Question

What hurdles did Helen face in her progress at Cambridge school? What were her achievements in the first year? Also explain the method that was in use when she took her examination. (175 - 200 words)

Answer 1

Helen had taken up English history, English literature, German, Latin and arithmetic in the first year at Cambridge apart along with Latin composition and occasional themes. Until then she had never taken a course of study with the idea of preparing for college but she had been well drilled in English by Miss Sullivan. She had had a good start in French and received six months' instruction in Latin but German was the subject she was most familiar with. In spite of these advantages, there were serious drawbacks to her progress. Miss Sullivan could not spell out in her hands all the books that were required and it was very difficult to get the books embossed in time for her to read them. She had to copy her Latin in braille so that she could recite along with the other girls. She could not make notes in class or write exercises but she wrote all her compositions and translations at home on her typewriter.