Schools have changed a lot over the years. Tablets, SMART boards, email, WIFI - all have found their way into our classrooms. But as Emerson High School in Oklahoma began renovations to include some of this new technology into their own classes, they received a refreshing blast from the past.
As workers began removing the existing blackboards, they were startled to find the original chalkboards from 1917. And what was even more amazing was that what had been written on these chalkboards almost 100 years ago remained in pristine condition!
This provided an incredible look into how much things have changed. Thanks to an “aligned curriculum” that was used in 1917, each of the classrooms had similar lessons and subject matter.
There was a multiplication wheel that’s completely different from the times tables used today.
But one of the most shocking (and refreshing) finds was to see both God and patriotism blatantly displayed.
God and country were still very much a part of the lesson, with the following sentence reading ‘I give my head, my heart, and my life to my God and One nation indivisible with justice for all.’
These discoveries were especially heartwarming for Principal Sherry Kishore’s 85-year-old mother, who recalled similar chalkboard scribbles from her childhood. Sherry says her mother just stood and cried.
And I have to agree with the sentiment behind her mother’s reaction. In all of our progress forward, there are still lessons to be learned from our past. A simpler time when the distractions of TV, cell phones and social simply did not exist.
You’ll be glad to know that the city and the school are working together to preserve the chalkboards that were uncovered. What an amazing piece of Americana, and an incredible glimpse into the past!
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h/t: Shareably
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