凱倫海勒的生平事跡

海倫·亞當斯·凱勒 (Helen Adams Keller，1880年6月27日-1968年6月1日)，是美國的一位殘障教育家。她幼年因意外疾病而引致失明及失聰。後來籍著她的導師安·沙利文(Anne Sullivan)的努力，使她學會說話，並開始和其他人溝通並接受教育。她畢業於哈佛大學。

命運改變
海倫·凱勒作為一個健康的嬰兒於1880年6月27日出生在一個小城市Tuscumbia.他的父親是當地軍隊的最高長官,為人極為豪放,好客.在她19個月的時候突然患了急性腦炎,從此失去了聽覺和視覺.但是她仍然努力的保持著和外界的聯繫,運用自己的手語和家庭成員交流.但是,隨著年歲的增長,這樣的交流不再能滿足她,她的脾氣開始變的暴躁.全家人對她的狀況都很擔憂。海倫6歲時，在其家庭醫生的協助下，她的父母邀請柏金斯盲人學校的沙利文老師作為海倫·凱勒的啟蒙導師。....


得遇良師
沙利文老師十分有愛心，他首先了解海倫·凱勒的脾性，與她建立互信的關係，再耐心的教導海倫·凱勒手語，讓她能與別人溝通。其後再教導海倫·凱勒用手指點字以及基本的生活禮儀。在經過一番訓練後，她父母在她10歲時聘請了霍勒斯曼學校的莎拉·傅樂瓦老師教導其說話，而海倫·凱勒最終亦學會了說話。對於一個失明和失聰的人來說，這是十分艱巨的事情。在父母和沙利文老師的悉心教導下，海倫·凱勒對世界改觀，開始努力向學，認真做人。


進入學校

1904年海倫·凱勒在雷地克裡夫學院畢業時的風采1898年，海倫·凱勒考入了位於麻薩諸塞州的劍橋女子學校(The Cambridge School for Young Ladies)。1900年秋，再考進哈佛大學的雷地克裡夫學院，這對於一個失明和失聰的人而言，可說是教人難以置信。最後於1904年，海倫·凱勒以優異成績取得文學學士學位，並成為第一位畢業於高等院校的聾盲人。而這麼多年來沙利文老師則一直留在海倫·凱勒身邊，並將教科書與上課內容寫在海倫·凱勒的手掌上，讓凱勒能了解其內容，可說是對海倫·凱勒不離不棄，因此海倫·凱勒一生均十分感激她。


教育大眾
海倫·凱勒於1924年組成了海倫·凱勒基金會，並加入了美國盲人基金會，作為其全國和國際的關係顧問。其後她在國際獅子的年會上發表演說，她要求獅子會成為「協助失明人士戰勝黑暗的武士」。並說：「我為你們開啟機會的窗，我正敲著你的大門。」1946年，海倫·凱勒擔任美國全球盲人基金會的國際關係顧問，並開始週遊世界，訪問了35個國家。她盡力爭取在世界各地興建盲人學校，並常去醫院探望病人，與他們分享她的經歷，以給予他們生存意志。她同時亦為貧民及黑人爭取權益，以及提倡世界和平。


名垂青史
海倫·凱勒享年87歲。而在她死後，因為她堅強的意志和卓越的貢獻感動了全世界，各地人民都開展了紀念她的活動。有人曾如此評價她︰「海倫·凱勒是人類的驕傲，是我們學習的榜樣，相信眾多的有疾病而聾·啞·盲的人都能在黑暗中找到光明」。


宗教信仰

得救途徑
雖然海倫·凱勒為基督教信仰，但她認為人不必相信耶穌基督都可以得著拯與祝福，她認為聖經上記載「除他以外，別無拯救；因為在天下人間，沒有賜下別的名，我們可以靠著得救。使徒行傳 4:12 」這觀念是舊有的和錯誤的。她認為神在世界各地提供各種宗教給人類眾生，只要人們能夠真誠地遵照理想，好好地生活，賦予生命真正的意義，他是甚麼宗教都不再重要。[1]


地獄觀念
她認為地獄並不是如聖經上所記，有不滅的火和不死的蟲。她認為將來的地獄只是心靈的地獄，而當人心靈所承擔的痛苦超過人所能承受時，神會將他們的痛苦除去。所以地獄只是享受不到天堂快樂的一個地方。[2]


海倫·凱勒紀念日
1971年，國際獅子會的國際理事為了紀念海倫·凱勒的不屈不撓的精神，宣佈將每年6月1日定為「海倫·凱勒紀念日」。而在這日，環球的獅子會均舉辦與視力相關的服務性活動。

Helen Adams Keller was born on 27 June 1880 in Tuscumbia, a small rural town in Northwest Alabama, USA.

Helen falls ill
But Helen’s life was to change dramatically. In February 1882, when Helen was nineteen months old, she fell ill. To this day the nature of her ailment remains a mystery. The doctors of the time called it “brain fever”, whilst modern day doctors think it may have been scarlet fever or meningitis.

Whatever the illness, Helen was, for many days, expected to die. When, eventually, the fever subsided, Helen’s family rejoiced believing their daughter to be well again.

However, Helen’s mother soon noticed how her daughter was failing to respond when the dinner bell was rang or when she passed her hand in front of her daughter’s eyes.

It thus became apparent that Helen’s illness had left her both blind and deaf.

The following few years proved very hard for Helen and her family. Helen became a very difficult child, smashing dishes and lamps and terrorising the whole household with her screaming and temper tantrums. Relatives regarded her as a monster and thought she should be put into an institution.

By the time Helen was six her family had become desperate. Looking after Helen was proving too much for them. Kate Keller had read in Charles Dickens’ book “American Notes” of the fantastic work that had been done with another deaf and blind child, Laura Bridgman, and travelled to a specialist doctor in Baltimore for advice. They were given confirmation that Helen would never see or hear again but were told not to give up hope, the doctor believed Helen could be taught and he advised them to visit a local expert on the problems of deaf children. This expert was Alexander Graham Bell, the inventor of the telephone, Bell was now concentrating on what he considered his true vocation, the teaching of deaf children.

Alexander Graham Bell suggested that the Kellers write to Michael Anagnos, director of the Perkins Institution and Massachusetts Asylum for the Blind, and request that he try and find a teacher for Helen. Michael Anagnos considered Helen’s case and immediately recommended a former pupil of the institution, that woman was Anne Sullivan.

Anne Sullivan
Anne Sullivan had lost the majority of her sight at the age of five. By the age of ten, her mother had died and her father deserted her. She and her brother Jimmie were sent to the poorhouse in February 1876.

Helen meets Anne
On 3 March 1887 Anne arrived at the house in Tuscumbia and for the first time met Helen Keller. Anne immediately started teaching Helen to finger spell. Spelling out the word “Doll” to signify a present she had brought with her for Helen. The next word she taught Helen was “Cake”. Although Helen could repeat these finger movements she could not quite understand what they meant. And while Anne was struggling trying to help her understand, she was also struggling to try and control Helen’s continuing bad behaviour.

Anne and Helen moved into a small cottage on the land of the main house to try and get Helen to improve her behaviour. Of particular concern were Helen’s table manners. She had taken to eating with her hands and from the plates of everyone at the table.

Anne’s attempts to improve Helen’s table manners and make her brush her own hair and button her shoes led to more and more temper tantrums. Anne punished these tantrums by refusing to “talk” with Helen by spelling words on her hands.

Over the coming weeks, however, Helen’s behaviour did begin to improve as a bond grew between the two. Then, after a month of Anne’s teaching, what the people of the time called a “miracle” occurred.

2007-01-23 15:15:45 補充：
凱倫海勒，天生就是看不到、聽不到及說不到的，到了十歲還未入學。幸好，她遇上家庭教師莎莉文小姐。在莎莉文小姐的悉心教導下，凱倫海勒用了三年時間，終於學會了二十六個英文字母。後來，凱倫海勒成為了著名文學家，並獲諾貝爾文學獎。