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Why did Samuel Gridley Howe return to Europe before opening the New-England Institution for the Education of the Blind?

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Samuel Gridley Howe returned to Europe before opening the New-England Institution for the Education of the Blind because he had been appointed as the institution's director but possessed very little knowledge regarding blindness or the education of the blind.1

To prepare for his new role, he traveled to Europe specifically to observe existing schools for the blind. He returned to the United States in 1832 to open the school in Boston, which later became known as the Perkins School for the Blind.1