The September 2018 decision of the Texas State Board of Education to drop Helen Keller from social studies curriculum in Texas public schools was a political stabbing at the Texas students as it was another of continuing actions of SBE to dilute the historic importance of public figures whose political and social bent might not sit well with the policymakers.
Among the public figures chopped off the curriculum were Hillary Clinton, Barry Goldwater and Helen Keller, one could identify the rationale--however specious it is--behind dropping Clinton and Goldwater. But, there is no basis for dropping Keller off the social studies curriculum. Helen Keller's (1880-1968) iconic life was--and is still continuing to be--an inspiration to millions of people worldwide as Keller, struck blind and deaf by illness before the age 2--was the first blind and deaf American to graduate from college in 1904. Hellen Keller's disabilities instilled a sense of determination in herself that propelled her--after graduating from Radcliffe College--to author 12 books, lecture in 35 countries and help change world's perception on blind and deaf. Her autobiography, The Story of My Life, was published in 1903, and had become a literary gem in the years since. Helen Keller's high school life chronicles another heroic figure's novel approach and dedication: that of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, who lifted a young Keller out of silence into a more outspoken advocate of millions of deaf and blind at the very early age. Anne taught her the sign language, first starting with water, and subsequently, teaching her how to read in Braille.
Helen Keller's articles and speeches are some of the most memorable ever that have inspired a generation of people all over the world, and her charitable work through the American Foundation for the Blind and other organizations has helped a broad section of people on the margin. She was a self-proclaimed "Democratic Socialist" who had fought hard for workers' right and free speech. She was also a co-founder of American Civil Liberties Union and a lifelong supporter of NAACP. But it is not for her politics that she has been recognized by the Time magazine as the one of the most influential people of the 20th century, it's her philanthropic work that changed the way world had come to perceive people with disabilities.
SBE may not be willing to restore Helen Keller into the social studies curriculum by scoring her 7 out of 20 on whether she had so called "watershed contribution" and essentially failing her on the impact on people's lives as an "essential" figure, I am confident that Texas educators will carve out time and space to illuminate our state's children with the exemplary life of Helen Keller. As Hellen Keller wrote in a 1933 article for The Home magazine that "A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships", and "the simplest way to be happy is to do good". That's a message worth hundreds time repeating, especially in this all-too-cynical age.
Among the public figures chopped off the curriculum were Hillary Clinton, Barry Goldwater and Helen Keller, one could identify the rationale--however specious it is--behind dropping Clinton and Goldwater. But, there is no basis for dropping Keller off the social studies curriculum. Helen Keller's (1880-1968) iconic life was--and is still continuing to be--an inspiration to millions of people worldwide as Keller, struck blind and deaf by illness before the age 2--was the first blind and deaf American to graduate from college in 1904. Hellen Keller's disabilities instilled a sense of determination in herself that propelled her--after graduating from Radcliffe College--to author 12 books, lecture in 35 countries and help change world's perception on blind and deaf. Her autobiography, The Story of My Life, was published in 1903, and had become a literary gem in the years since. Helen Keller's high school life chronicles another heroic figure's novel approach and dedication: that of her teacher, Anne Sullivan, who lifted a young Keller out of silence into a more outspoken advocate of millions of deaf and blind at the very early age. Anne taught her the sign language, first starting with water, and subsequently, teaching her how to read in Braille.
Helen Keller's articles and speeches are some of the most memorable ever that have inspired a generation of people all over the world, and her charitable work through the American Foundation for the Blind and other organizations has helped a broad section of people on the margin. She was a self-proclaimed "Democratic Socialist" who had fought hard for workers' right and free speech. She was also a co-founder of American Civil Liberties Union and a lifelong supporter of NAACP. But it is not for her politics that she has been recognized by the Time magazine as the one of the most influential people of the 20th century, it's her philanthropic work that changed the way world had come to perceive people with disabilities.
SBE may not be willing to restore Helen Keller into the social studies curriculum by scoring her 7 out of 20 on whether she had so called "watershed contribution" and essentially failing her on the impact on people's lives as an "essential" figure, I am confident that Texas educators will carve out time and space to illuminate our state's children with the exemplary life of Helen Keller. As Hellen Keller wrote in a 1933 article for The Home magazine that "A happy life consists not in the absence, but in the mastery of hardships", and "the simplest way to be happy is to do good". That's a message worth hundreds time repeating, especially in this all-too-cynical age.
No comments:
Post a Comment