25 Anne Sullivan Quotes For Believing In Miracles Again

Indulge in our Anne Sullivan quotes if you want to be reminded that miracles do exist. 

Anne Sullivan is an icon in the world of education, and we have the quote selections to prove it. 

Check out our Anne Sullivan quotes below. 

Who was Anne Sullivan?

Anne Sullivan Macy, better known as Anne Sullivan, was an Irish-American teacher born in Massachusetts on April 14, 1866. 

She is known as The Miracle Worker for her accomplishments in education and special education. 

Check out these Anne Sullivan facts below:

• Anne almost went blind at the age of 8 but overcame her illness. 
• Author Mark Twain was the first to call Sullivan The Miracle Worker. 
• Sullivan famously taught Helen Keller to communicate despite her disabilities. 

What did Anne Sullivan overcome?

Anne Sullivan was the daughter of Irish immigrants who came to the United States to escape The Great Famine of Ireland. 

When she was five, she contracted trachoma, which is a bacterial eye disease. 

Trachoma causes painful infections and leads to blindness. 

Her mother died from tuberculosis when she was eight, and her father abandoned the family. 

She and her siblings were sent to an almshouse, which was charitable housing provided to unhoused people. 

Her brother died four months later. 

Sullivan survived Tewksbury, an institution notorious for abusive practices, including sexual abuse, physical abuse, and even cannibalism. 

Despite deplorable conditions, Anne Sullivan overcame physical, economic, and countless other limitations to earn an education and become a professional teacher. 

She would revolutionize education! 

How are Anne Sullivan and Helen Keller connected?

Helen Keller is a world-famous educator, author, advocate, and inspirational speaker. 

She was the daughter of a wealthy family in Alabama. 

At nineteen months of age, Keller became deaf and blind due to an unknown disease. 

Some have speculated that rubella or scarlet fever may have been the cause of her maladies. 

She became increasingly defiant as she grew and presented many challenges to her household. 

Helen Keller’s story is well known because she learned to read, write, speak, and communicate at the highest levels despite being blind and deaf. 

Her story is revered as one of the ultimate examples of the power of education and determination. 

Keller would grow to become a polarizing force in the world of education.

She is remembered for her work in political and social advocacy. 

As significant as Helen Keller’s achievements are, she would be nowhere without the brilliant, tireless, and groundbreaking work of Anne Sullivan. 

Check out our Anne Sullivan quotes below to learn more about this world-class educator. 

Short Anne Sullivan quotes from the miracle worker

The Miracle Worker was the name of the film produced about Anne Sullivan’s life. 

1. “Yes, I am proud and very humble too.” — Anne Sullivan

2. “Children require guidance and sympathy far more than instruction.” — Anne Sullivan 

3. “I’d rather break stones on the king’s highway than hem a handkerchief.” — Anne Sullivan

4. “Every renaissance comes to the world with a cry, the cry of the human spirit to be free.” — Anne Sullivan

5. “We have no firm hold on any knowledge or philosophy that can lift us out of our difficulties.” — Anne Sullivan

Famous Anne Sullivan quotes about the process of educating children

Sullivan was a master educator who could reach even the most difficult or limited children. 

6. “The processes of teaching the child that everything cannot be as he wills it are apt to be painful both to him and to his teacher.” — Anne Sullivan

7. “I need a teacher quite as much as Helen. I know the education of this child will be the distinguishing event of my life if I have the brains and perseverance to accomplish it.” — Anne Sullivan

8. “I have thought about it a great deal, and the more I think, the more certain I am that obedience is the gateway through which knowledge, yes, and love, too, enter the mind of the child.” — Anne Sullivan

9. “I am beginning to suspect all elaborate and special systems of education. They seem to me to be built up on the supposition that every child is a kind of idiot who must be taught to think.” — Anne Sullivan

10. “It’s a great mistake, I think, to put children off with falsehoods and nonsense when their growing powers of observation and discrimination excite in them a desire to know about things.” — Anne Sullivan

The best Anne Sullivan quotes about beginning and failing

As a mentor and teacher, Sullivan understood that failure was part of the growth process. 

11. “People seldom see the halting and painful steps by which the most insignificant success is achieved.” — Anne Sullivan

12. “We are afraid of ideas, of experimenting, of change. We shrink from thinking a problem through to a logical conclusion.” — Anne Sullivan

13. “We imagine that we want to escape our selfish and commonplace existence, but we cling desperately to our chains.” — Anne Sullivan 

14. “My heart is singing for joy this morning! A miracle has happened! The light of understanding has shone upon my little pupil’s mind, and behold, all things are changed!” — Anne Sullivan

15. “Keep on beginning and failing. Each time you fail, start all over again, and you will grow stronger until you have accomplished a purpose – not the one you began with perhaps, but one you’ll be glad to remember.” — Anne Sullivan 

The top Anne Sullivan quotes about finding solutions to challenges

Sullivan was a woman with a remarkable ability to solve problems. 

16. “I cannot explain it, but when difficulties arise, I am not perplexed or doubtful. I know how to meet them.” — Anne Sullivan

17. “We are bothered a good deal by people who assume the responsibility of the world when God is neglectful.” — Anne Sullivan

18. “A strenuous effort must be made to train young people to think for themselves and take independent charge of their lives.” — Anne Sullivan

19. “Certain periods in history suddenly lift humanity to an observation point where a clear light falls upon a world previously dark.” — Anne Sullivan

20. “Education in the light of present-day knowledge and need calls for some spirited and creative innovations both in the substance and the purpose of current pedagogy.” — Anne Sullivan

Anne Sullivan quotes and sayings about revolutionizing education

Sullivan knew a holistic approach was necessary to transform education. 

21. “We all like stories that make us cry. It’s so nice to feel sad when you’ve nothing, in particular, to feel sad about.” — Anne Sullivan

22. “The wrong things are predominantly stressed in the schools – things remote from the student’s experience and need.” — Anne Sullivan

23. “The truth is not wonderful enough to suit the newspapers; so they enlarge upon it and invent ridiculous embellishments.” — Anne Sullivan

24. “I think that there are some teachers that do a very good job of incorporating culture and history. And there are some teachers who could use a little more help in that area.” — Anne Sullivan

25. “The immediate future is going to be tragic for all of us unless we find a way of making the vast educational resources of this country serve the true purpose of education, truth, and justice.” — Anne Sullivan

Was Anne Sullivan a miracle worker?

Anne Sullivan had some pretty well-known friends. 

She famously built relationships with actors like Charlie Chaplin and other famous authors. 

American writer Mark Twain was a man who admired the work of Anne Sullivan. 

Twain was bothered that people across the country wanted to meet Helen Keller but ignored her fantastic teacher. 

He once described her as a miracle worker to give Sullivan the credit she deserved. 

It was Twain’s description that would inspire the title of the iconic movie about Keller and Sullivan. 

Sullivan was not a magician or miracle worker. 

However, she was determined, empathic, and passionate about helping her pupils. 

She manifested a miracle by relentlessly not giving up on her goal to help Helen become literate. 

The first would Sullivan famously taught Helen was water. 

Water always finds the path of least resistance on the way to its destination. 

Be like Anne Sullivan. 

Be like water. 

Do you have a favorite Anne Sullivan quote?

Please let us know in the comments below.