News Article: "Miss Green Taught School In Fitchburg in Early 50s"

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Title

News Article: "Miss Green Taught School In Fitchburg in Early 50s"

Catalog Entry

When I was 17, I worked with a kid who was legally blind since he was born. He went to the Perkins School for the Blind. The bus would come pick him up in the morning and drop him off in the afternoon. I picked this artifact because I was very interested in how the school originally started. A woman named Mary Caroline Green(e) who taught at Perkins had a big impact on the school and the kids. “Miss Green Taught School In Fitchburg in Early 50s” is a small section from the Fitchburg newspaper. Mary was the daughter of Asher Green(e); she was born in Fitchburg, MA, in 1829. She was a teacher for many years in the Fitchburg vicinity and Perkins School of the Blind under Dr. S.G. Howe from 1863-1871. Mary was invited to England as an assistant at the Royal Normal College for the Blind right next to London. She worked there for eight years until 1901. The article states: “she is remembered as an able teacher, who had a large and quite strenuous school of large pupils to manage.” From the way she was spoken about, Mary seems like she was very eager to teach and help students.

Perkins School of the Blind in Watertown, MA, was opened on March 2, 1892. It is the oldest school for the blind in the United States. The campus is 38 acres, and they have their own brailler. There are 104,000 kids helped a year and over 700 staff members. Perkins helps kids from childbirth all the way until adulthood. Students come from all over the world but primarily from New England and New York. The school has students from 63 different countries. Perkins was founded over 175 years ago and within a few short years it became known for its effective teaching techniques. The mother of the boy I worked with would tell me all the programs they have, including swimming. I personally think that's a very positive thing; they help kids with every aspect of life. A lot of this recognition came because they started teaching a girl named Laura Bridgeman who was the first known deaf and blind person to be educated. Along the way, a more famous person came to the school, Helen Keller. She proved that she could break down barriers for people with vision and hearing disabilities.

Joining a support group and using resources that surround you are very helpful if you have been diagnosed or you were born with an impairment. Mary Caroline Green(e) did just that. She wasn't legally blind or visually impaired, but she was one of the resources. She taught at two schools for blind children and from this newspaper article it sounds like she was an outgoing individual. She definitely made an impact on people and the world around her.

Bibliography

Fitchburg Past and Present. William A. Emerson, 1903. 
Google Books, https://books.google.com/books?id=PYbtFVBchH8C&pg=PA277&lpg=PA277&dq=mary+caroline+green+perkins&source=bl&ots=3WdV2Bnb3r&sig=ACfU3U2rk7uAgh9p6OgUfjHHi8Cw5_VHKQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiUzoqG26blAhUmVt8KHfBgDzEQ6AEwDXoECAcQAQ#v=onepage&q=mary%20caroline%20green%20perkins&f=false.

Artifact Owner

Fitchburg Historical Society

Artifact Condition

The article seems to be in good condition, a little worn but very legible. It was typed, not handwritten so that makes it automatically easier to read.

Artifact Material

This article is from the newspaper from Fitchburg in the early 50’s, October 28th. Mrs. L. H. Wellman wrote a small article piece on Mary and how she was a teacher at Perkins School for the Blind.

Catalog Entry Author(s)

Madelyn Campano, Student, Fitchburg State University

Editor(s)

Cali Laakso, Student, Fitchburg State University

Collection

Citation

“News Article: "Miss Green Taught School In Fitchburg in Early 50s",” Cultural Heritage through Image, accessed March 28, 2024, https://culturalheritagethroughimage.omeka.net/items/show/79.

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