William Allen Hadley: the blind teacher who taught bllind students.
There are many dedicated educators who have spent their professional lives working with handicapped students. This is the case with William Allen Hadley, a talented educator who founded a correspondence school for blind adults.
William was born in Moorsville, Indiana, in 1860. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Earlham College in 1881, and his Master’s degree from the University of Minnesota.
After his college graduation, William taught school in Minnesota. He also served as the Superintendent of Schools in the small town of Wilmar, Minnesota. At the conclusion of his first year of teaching, William traveled to Germany to study at the University of Berlin. When he returned to the United States, he accepted a position at Marietta College in Ohio. Later he taught in public schools in Peoria, Illinois, and at a Chicago’s Lakeview High School for another fifteen years.
In 1915, at the age of 55, William contracted a severe case of influenza, and then he suffered a detached retina which resulted in his blindness. In order to pursue his academic life, William taught himself Braille. The hardworking educator soon discovered that there were few educational opportunities available for blind adults. He felt compelled to help others acquire communication skills and further their studies. In 1920, the enterprising teacher established a correspondence school for blind students he named The Hadley School for the Blind. Among the courses he offered were reading and writing in Braille, English grammar, business correspondence, and the Bible as literature. These courses were offered free of charge.
William’s first student was a farmer’s wife from Kansas who, like William, had suddenly lost her vision and sought to regain her ability to read and write. Teaching most of the early courses himself, William began by translating textbooks to Braille by hand and personally answering lessons with letters of correction and encouragement. Within a year he was teaching about ninety students in the United States, Canada, and China. William served as the Hadley School’s president for more than fifteen years and remained active on the Board of Trustees until his death.
For this work, William received an honorary Doctor of Laws in 1931 and a Doctor of Humanities in 1933 from Beloit College. The Bosma Industries for the Blind honored him as the 2004 recipient of the Hasbrook Award, given to a pioneer in the field of blindness.
In 1941, at the age of 101, this chalkboard champion passed away. He is buried in Moorsville, Indiana.
