Blackboard

“ Using the Blackboard.—The blackboard may be used with great profit as an aid in reviewing a lesson, either at the close of a teaching period, at the beginning of a period following a lesson assigned for home study, or at intervals in the course after covering several lessons. No special blackboard outlines are offered in this book; it is urged that each leader shall construct his own blackboard review from the historical outlines at the beginning of each lesson on the Bible. ”

“ Drawings may be made on the blackboard with common blackboard crayon of medium softness, or with charcoal or crayon upon paper. The blackboard is much the more serviceable, as upon that you can draw with great freedom, without fear of wasting paper or of spoiling your work. Swing the arm out freely from the shoulder as you work, give out that which you have to give, without fear, generously. ”

“ The blackboard drawing should be governed by the same spirit, the need of the hour, just as surely as the child’s work at his desk, and when the teacher realizes this fact, he will never lack a subject for illustration. For instance, in the fall the class may be studying trees, and drawing will be found indispensable. ”

“ Is there any real reason, by the way, why blackboards must be black? A deep dull red or somber green would be restful and pleasant to the eye, and show chalk just as well. As is being now slowly discovered. There are no blackboards in our parlors. ”

“ Fate of Blackbeard.
A few weeks later, while Blackboard was lurking in Ocracoke Inlet, with ship well armed and ready for some fresh errand, he was overhauled by two stout cruisers sent after him by Governor Spotswood, of Virginia. In a desperate and bloody fight the “Last of the Pirates” was killed. ”

“ The Dihedral Angle—that is, the upward inclination of the Surfaces towards their wing-tips—does what it can for me, but, in my opinion, it's a more or less futile effort. The Blackboard will show you the argument.” And he at once showed them two Surfaces, each set at a Dihedral Angle like this:
“Please imagine,” said the Blackboard, “that the top V is the front view of a Surface flying towards you. Now if a gust blows it into the position of the lower V you see that the horizontal equivalent of the Surface on one side becomes larger, and on the other side it becomes smaller. ”

“ Upon entering a schoolroom the teacher finds the blackboards bare and dull. There is little in the line of decoration in the room and in order to relieve this monotony she stencils a border, the picture of some great hero or well-known author, draws with colored chalk the inevitable flags crossed at right angles or puts upon the board some design which possibly may or perhaps may not have relation to the needs of the children, their life and activities, or the industries of the school. ”

“ The only justifiable use of the blackboard in a Sabbath-school is in order to make Bible truths more clear and attractive in the eyes of teachers and scholars. Men of good taste, as well as those having tact and ingenuity, can and do use the blackboard with power in various ways. For instance, some years ago I saw a lesson taught in Ralph Wells's school—and many of my examples originated with him—from the text in Matt. ”

“ Ability to draw easily and well on the blackboard is a power which every teacher of children covets. Such drawing is a language which never fails to hold attention and awaken delighted interest.
It has been considered impossible for most of us, because we have never done it. ”

“ No one can follow the plain suggestions given without appreciating the possibilities of chalk and charcoal for ordinary school-room illustration, and finding in himself a steady development of power to sketch on the blackboard. ”

“ Blackboard Relay
This is like the blackboard relay played in the third grade, but instead of marks and letters, words must be written; these may be required to form a sentence, numbers may be written and afterwards added, subtracted, etc., by the succeeding players, or each player may [pg 103] write his own name. It is often interesting to have the last player required to erase all his team has written, or each child may erase his own writing, passing the eraser as he did the chalk. ”

“ Not even a flexible blackboard, however, is essential. [Pg 168] A slate will serve you admirably, and some of the best chalk-talkers use simple sheets of manilla paper tacked to ordinary pine boards.
Then, as to the chalk, by all means use colored crayons. It is easy to learn effective contrasts of colors, and bright hues will increase many fold the attractiveness of your pictures and diagrams. ”

“ See with how few touches an effect can be obtained. A variety of illustrations may be attempted, all of which have been suggested by grade teachers as useful in many lines of school work.
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An outline drawing upon the blackboard expresses much, and is often better than any attempt at light and shade or variety in tone, yet there are frequent occasions when the representation of solidity or of surface is better obtained in illustrative work by the use of the side of the chalk and charcoal. ”

“ Every training quarters should be equipped with a blackboard. It is easy to have regular gridiron lines painted on the board, which can be used to advantage to illustrate plays and to discuss the problems that present themselves for solution in the different parts of the field. ”

“ If they are anatomically perfect, they can be used to perceive objects at a distance of more than twenty feet as perfectly as within that radius. Near-sighted persons can not do this, because objects of moderate size have to be brought closer to the eyes than twenty feet before their details are apparent. In many of our modern school-rooms the blackboard is more than that distance from the farthest row of seats ”

“ The blackboard consisted of a few small boards nailed together and painted black, and the charts were of cardboard, 18 x 24 inches in size. There were ten of them printed on both sides with syllables, and Tebele words and sentences. ”

“ The right leg then kicks out violently, the other does the same toward the left, the arms go up and down, and the chalk man thus appears to be alive, and to be dancing a jig, as the movements of the legs and arms increase in speed, although they can only swing up and down on the board. The mother and son hold up their hands as if struck with horror, and the former rushes out of the room, pulling the boy by the arm. The artist follows, demanding more money, and the curtain falls.
The blackboard is made of any smooth board painted ”

“ An individual board for every pupil, if possible, and the more use—wise use—of blackboards the better. But many "blackboardists" have yet to learn that it is possible to be apt without being alliterative, that one may be extravagant without being effective, sensational without being spiritual. ”

“ This collection of blackboard sketches and the accompanying text has been planned at the request of many teachers and pupils who desire lessons and suggestions along this line, but who are unable to secure personal instruction. ”

“ The blackboards should be plainly visible to all the pupils and care should be taken that all writing or other work on the board is large enough for the pupils to see without eye strain. The distance of each pupil from the board should be governed by the strength of vision. ”

“ Draw the upper leaf on Plate 4 by the use of stroke No. 6, hardly touching the board for the gray tones, then adding the white tones with a stronger pressure upon the chalk.
Are we sure that we have not tried to make drawing an end rather than a means? Let us remember that there must be a motive prompting the work, an interest or experience back of the drawing which demands expression. ”

“ Any sketch or object to be drawn should dictate the kind of stroke to be used and the manner of handling the chalk, the pressure, accent, etc.
For the larger sketch, draw first the tree trunks as shown at No 1. Let the pressure be as gentle as possible, the chalk hardly touching the board. After these are massed in the background, erase a triangular spot for the wigwam, and with the oblique strokes 2, accented first at the left, then at the right, obtain the general form required. Stroke 3 is added at the top of the wigwam, and a bit of charcoal is used for the dark tone at the opening. ”

“ Accent here and there for the light touches, and add bits of charcoal for the dark.
Stroke 2 is drawn by placing the chalk in a vertical position, and drawing it in the desired direction with a rather irregular or uneven stroke. See stroke 3, plate 15. When the strong, bright tones are desired, accent with the chalk, and when the gray tones are necessary, hardly touch the board. The windows are added with strong strokes of charcoal. ”

“ It needed the yellow gloom of the old kerosene lamp in the room; the specked, knotted, warped, smoky pine ceiling losing itself in black and cobwebbed corners; the smoldering murk of the soft-coal fire brooding in the shabby old salamander, and, outside in the darkness, the wind screwing down the gorge and rattling the shrunken casements, to raise Blackburn in the despatcher's chair. Blackburn and the lamp and the stove and the ceiling and the gloom—in a word, Blackburn and the night trick—they went together. ”

“ When he went on deck, Jack thought of a topic as thrilling as this imminent duel between ships and he remarked with joyous excitement:
"Now, Joe, as soon as ever Blackbeard gets his drubbing, we beg a boat and men and gear of Captain Bonnet and go up the creek to fish out the treasure chest and dig in the knoll."
"Hook your fish before you fry 'em," replied the sagacious apprentice-boy. "This scrummage with the Revenge will be no dancin' heel-and-toe. A bigger ship, more guns and men, and a Blackbeard who will fight like a demon when he's cornered. ”

“ After the boatswain had gone ashore the loungers still stood on the wharf, looking down into the boat, and began talking to one another for the men below to hear them. “They’re coming in,” said one, “to blow poor Blackbeard out of the water.” “Aye,” said another, “he’s so peaceable, too, he is; he’ll just lay still and let ’em blow and blow, he will.” “There’s a young fellow there,” said another of the men; “he don’t look fit to die yet, he don’t. Why, I wouldn’t be in his place for a thousand pound.” “I do suppose Blackbeard’s so afraid he don’t know how to see,” said the first speaker. ”

“ If you were to paint a chess-board with a thin coat of white lead, so as effectually to conceal the black squares, and not suffer it to be touched, in a certain time, longer or shorter, according to the thinness of the paint, the black squares would again become apparent. ”

“ Quickly stuffing the paper back into the keyhole, he was in the act of walking back to the fireplace when, over his shoulder, he caught sight of a white face pressed in outline against the outside of the window. It was blurred in the streams of sleet, but the white of the moving eyes was unmistakable. He turned instantly to meet it, but the face was withdrawn like a flash, and darkness rushed in to fill the gap where it had appeared. ”

“ For there was no wind. The shadows of the branches did not stir. He saw swift running shapes, vigorous yet silent, hurrying across the network of splashed silver and pools of black in some kind of organized movement that was circular and seemed not due to chance. Arranged it seemed and ordered; like the regulated revolutions of a set and whirling measure.
Perhaps twenty feet from where he lay was the outer fringe of what he discerned to be this fragment of some grand gamboling dance or frolic; yet discerned but dimly, for the darkness combined with his uncertain vision to obscure it. ”

“ The limbs are moved by means of bits of black thread attached to them, and passing through small holes in the board to the boy behind it. They are fastened on after the board has been painted, and the whole is made of a uniform dull black with common paint, so it does not show when the light is between it and the spectators. ”

“ For once they made a voyage without fear of pirates. Safely the sloop passed in by the outlying cay where the charred bones of Blackbeard's brig were washed by the surf. An anchorage was found in the bight where the Revenge had tarried, close by the beach and the greensward of the pirates' old camp. After diligent preparation all hands manned a boat which pulled into the mouth of the sluggish creek. With axes to clear the entanglements and men enough to shove over the muddy [289] shoals the boat was slowly forced up-stream and then into the smaller creek at the fork of the waters. ”

“ The fumes were not dense in their part of the hold and they could breathe, but [225] they well-nigh strangled in trying to refrain from coughing. The fires of tar and brimstone and what not cast so much light that they dared not betray themselves by crawling toward the forepeak. The upright beams between the keelson and the deck threw black shadows over them and they were in no great peril of detection so long as they stayed motionless.
Joe Hawkridge had heard gossip of this extraordinary amusement as a kind of initiation for hands newly joining Blackbeard's ship. ”

“ He recognized the graceful shear of the flush deck which had been ex [107] tended fore and aft to make room for a heavier main battery. Even at a distance, a sailor's eye could read other signs that marked this ship as the Revenge.
"The devil looks after his own," angrily exclaimed Joe. "I'd ha' wagered my last ducat that she was whirled away to founder. Blackbeard boasts of his compact with Satan. I believe it's true."
"Shall we pull down our mast and pray that he passes the raft as a piece of wreckage?" implored Jack. ”