Customer Reviews

Helen Keller's Teacher (Scholastic Biography)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I had some problems with my order (the book description had been listed incorrectly), the speed with which this was remedied was impressive. I would absolutely recommend this seller!

My daughter's book club read this book (ages 7-10). It was widely loved. This book's discussion of adversity and Annie's personal strength is largely its appeal.

To maintain their effectiveness, educators must constantly troll for new and interesting ways to present their material. I recently attended a meeting where a candidate for a position in the education department was doing a learning presentation. One of the topics covered was the difficulty of finding alternative ways to present the same topic and we discussed the different ways in which students process information and reach a state of understanding.
Sometimes, casting your gaze only in the forward direction can cause you to miss solutions already tried and proven successful. This book is a biography of the life of Annie Sullivan, the woman who educated Helen Keller. Helen was a woman who was rendered blind and deaf by an illness while she was very young. Annie was a woman who was nearly blind in her youth and was raised in a home for the indigent. Annie's problems in trying to educate Helen were more difficult than most educators face. She had to somehow relate to Helen and impart concepts that most of us obtain through either visual or auditory means.
Annie was fortunate that her student was very intelligent, but that fact should not diminish the significance of her accomplishments. Her methods of adapting to the situation and developing new ways to present material remain an object lesson in quality education over a century after her student became the first deafblind person to graduate from college.
This story is a demonstration of the power of the human desire to learn and understand. I strongly recommend it as required reading in late elementary school.

Everyone knows the story of Helen Keller, but the life story of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, is even more remarkable. I read this originally when I was 10 years old and it made such a vivid impression on me - that no matter what obstacles life throws at you, you CAN come out victorious - that I recommend it highly for every young girl (8-15 years old) as an essential part of growing up. I recently bought it as a birthday gift for my boss's daughter, and still have my original copy on my bookshelf.