Education: Black to White

Most familiar symbol of the U. S. schoolroom is the blackboard. Few educational devices have lasted so long or with so little reason. One hundred years ago blackboards were actually wooden boards painted black. Then wood was replaced by slate. But even slate blackboards, besides being ugly, are inefficient. They hurt children’s eyes. They darken schoolrooms. After a spell of chalking, erasing and washing, they grow grey, have to be resurfaced every three years. Yet tradition has so strong a hold on U. S. education that blackboards remain in almost every school, even though technicians invented a better writing surface seven years ago. Last week, however, the world’s largest public school system, New York City’s, decided to experiment with a white “blackboard.”

The new board, a plate glass and abrasive composition, should be cheaper than slate in the long run because it does not need to be resurfaced. The white boards, on which children can draw not only with black chalk but pastels, will be tried in a few art classrooms. For ordinary classrooms the Board of Education may try a less glaring color—green.