Creator:
Perkins School for the Blind
Date range:
1925-1984, bulk 1950-1969
Call number:
AG49
Abstract:
A collection of photographs documenting the Perkins Teacher Training Program, from 1925-1984. This program involved partnerships with Harvard University, Boston University, and then Boston College. Collected by the Perkins School for the Blind, this collection also includes photographs from 2 photograph albums. The albums and many of the photographs contain detailed notes about individuals photographed, including full names, region or nationality of origin. The bulk of the collection are group portraits of classes. Notable individuals mentioned include Jessica L. Langworthy (1864-1938), Directors of the Teacher Training, Dr. Samuel P. Hayes (1874-1958), William Heisler, and Daniel J. Burns. Perkins Directors included, who also had roles in the Teacher Training Program included, are Edward E. Allen (1861-1950), Edward J. Waterhouse (1902-1999), and Benjamin F. Smith (1913-2008). The bulk of the collection has been digitized.
Extent:
2.75 linear feet, 9 boxes of photographs, including 5 O-Ring preservation box albums, 1 box of album page paper copies, and 1 box of negatives.
Language:
Materials entirely in English.
Processed by:
Jen Hale, 2020
Processing note:
This collection contains two photograph albums that were digitized, then disassembled to address preservation concerns. Digital copies and printouts of these copies were created by the processing archivist. The physical copies are included in this collection. Digitized photographs on the Corresponding AG49 Digital Collection on the Perkins Archives Flickr site are disassociated from the album. A note in the Provenance Field ties the photograph to the album it was originally housed in.
Historical note:
Teacher training has been an integral part of Perkins School for the Blind since the 19th century, when Samuel Gridley Howe, the school’s first director, created staff meetings where teachers would share their insights on educating students who are blind.
By the 1920s, Howe’s internal staff discussions had evolved to become a full‑fledged teaching program – allowing Perkins to share its expertise with a wider community of educators. Sensing the growing need for professional training, Edward Allen, Perkins’ third director, worked with Dean Henry Holmes of Harvard University to establish a semester-long teacher training course covering theories and principles around educating students who are blind.
Founded in 1920, the Teacher Training Program, as it became known at Perkins, was the first formal training initiative in the United States for teachers of the blind. After 4 years as an extension course, it received full graduate status and a second course was added for the second semester in “special methods” of teaching the blind. This course was designed and taught by Jessica Langworthy and supplemented the Harvard course, supplying the practice to match its theory and background. This partnership between Perkins and Harvard combined rigorous study at Harvard with experiential learning inside Perkins’ classrooms. Participants lived on Perkins’ campus, working closely with students and staff.
The program established Perkins as a “teacher of teachers,” and drew interest from around the globe. The first class to include international teacher trainees, from Japan and the Netherlands, arrived at Perkins in 1921. Over the next seven decades, the program expanded to include trainees from across the United States and around the world. Many graduates later rose through the ranks in their home countries to become prominent special educators.
Several major changes in the latter half of the 20th century reshaped the Teacher Training Program into its modern incarnation. In 1953, Perkins transferred the program from Harvard to Boston University where new coursework was added for teaching students who were blind. In 1966 the partnership moved to Boston College. In 1989, the program shifted its focus solely to international teacher training becoming the Educational Leadership Program (ELP).
Sources of information:
Gordon, Jamie. “Teacher of Teachers” Perkins Stories, Perkins School for the Blind, March 14, 2019, Perkins.org. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020.
Hale, Jen. “A Legacy of Teaching Students and Teaching Teachers” Perkins Archives Blog, Perkins School for the Blind, March 19, 2020, Perkins.org. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020.
Heisler, William T. “History and Development of the Perkins Teacher Training Course.” The Lantern, June 1970, p. 7. Internet Archive. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020.
Langworthy, Jessica. “The Harvard Course on the Education of the Blind.” The Teachers Forum for Instructors of Blind Children, vol. 4, no. 4, 1932, p. 67. Internet Archive. Accessed 14 Apr. 2020.
Restrictions:
Materials may be subject to rights of privacy, rights of publicity, and other restrictions.
The Perkins Archives reserves the right to deny physical access to materials available in a digital format.
Copyright:
It is the responsibility of the user to obtain permission to publish from the owner of the copyright (the institution, the creator of the record, the author or his/her transferees, heirs, legates, or literary executors). The user agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Perkins School for the Blind, its officers, employees, and agents from and against all claims made by any person asserting that he or she is an owner of copyright.
Credit line/citation:
AG49 Perkins Teacher Training Program photographs, Perkins School for the Blind, Watertown, MA.
Scope and contents:
The bulk of the Photographs are group class portraits documenting members of the teacher training program by year. These groups are sometimes further broken down into portraits that document just the international teacher trainees, or just the trainees taking deafblind education coursework. There are also some individual portraits and more candid photographs, as well as a few used for marketing. Most of the large group photographs include Perkins and Training Program Directors.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged in three series and three subseries. All photographs are arranged chronologically. Series 2 is arranged by partnership university, and chronologically therein.
- Series 1: Photograph Albums
- Series 2: Photographs
- Subseries 1: Harvard University, 1923-1954
- Subseries 2: Boston University, 1953-1966
- Subseries 3: Boston Boston College, 1966-1984
Container list:
Series 1: Teacher Training Photograph Albums, 1925-1967
Photographs from albums, as well as paper printouts of photographed original albums pages. Original paper and tissue labels are also included. The bulk of the photos are class group portraits.
- Box 1: Teacher Training album 1 photographs and page copies, 1925-1940
- Box 2: Teacher Training album 2 photographs, 1940-1967
- Box 3: Teacher Training album original page printouts and oversize images, 1940-1971
Series 2: Teacher Training Photographs, 1923
Photographs documenting teacher training partnerships with different universities, the bulk of which are class group portraits.
- Subseries 1: Harvard University, 1923-1953
- Box 4: Teacher Training, Harvard University, 1923-1954
- Box 7: Oversize photographs, 1947-1984
- Box 8: Oversize photographs, 1948-1963
- Subseries 2: Boston University, 1953-1966
- Box 5: Teacher Training, 1953-1965
- Box 7: Oversize photographs, 1947-1984
- Box 8: Oversize photographs, 1948-1963
- Subseries 3: Boston Boston College, 1966-1984
- Box 6: Teacher Training, 1966-1989
- Box 7: Oversize photographs, 1947-1984
- Box 8: Oversize photographs, 1948-1963
Series 3: Teacher Training Negatives, 1927, 1964
- Box 9: Teacher Training, 1927, 1964
Related collections:
AG5 Gabriel Farrell Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.
AG44 Perkins Institutional History: Publications, Clippings, and Manuscripts. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.
AG50 Dr. Edward J. Waterhouse Collection. Perkins School for the Blind Archives, Watertown, MA.
Bustamante. Guillermo. Interview by Jan Seymour-Ford. Oral History Project, Student Oral Histories Histories, Perkins School for the Blind Archives, 15 June 2007.
Heisler. William. Interview by Jan Seymour-Ford. Oral History Project, Staff and Descendant Oral Histories, Perkins School for the Blind Archives, 28 June 2005.
“Teacher Training Program, 1925-1984.” Perkins School for the Blind Archives Digital Collections, Flickr.
Provenance:
Perkins School for the Blind Archives.
Subject headings:
- Perkins School for the Blind.
- Perkins Institution and Massachusetts School for the Blind.
- Perkins School for the Blind–History.
- Teachers–Training of
- Blind teachers
- Students, Foreign