"The education and opportunities of the blind are of universal interest": the public discussion of 1887 in The Century Magazine

The proposed translation of materials from the Century magazine (USA, 1887) provides an opportunity to familiarize oneself with, consider, and study the positions of representatives from various professional groups in American society of the last quarter of the 19th century on the issues of education and socialization of blind children and adults. The letters from typhlopedagogues E. Perry and J. Morey, published in The Century magazine, illustrate the existing differences in views on certain stages of the educational process for blind children (the necessity and methodology of using special equipment and aids for the blind), the assessment of the importance and role of the student's personal potential, and the significance of individual home-based learning versus education in a special school. Special attention is given to society's attitude towards the problem of education and socialization of the blind, as well as the prospects for their participation in productive labor.