100 Year Old Chalkboard Drawings Found in OK School

[EloiseWeenie]

www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/06/06/eerie-chalkboard-drawings-frozen-in-time-for-100-years-discovered-in-oklahoma-school/?tid=sm_fb





Teachers and students scribbled the lessons — multiplication tables, pilgrim history, how to be clean — nearly 100 years ago. And they haven’t been touched since.

This week, contractors removing old chalkboards at Emerson High School in Oklahoma City made a startling discovery: Underneath them rested another set of chalkboards, untouched since 1917.

“The penmanship blows me away, because you don’t see a lot of that anymore,” Emerson High School Principal Sherry Kishore told the Oklahoman. “Some of the handwriting in some of these rooms is beautiful.”





The chalkboards being removed to make way for new whiteboards are in four classrooms, according to the Oklahoma City Public School District.

A spokeswoman said the district is working with the city to “preserve the ‘chalk’ work of the teachers that has been captured in time.”

A wheel that apparently was used to teach multiplication tables appears on one board. “I have never seen that technique in my life,” Kishore told the Oklahoman.



The boards carry not just teachers’ work, but also that of students, and every room has a lesson on pilgrims, according to the district.

“Their names are here; I don’t know whether they were students in charge that day that got to do the special chores if they were the ones that had a little extra to do because they were acting up,” Kishore said. “But it’s all kinds of different feelings when you look at this.”

[pandora]

This is seriously amazing. I hope they are able to preserve them. So sad that we are losing cursive to print. I still use cursive, it's so beautiful.

[EloiseWeenie]

Jun 7, 2015 20:11:22 GMT -5 pandora said:

This is seriously amazing. I hope they are able to preserve them. So sad that we are losing cursive to print. I still use cursive, it's so beautiful.

I write in cursive, and I wish mine looked like what's written on the chalkboards! Mine is so sloppy

[MrsAxilla]

That's really cool. Thanks for sharing!

[pixy0stix]

Do you think when the school put the new boards over the old boards that the teachers went, "DAMMIT! My lesson plans were on the other boards."

[UMaineTeach]

so cool

[pandora]

Jun 7, 2015 20:13:52 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

Jun 7, 2015 20:11:22 GMT -5 pandora said:

This is seriously amazing. I hope they are able to preserve them. So sad that we are losing cursive to print. I still use cursive, it's so beautiful.

I write in cursive, and I wish mine looked like what's written on the chalkboards! Mine is so sloppy

I've gotten less neat over the years but I know it's from rushing all the time. It was ingrained in me, writing the same words and letters over and over in school, LOL. The Catholic nuns would find my shortcuts and sloppiness a sin now! ;P

Those chalkboards are seriously so perfectly written and IMO, a work of art. It's incredible. It reminds me of my Grandmother and Father's writing.

I'm so curious about how the multiplication dial works. I can see it being useful for the 9's but not sure for the rest of them...

[sangria]

This is beyond cool.. Fucking awesome.

[katfco]

This is so cool. I have a math textbook from the late 19th century (with lessons from addition up to economics), and it has doodles in it--including a geometric pattern made with the outline of a pair of spectacles.

[hopecounts]

So cool!

[anodyne]

Jun 7, 2015 20:18:55 GMT -5 pandora said:

Jun 7, 2015 20:13:52 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

I write in cursive, and I wish mine looked like what's written on the chalkboards! Mine is so sloppy

I've gotten less neat over the years but I know it's from rushing all the time. It was ingrained in me, writing the same words and letters over and over in school, LOL. The Catholic nuns would find my shortcuts and sloppiness a sin now! ;P

Those chalkboards are seriously so perfectly written and IMO, a work of art. It's incredible. It reminds me of my Grandmother and Father's writing.

I'm so curious about how the multiplication dial works. I can see it being useful for the 9's but not sure for the rest of them...

A nearby catholic school closed last year. Many of the students came to our catholic school. The teachers noticed the new students had beautiful cursive while the old students, not so much. The principal made it mandatory that all assignments 4th grade and up be completed in cursive. They still type papers, but on daily homework no printing is allowed.

Those boards are amazing.

[bernsteincat]

I'm assuming this was intentionally done in a time-capsule sort of way? If so, that was fantastic foresight and such a creative way to preserve something very simple in their everyday lives. I guess I didn't realize they had such vivid colors of chalk back then.

[bugandbibs]

I want to understand how to use that multiplication wheel!

This is beyond cool. What a neat piece of daily life.

[tacokick]

Jun 7, 2015 20:44:01 GMT -5 bernsteincat said:

I'm assuming this was intentionally done in a time-capsule sort of way? If so, that was fantastic foresight and such a creative way to preserve something very simple in their everyday lives. I guess I didn't realize they had such vivid colors of chalk back then.

I doubt it. They probably just installed new chalkboards over Thanksgiving break over the old ones. I'd think they'd leave a message if it was deliberate.

[bernsteincat]

Jun 7, 2015 21:17:49 GMT -5 tacokick said:

Jun 7, 2015 20:44:01 GMT -5 bernsteincat said:

I'm assuming this was intentionally done in a time-capsule sort of way? If so, that was fantastic foresight and such a creative way to preserve something very simple in their everyday lives. I guess I didn't realize they had such vivid colors of chalk back then.

I doubt it. They probably just installed new chalkboards over Thanksgiving break over the old ones. I'd think they'd leave a message if it was deliberate.

Good point.

[AAM2012]

So cool! Thanks for sharing.

[mrsukyankee]

That is fabulous. Thank you for sharing!

[Skyesthelimit1212]

Jun 7, 2015 20:13:52 GMT -5 EloiseWeenie said:

Jun 7, 2015 20:11:22 GMT -5 pandora said:

This is seriously amazing. I hope they are able to preserve them. So sad that we are losing cursive to print. I still use cursive, it's so beautiful.

I write in cursive, and I wish mine looked like what's written on the chalkboards! Mine is so sloppy

Mine too, awful.  

[jeaniebueller]

This is so awesome! Kids today don't even know the joys of clapping chalkboard erasers.

[mmp]

I learned my multiplication tables in a similar way. 3rd grade. I could look at pictures like this all day. Love it!