Recently I read an article about 10 things disappearing from elementary schools.

I bet that all of you fondly remember these things, or maybe not so fondly.

The items were blackboards, and chalk, recess, cursive penmanship, wall-mounted hand crank pencil sharpeners and pencils, paste, filmstrip projectors, 16 millimeter movie projectors, cigar boxes, mimeographed sheets and drinking fountains.

After reading this list, this reminded me that the schoolroom in the Edwardsburg Museum is lacking these items in its collection.  Even the early Atari computer is old stuff. No longer does a slate or chalk, ink erasers and blotters or bottles of ink have any need is present day classrooms.

But all of these items do bring back memories.

Let’s begin with the blackboard. A blackboard or chalkboard   is a reusable writing surface on which text or drawings are made with sticks of calcium sulphate or calcium carbonate, known, when used for this purpose, as chalk. Blackboards were originally made of smooth, thin sheets of black or dark gray slate stone. Modern versions are often green because the color is considered easier on the eyes.

A blackboard can simply be a piece of board painted with matte dark paint — usually black.

The chalk marks can be easily wiped off with a damp cloth, a sponge or a special blackboard eraser consisting of a block of wood covered by a felt pad. However, chalk marks made on some types of wet blackboard can be difficult to remove.

Sticks of processed “chalk” are produced specially for use with blackboards in white and also in various colors. These are often made not from chalk rock but from calcium sulfate in its dehydrate form, gypsum.

Many chalkboards have been replaced with white boards in many classrooms. Arguments for black boards as they relate to white boards include these reasons:

Chalk requires no special care, white board markers must be capped or else they dry out. Chalk is relatively cheaper than white board markers for a comparable amount of writing. It is easier to draw lines of different weights and thickness with chalk than with white board markers.

Chalk has a mild smell, whereas white board markers often have a strong odor. Chalk writing often provides better contrast than white board markers.

Chalk can be easily erased; writing on a white board left for a prolonged period may require a solvent to remove. Chalk can be easily removed from most clothing; white board markers often permanently stain fabric.

On the other hand, chalk produces dust, the amount depending on the quality of chalk used.

It will be a sad day when all of this disappears from the classroom and there will be no one to remember “those days.”

Electronics will take over.

 

Jo-Ann Boepple works at the Edwardsburg Area History Museum