Lion Magazine
May 1, 2019

Helen Keller is back in the Texas school curriculum

A 1956 portrait of Helen Keller holding a Braille volume. Lessons about Helen Keller have been put back into the Texas state curriculum. PHOTO BY HULTON ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES

Past International President Jimmy Ross (2006-2007) and dozens of Lions in Texas put pen to paper protesting a proposed change to the Texas school curriculum that would eliminate Helen Keller from lesson plans.

The preliminary decision by the Texas State Board of Education in September caused a stir among the public, and Lions spoke up in an effort to keep the iconic activist in the books. In his letter Ross wrote, “There is no more powerful example of someone lighting a candle rather than cursing the darkness than Helen Keller.”

In November, after hearing hours of live testimony from residents, the board reversed its original vote and decided to include Keller in the state curriculum.