Blackboards have a rich history, with early examples being single boards of slate or slate-like material used as a substitute for pen and paper. The first mounted classroom slate was introduced in Scotland in the early 1800s and soon spread worldwide. Today, most modern chalkboards are made of composite materials, and many schools and businesses have replaced them with cleaner “whiteboards.” The history of the chalkboard has also taken modern twists, with porcelain-glazed sheet steel and felt pads replacing erasers.
Blackboards have played a role in education for centuries, and the large blackboards that most people today easily recognize have quite a rich history. Early examples were single boards of slate or slate-like that students used as a less expensive substitute for pen and paper. Most historical accounts state that the first mounted classroom slate was introduced in Scotland in the early 1800s and soon spread to the United States and the rest of the world as slate became more commonly mined and more readily available . Despite slate’s ready presence today, most modern chalkboards are made of composite materials that are easier to clean and maintain; many schools and businesses have also done away with them completely in favor of cleaner “whiteboards,” which are usually made entirely of synthetic material.
As a substitute for paper
Some early blackboards were little more than small squares of slate, usually framed with wood to keep them from cracking. Students typically each gave one if they didn’t own one, and used them to solve equations and compose short teaching exercises. They could be marked with other lighter slate pencils, or chalk where it was available; students could wipe their work with a cloth to use it over and over again.
Slate was one of the most popular choices in the early 19th century due to its wide availability in many parts of the world. The industrial revolution in Europe and the mining boom in North America unearthed deposits of this material, which made it much more accessible than paper, ink or graphite. Slate is a dark, metamorphic rock found in large deposits underground in many parts of the world. Some students at more elite schools used paper, but it was usually considered a luxury.
Slate in the United States
The boom in slate use is perhaps most profound when looking at the history of the slate in the United States. Slate mining coincided with the development of the American railroad system. As such, much of the ore mined from Vermont, Maine, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maryland, and New York could be efficiently transported by railroad to the thousands of prairie schools that sprouted across the frontier in the 1800s.
Changes in classroom efficiency
Student whiteboards were effective, but not particularly efficient, particularly in disciplines that required precise equations, such as science and math. Teachers usually had to write down problems individually on each whiteboard, which was time consuming. This all changed when teachers began putting larger panels on classroom walls.
This leap forward is believed to have first occurred in a geography classroom in Edinburgh, Scotland; that teacher, James Pillans, is said to have taken a rough piece of rough slate and mounted it himself on the wall behind his desk. Once this innovation caught on, teachers could broadcast lessons and visual aids to entire classes, thus giving everyone the advantage of seeing the whiteboard. Students still used their individual lists, but only for solving, not reading instructions. The first recorded use of a chalkboard in the United States was at the United States Military Academy, West Point, in 1801.
Substitutions and modifications
Despite the wide availability of slate, it was still too expensive for some of the poorer and more rural school districts. Teachers in these circumstances sometimes resorted to painting a plaster wall or wood paneling with dark paint to mimic slate, and black sand sometimes worked too. An old rag served as a rubber. Students sometimes invented these kinds of crude substitutes for their own individual supplies as well.
Modernizations
The history of the chalkboard has also taken a few modern twists. Today’s scholars are more likely to find a slate that is porcelain-glazed sheet steel rather than true slate. Chalk, which is a derivative of limestone, is the most common writing implement, and erasers of earlier times have largely been replaced by felt pads that can erase chalk marks without creating as much dust in the air.
Chalkboard alternatives
In the 1990s, concern about allergies and other potential health risks posed by chalk dust led to the replacement of many blackboards with whiteboards. A whiteboard is a plastic board, sometimes also known as a “dry-wipe board,” on which people use special pens to make colored marks. These can be cleaner, brighter alternatives to education and commercial interests.
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