In elementary school, my teacher used a whiteboard with dry-erase markers.
In high school, alongside the chalkboard, there was a SMART board. Both of these devices were used—the chalkboard more often than the SMART. Why would that be the case? I mean, the SMART board clearly represented a significant financial investment made by the school for the betterment of the student's education; why were we seemingly throwing all of that away and moving backward to the chalkboard?
Let's simulate a class to find out.
The teacher walks in in the morning. The SMART board isn't on yet. No chalk in the room. The teacher is presented with two options: send a student to get chalk and wait two minutes for her to get back from the office, or use a remote control to turn on the SMART board. The seemingly simpler, quicker and therefore better solution would be to just push the button on the remote. Interestingly, though unsurprisingly, the usual board of choice would be the chalkboard.
I personally hate the chalkboard: it’s an ugly color, and chalk is not a super clear writing utensil. But worst of all is that noise, the sound of a hundred finger nails making their way down the blackboard. Despite my intense hatred for my nemesis, the institution of chalk and chalkboards, I get it. I understand why seven times out of ten, Teachers choose chalk. The truth is, the SMART board never worked properly. It took 10 minutes to turn on, if you were lucky enough to choose a day when it decided to turn on. Then it had to be calibrated for two minutes. After you finally opened the application that allowed you to write on it, the realization slowly dawned on you that it had to be calibrated again because the alignment was off. So now, after about 20 minutes, the SMART board was finally usable, assuming you were willing to tolerate the color being wonky.
It's not just about the SMART board though; it's everything. We are living through the Technological Revolution. We are moving faster than ever before. 20 years ago, a computer game being played on a CD-ROM was a major breakthrough and was super exciting and fun. Now, everyone walks around with a phone that doubles as a computer, camera, photocopy machine, map, tour guide and anything else you may want. Our expectations are so ridiculously inflated that when we go somewhere without Wi-Fi, we are disappointed, despite the fact that we have usable data. We’re just afraid we might run out before the month is up. Is that normal? It seems that we have progressed so far that we have actually regressed. Bravo, America, bravo.
It’s actually quite funny: now, my biggest fear is going somewhere without Wi-Fi. When I was in high school, my biggest fear was being sent to get the chalk. Yes, that’s right. I was always fortunate enough to experience providing the tool that would lead to my demise. The sound of chalk on the chalkboard is my own personal Achilles heel. I am literally brought to my knees when Teacher starts writing. I twist my body so that my ear is on my shoulder and my left hand is on my ear, trying desperately to block out the sound, while at the same time hearing what Teacher is saying and simultaneously using my right hand to take notes on what I am preventing myself from hearing. But I digress. I guess the message is that the ideal board to have in the classroom is the whiteboard. Clear, colorful writing without the noise or the hassle. And, oh, that smell.
