Who was Helen Keller?

Imagine being trapped in a world where you can't see anything AND you can't hear a single sound! That was Helen Keller's life after getting very sick when she was just a toddler. It was dark, it was silent, and it felt impossible to connect with anyone! But then, a super special teacher named Anne Sullivan arrived, and everything changed! Join us as we splash into the amazing 'water pump moment' where Helen finally understood words! Discover how she learned to read, write, talk, and even go to college! This is the true story of how Helen Keller proved that even when things look impossible, you can change the world! Get ready to be amazed!

Transcript

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Welcome to Histories Not Boring by Kidopoli.com. And I'm Finn. We have a super special shout out today for Ryan, who wrote in saying he's a huge fan and asked for a story about someone who changed the world. That is such a great pick, Ryan. Yeah, Ryan, we love hearing from you. And talking about changing the world, today's story is about someone who broke through silence and darkness to teach millions. Imagine being trapped, completely cut off from seeing anything and hearing anything for years. That's what happened to a little girl named Helen Keller. Ooh, trapped? Like in a dark, silent box? How long did that last? For a long time. But get this, she became one of the most famous people in the whole world. She graduated from college and travelled to 39 countries. Wow! But how? How do you go to college if you can't see or hear the teacher? That's the incredible story we're diving into. It all starts in 1880 in Tuscumbia, Alabama, and involves a breakthrough moment right by a water pump that changed everything. Wait, why couldn't she see or hear? Was she born that way? She was born healthy in June 1880, but when she was only 19 months old, a sickness hit. Doctors don't know for sure today, but it made her completely blind and deaf. Yo, at 19 months old? That's so young. So, from about a year and a half until she was older, she was in total darkness and silence. Exactly. By age five, she was communicating in about 60 different signs she made up with her family. But it was just frustration for everyone because she couldn't learn the world. What was her family like? Did they have lots of money? Where did they even live in Alabama? Her dad, Arthur H. Keller, was a newspaper editor. They lived on a property called Ivy Green in Tuscumbia. They were worried sick about her future, so they wrote to the Perkins School for the Blind in Boston. And they sent someone amazing, right? Not just a regular teacher. Oh, they sent the perfect person. Her name was Anne Sullivan, and she was only 20 years old. She'd had some sight problems herself, so she totally understood, struggling to see the world. A 20-year-old teacher for a very frustrated little girl. When did Anne finally get there? She arrived on March 3, 1887, to Ivy Green. That day is so important. It marks the beginning of her true education, which lasted for nearly 50 years alongside Helen. So Anne got there. What did she do first? Did she just start talking? Nope. It was a huge battle. Helen was wild and used to bite and throw tantrums because she couldn't understand anything. Anne immediately took control, insisting on teaching Helen manners first. Ugh, did she throw food? I bet she threw food. I would if I couldn't talk. She did throw food. Anne actually made Helen sit still for hours until she would stop fighting her lessons. Anne would spell words into Helen's hand using the manual alphabet, touching her palm. How many letters is that alphabet? Is it like 26? So Anne was tapping 26 different ways. Exactly 26 distinct finger positions. Anne taught Helen the word D-O-L-L after giving her a doll. But Helen just thought the spelling was a fun game, not a connection to the object. Oh no. So she learned a bunch of random finger shapes, but didn't get that they meant things. Right. The biggest breakthrough happened when they were outside, near the old well pump on the property. Anne pumped cool water over Helen's hand, while simultaneously spelling W A T E R into the other palm. The water! Did she get it then? Yes. Helen suddenly felt the cool water and understood the spelling meant the feeling. She immediately pulled Anne to the ground and tapped out the letters for Earth and then spelled teacher. Wow, that one moment by the pump changed everything. How many words did she learn right after that? Incredible! In just that one day, she learned over 30 new words, just gobbling them up. Okay, so after the water pump, she could learn. Did she ever learn to talk out loud, even if she couldn't hear the sounds? She did. Anne taught her to feel the vibrations in Anne's throat and mouth, to understand how sounds were made. By 1900, she was studying subjects like geometry. Geometry? That's super hard. Did she go to a normal school or a special one? She actually prepared for Radcliffe College. That's the women's section of Harvard University. She worked so hard. She even learned to read Braille with 32 tiny dots. Harvard? That's huge! When did she actually start college? And did she do it all by touch? She enrolled in Radcliffe in 1900 and graduated with honours in 1904. She did it all by reading Braille books and having someone rapidly spell notes into her hand. But what about her own speaking? If she couldn't hear it, how did she know she was saying the words right? She relied completely on feeling vibrations and muscle positions. It took intense practice. She famously wrote that the world opens to the person who can speak. That's amazing dedication. So after college, did she stop learning? Was she done? Never! She became a massive world traveller and advocate. She travelled across oceans to 39 different countries, visiting places like Egypt and India, fighting for the rights of people with disabilities. Did she meet any super famous people while she was travelling the world? Yes. She met almost every single president, from Theodore Roosevelt to John F. Kennedy. Can you imagine meeting 10 different presidents in your lifetime? So she proved that being blind and deaf didn't stop her from going to a top college and travelling everywhere. That's a huge change. It absolutely did. Before her, many people thought deaf and blind individuals couldn't be educated much past simple care. Helen Keller proved that wrong for everyone. She helped found the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU, to fight for everyone's rights. That's such important work. Did she ever write a book about her whole adventure? I bet people wanted to read it. She wrote her first autobiography, The Story of My Life, when she was only 22. It sold thousands of copies. Plus, she learnt to write six languages. Six languages? Whoa, that's way more than me. What's the weirdest thing you learned about her? Okay, here's a gross one. When she was learning to write, she used special pencil grips so she could feel the shape of the letters on the paper. Sometimes the pencil would snap and she'd get bits of graphite stuck under her fingernails. Ew, that sounds like a lot of scraping and dirty fingers. Not very dignified for a famous person. A little, but here's another cool one. She loved to swim. She swam the English Channel once. That's a swim across a very cold, busy stretch of water that's over 21 miles long. 21 miles? That's like swimming across half a dozen cities stacked side by side. She was so brave. She really was. She taught the world that a disability doesn't define you. And she lived until 1968, proving anything is possible. Alright, Finn, time for the quiz! We learned so many amazing numbers and names today. Okay, I'm ready. I hope I remember which part of the body was key for learning. First question. In what specific US state did Helen Keller live and have her big breakthrough moment? Next one. This is about the moment she understood language. How many fingers did Anne Sullivan use to spell out each letter into Helen's hand? Question three. What was the name of the college she attended, which is part of Harvard University? Here's number four. Approximately how many countries did Helen Keller travel to throughout her life to advocate for others. Last question! What did Anne Sullivan spell on Helen's hand right as she felt the cool water from the pump? Great job! Let's see how you did. Time for the answers. The first answer is that big breakthrough moment happened in Alabama. For question two, Anne used 26 distinct finger positions to represent the letters. Number three, the college was Radcliffe College. Question 4. She travelled to 39 different countries around the world. And the final answer is that Anne spelt W A T E R. I can't believe she learnt to read Braille and swim the English Channel, all while being unable to hear anything. That's just incredible. Right? She took a world that was dark and silent and turned it into a place full of learning and advocacy. What an amazing role model! If you loved hearing about how Helen Keller changed the world, please do us a huge favour and tap those five stars for us. Just scroll down and tap the stars wherever you listen. It really helps other people find stories like Helen's. And hey, if you want more cool learning activities based on history heroes, head over to our site kidopoly.com. We've got tons of fun stuff waiting for you there. Want to ask for a future story or just say hi? You can send us an email at hello at kidopoly.com. That's all for today. Thanks for travelling through time with us. See you next time on Histories Not Boring. Bye. Bye.