Waubonsee Community College

The education of Laura Bridgman, first deaf and blind person to learn language, Ernest Freeberg

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

individual biography

illustrations

index present

non fiction

The education of Laura Bridgman

bibliography

45636807

Ernest Freeberg

"In the mid-nineteenth century, Laura Bridgman, a young child from New Hampshire, became one of the most famous women in the world. Philosophers, theologians, and educators hailed her as a miracle, and a vast public followed the intimate details of her life with rapt attention. This girl, all but forgotten today, was the first deaf and blind person ever to learn language." "Laura's dark and silent life was transformed when she became the star pupil of the educational crusader Dr. Samuel Gridley Howe. Against the backdrop of an antebellum Boston seething with debates about human nature, programs of moral and educational reform, and battles between conservative and liberal Christians, Freeberg weaves an extraordinary tale of mentor and student, scientist and subject." "Under Howe's constant tutelage, Laura voraciously absorbed the world around her, learning to communicate through finger language as well as to write with confidence. Her remarkable breakthroughs vindicated Howe's faith in the power of education to overcome the most terrible of disabilities. In Howe's hands, Laura's education became an experiment that he hoped would prove his own controversial ideas about the body, mind, and soul."--Jacket

first deaf and blind person to learn language

In quest of his prize -- Mind over matter -- In the public eye -- Body and mind -- The instinct to be good -- Punishing thoughts -- Sensing God -- Crisis -- Disillusionment -- A new theory of human nature -- My sunny home -- Legacy