Operation Blackboard

From the pen -APN

 “You may be an engaging conversationalist or you may be an excellent orator but if you are teaching in a class then, please, use a piece of chalk and the blackboard.” Perhaps this is the best advice I can offer to all newcomers who take teaching as their profession. The power of using chalk and duster surpasses all sorts of presentation forms. May it be a PowerPoint presentation, Video presentation or digital board presentation-all presentation tools fall flat when the deft strokes of a piece of chalk act upon the black surface of a blackboard. Drawing or writing on a blackboard is way more effective than other forms of presentations because the use of a blackboard triggers better human responses to the presenter’s contents as compared to other forms of visual presentation. The interplay of human elements like one’s manual labour, care, handwriting, natural time delay in picturization, and involvement of the teachers and students in the teaching-learning process all become more telling when a class goes on with the aid of chalk and blackboard. Moreover, the blackboard as a teaching tool is low-cost and maintenance-free. 

The use of a blackboard has a great advantage at the subconscious level. When a teacher puts his/her efforts to present the contents on a blackboard, his/her efforts are recognised by the learners. This manual labour made by the teacher to enlighten the students gives a sort of moral credit to the teacher and it, in turn, inculcates a sense of respect among the learners for the teacher. Such a human bonding built on the basis of respect and care goes a long way in adding positive values to the process of education. As a teacher, whenever you come across self-doubt that your students are not respectful in conformation to your expectations. Then, start using the blackboard as a part of your classroom teaching. You will readily mark a shift in students’ attitudes. 

The use of blackboards in classrooms is an inseparable habit of many amazing teachers. However, many teachers with great potential deliberately refrain from using the chalk, duster and blackboard because it needs effort and compulsory washing of hands after each class. Further, for some teachers, the chalk dust that is produced by the use of blackboard makes things unattractive. As a result, most of the teachers in higher classes resort to the lecture method of teaching with minimal use of blackboards. 

The habit of using a blackboard for better classroom engagement can be formed by following the “law of least resistance.” The law of least resistance states that an organism will choose a course of action that appears to require the smallest amount of effort or expenditure of energy. In connection with the habit of using blackboards in the classroom, the said law can be maintained by using high-quality dustless chalk, a good set of dusters and a good quality blackboard. A one-time investment in quality products can make the writing experience smooth. It will conform to the law of least resistance and a newly appointed teacher may easily fall in love with the habit of writing on the blackboard. 

If you are a teacher and reading this piece of experience then take my words and go to the classroom with a few pieces of high-quality dustless chalk. You will feel like using the blackboard more and more. Last but not the least, the importance of the blackboard in shaping human civilisation is acknowledged in clear terms even by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. In his words, “Black colour may be sentimentally bad but every blackboard makes the student’s life bright.”