answer the questions as truly as possible; for, says Miss Sullivan, the question is the door to the child’s mind. Miss Sullivan never needlessly belittled her ideas or expressions to suit the supposed state of the child’s intelligence."
"She excels other deaf people because she was taught as if she were normal."
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
When I was in school, we read a little biography about Helen Keller (I'm talking something on the level of a Little Golden Book). The main thing that I took away was that Helen had locked her mother in a closet for several hours and thought it was funny. So, while I knew in theory that she was a great lady, my impression of her was tainted by the closet episode. However, I decided to give her another try, and I'm glad I did.
Helen wrote this when she was 22 years old, so it does not cover the whole span of her life. She begins with her family tree, birth, and how she came to be blind and deaf. Quickly, though, she moves into her years of learning and discovery under her teacher. She relishes in travels, correspondence, discoveries in the "out of doors", and books. She doesn't wallow in her difficulties. She works hard to be like other people and learn all she can.
Several of the reviews on here have spoke of disappointment that Helen didn't talk about what it was like to be blind and deaf, but I don't think that is accurate. She does discuss some of the frustrations of trying to navigate in a world of sight and sound; however, she often speaks of "seeing" and "hearing" things as if she were not blind or deaf. She discusses this, to a degree, in one of her letters. Helen does this because she really does experience the world around her through vibrations, smells, and the descriptions of others. Then she tries to convey her impressions as a person with sight and sound would. She is positive and optimistic.
Honestly, she led a more exciting life than many people I know who have the use of their eyes and ears. She availed herself of every opportunity to learn, grow, and communicate with others. She traveled the globe, wrote loads of letters, learned English, French, German, Greek, and Latin, and she used her influence to help other children who were blind and deaf. The passion she had for learning oozes from this book and makes me realize how many things I take for granted and how much time I waste.
I really enjoyed this one and I hope you do too.
Helen wrote this when she was 22 years old, so it does not cover the whole span of her life. She begins with her family tree, birth, and how she came to be blind and deaf. Quickly, though, she moves into her years of learning and discovery under her teacher. She relishes in travels, correspondence, discoveries in the "out of doors", and books. She doesn't wallow in her difficulties. She works hard to be like other people and learn all she can.
Several of the reviews on here have spoke of disappointment that Helen didn't talk about what it was like to be blind and deaf, but I don't think that is accurate. She does discuss some of the frustrations of trying to navigate in a world of sight and sound; however, she often speaks of "seeing" and "hearing" things as if she were not blind or deaf. She discusses this, to a degree, in one of her letters. Helen does this because she really does experience the world around her through vibrations, smells, and the descriptions of others. Then she tries to convey her impressions as a person with sight and sound would. She is positive and optimistic.
Honestly, she led a more exciting life than many people I know who have the use of their eyes and ears. She availed herself of every opportunity to learn, grow, and communicate with others. She traveled the globe, wrote loads of letters, learned English, French, German, Greek, and Latin, and she used her influence to help other children who were blind and deaf. The passion she had for learning oozes from this book and makes me realize how many things I take for granted and how much time I waste.
I really enjoyed this one and I hope you do too.
“One can never consent to creep when one feels an impulse to soar.”
And that is what Helen Keller did. She surely did soar.
How is it to be both blind and deaf? Dishabilating? Feeling powerless and useless? Nah, this is not a sob story. This is the story of a girl who refused to confine and accept defeat to the external circumstances. This book is a powerful read.
And that is what Helen Keller did. She surely did soar.
How is it to be both blind and deaf? Dishabilating? Feeling powerless and useless? Nah, this is not a sob story. This is the story of a girl who refused to confine and accept defeat to the external circumstances. This book is a powerful read.
I loved getting to read Helen Keller's view of her own life and Annie Sullivan's reflections on her teaching style and the progress Helen made. However, there were aspects of the second half of the book dealing with Sullivan's reflection that was confusing due to a third-party narrator interjecting at times. Also, the final two portions of the autobiography included long excerpts from Keller's earlier text dealing with her "plagiarism" that was unnecessary. A narration would have sufficed, but excerpts comparing Keller to the original texts were laborious.
This book as been on my to-read list for a few years now. I was excited when I saw it in the audio section at the library. Helen Keller wrote this book while a student in college. She is a very inspirational person and I enjoyed learning about her life. I would, of course, like to learn more about her since the book is about the early years of her life.
I listened to the last half of the book while driving to and from Provo earlier this month. I loved her thoughts on education found in chapter 20. I found myself with a piece of paper and a pen trying to take notes on a paper without being able to look at what I wrote (I was driving after all). I may have to check out the book to understand what I wrote! The basic idea was that you go to college to learn but you don't even have time to think because you are so busy. How ironic! She spoke of books being her utopia and a key to her seeing the world.
I did struggle, however, with how she expressed herself at times. She is very poetic and flowery which I didn't like as much.
I listened to the last half of the book while driving to and from Provo earlier this month. I loved her thoughts on education found in chapter 20. I found myself with a piece of paper and a pen trying to take notes on a paper without being able to look at what I wrote (I was driving after all). I may have to check out the book to understand what I wrote! The basic idea was that you go to college to learn but you don't even have time to think because you are so busy. How ironic! She spoke of books being her utopia and a key to her seeing the world.
I did struggle, however, with how she expressed herself at times. She is very poetic and flowery which I didn't like as much.
A beautifully written, exquisitely descriptive narrative by a truly remarkable woman.