Annie Sullivan What if you had to choose between being blind, deaf or dumb? A decision like this would not come easy. Without being able to see, hear or talk it would make everyday activities a struggle. But what if you lost you ability to do all of these. Imagine what it would be like to be blind, deaf and dumb. Well for a girl named Helen Keller this was a reality. She seemed to be trapped inside her self and had no connection to the outside world. That is until she met a woman by the name of Annie Sullivan who became one of the most well known teachers of the blind and deaf. Annie Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. Her mother and father had emigrated from Ireland to reap the benefits of America, but instead found destitute poverty. He father was a farmer who had trouble finding work He was also an alcoholic and often beat Annie in fits of rage. She had one brother Jimmy who was crippled from tuberculosis. Growing up she was subjected to death and sickness. When Annie was 5 years old she contracted trachoma, an illness that left her blind. Two years latter Annie’s’ mother passed away. Her father did not want to take the responsibility of raising the children so he abandoned her and Jimmy as orphans in the Tewksbury orphanage. Shortly after losing her mother, her brother passed away and Annie was completely alone. Despite all the hardships Annie had to endear she still had a strong desire to go to school. One day Frank Sunburn, who was state board charities chairman, visited the Tewksbury orphanage. Annie wanted to be educated so badly that she threw herself in front of him crying, begging and pleading for a chance to go to school. Frank Sunburn granted her the gift of an education. After a series of operations she regained her sight. Her vision was never the same and she still had trouble seeing. She was sent to a school for the blind known as the Perkins Institute for the blind and graduated as class valedictorian in 1886. After she graduated she received her first teaching assignment. She was required to teach the daughter of a wealthy southern couple named Helen Keller. When Keller was a baby she had a bad case of acute congestion that left her deaf, blind and dumb. Helen was a wild child who was rambunctious and disobedient. The family had never tried to teach her any manners. Sullivan began the teaching Keller obedience using tough love and discipline. She also taught her the alphabet. She communicated with Keller using a manual sigh language and brail alphabet that few knew even existed. Sullivan was even able to teach Keller to speak. Keller and Sullivan stayed together for their whole lives. Together Sullivan helped Helen graduate from the Perkins Institute for the blind, coaching her and helping translate words into signs she could understand. After collage Sullivan stayed with Keller. Together they toured the United States giving lectures. As a pair they were in high demand. Annie Sullivan What if you had to choose between being blind, deaf or dumb? A decision like this would not come easy. Without being able to see, hear or talk it would make everyday activities a struggle. But what if you lost you ability to do all of these. Imagine what it would be like to be blind, deaf and dumb. Well for a girl named Helen Keller this was a reality. She seemed to be trapped inside her self and had no connection to the outside world. That is until she met a woman by the name of Annie Sullivan who became one of the most well known teachers of the blind and deaf. Annie Sullivan was born on April 14, 1866 in Feeding Hills, Massachusetts. Her mother and father had emigrated from Ireland to reap the benefits of America, but instead found destitute poverty. He father was a farmer who had trouble finding work He was also an alcoholic and often beat Annie in fits of rage. She had one brother Jimmy who was crippled from tuberculosis. Growing up she was subjected to death and sickness. When Annie was 5 years old she contracted trachoma, an illness that left her blind. Two years latter Annie’s’ mother passed away. Her father did not want to take the responsibility of raising the children so he abandoned her and Jimmy as orphans in the Tewksbury orphanage. Shortly after losing her mother, her brother passed away and Annie was completely alone. Despite all the hardships Annie had to endear she still had a strong desire to go to school. One day Frank Sunburn, who was state board charities chairman, visited the Tewksbury orphanage. Annie wanted to be educated so badly that she threw herself in front of him crying, begging and pleading for a chance to go to school. Frank Sunburn granted her the gift of an education. After a series of operations she regained her sight. Her vision was never the same and she still had trouble seeing. She was sent to a school for the blind known as the Perkins Institute for the blind and graduated as class valedictorian in 1886. After she graduated she received her first teaching assignment. She was required to teach the daughter of a wealthy southern couple named Helen Keller. When Keller was a baby she had a bad case of acute congestion that left her deaf, blind and dumb. Helen was a wild child who was rambunctious and disobedient. The family had never tried to teach her any manners. Sullivan began the teaching Keller obedience using tough love and discipline. She also taught her the alphabet. She communicated with Keller using a manual sigh language and brail alphabet that few knew even existed. Sullivan was even able to teach Keller to speak. Keller and Sullivan stayed together for their whole lives. Together Sullivan helped Helen graduate from the Perkins Institute for the blind, coaching her and helping translate words into signs she could understand. After collage Sullivan stayed with Keller. Together they toured the United States giving lectures. As a pair they were in high demand. In 1905 Sullivan married a man by the name of John Albert Macy who was a Harvard graduate. Sullivan, Keller and Macy all lived together for about for 7 years until Sullivan and Macy separated. But even after the divorce, Sullivan and Keller were still very active in helping the blind. They gave generously to charity programs for the blind and deaf. But unfortunately they were too charitable and money ran low. Together they tried to produce a movie called Deliverance but it was a failure. For money they continued to give lectures but could not be as generous as they were before Eventually Sullivan lost her eyesight completely. Toward the end of her life Sullivan received many awards for her work. She received recognition from Temple University, the educational institute of Scotland. She was always a hard worker and worked Helen hard also. She died on October 20, 1936 in Forest Hill, NY . even thought her own attempts at making a movie failed. She was the inspiration of many other. William Gibson wrote a book entitled The Miracle Worker. Latter the book was made into a Broadway play. Sullivan story was also made into a movie with Anne Bancroft, a well known actress, playing the part of Annie Sullivan. Annie Sullivan lived a long successful life. Even though she encountered many challenges, persistence kept her motivated in her work. Even thou she has past on, she will still remember her from books movies and plays.