THE SLATE Dear friends,
Use of slate amongstudents has almost reduced. The original slate made from slate stone is priced around Rs 500—00 today. Now vegetablesand fruit merchants use slate to indicate the price of the items written on slatewith chalk piece and kept over them. These slates are made of tin sheet and coloured black andframed using plastic/fibre strips. Nostalgic look in to slate. Those interestedin nostalgia may enjoy these types of postings. Many information are compiledfrom Wikipedia. Gopalakrishnan30-1-2022 1Use of slate in primary school About seven decadesback, slate was used for writing by students in primary class from standard1-4. In the 5th standard students started writing in notebooks.During examinations(standard 1-4) teachers put marks on one side and studentshad to write on other side. Questions were written on black board. The slate is a blackrock formation cut, sliced, polished and framed in wood. The size is approximately6”x9”. If the black colour faded, it was common to apply thick charcoal liquidon the slate and dry in Sunlight. It retained black colour for some more time. 2 Use of slate while studying in college Black boardscontinued till 1964, while I passed out from college. College had only blackboard and lecturers wrote on black board using chalk. For more clarity colourchokes were also used. Even in my junior engineer training in 1966, it wasblack board. Only difference it was a framed area on wall, fitted with wood andcoloured black. Even while studyingin college, as instructed by professorwe all purchased slate to work at home, for calculating and deriving results,without waste of paper. While preparing for Grad IETE also for calculations I purchaseda slate. It was priced 20-00 rupees in 1991. 3 Definition of Slate Slate,fine-grained, clayey metamorphic rock that cleaves, or splits, readily intothin slabs having great tensile strength and durability; some other rocks thatoccur in thin beds are improperly called slate because they can be used forroofing and similar purposes. Slate is ametamorphic rock that is formed when shales and clays are put under greatpressure and heated inside the earth for millions of years. Like shale, itsplits apart into sheets, which means that it has good cleavage. Slate is usually grey or blackand is used to make blackboards and roofing tiles. If my recollectionis correct we got slates in Kerala made in Kadappa. Kadappa had plenty of slate stones. Now alsowe use Kadappa stone for shelves in thekitchen and work area. At onetime Kadappa stone was laid over the RCC work inkitchen platform for cooking. In Chennai there are exclusive Kadappa stoneshops. 4 History In the 1800s,schools used slates to teach students reading, writing, and math. Students used slates because paperand ink were expensive. Students used slates to complete class workand practice their lessons. Aslate pencil (not chalk) was used to form the letters. This slate pencil wasoften sharpened on the school wall. The advantage of slates over paper was that they could bewiped clean and used again and again. ... A slate pencil(not chalk) was used to form the letters. A slate pencil was used to write on the slate board. Itwas made from a softer and lighter coloured stone such as shale or chalk.Usually, a piece of cloth or slate sponge was used to clean it and this wassometimes attached with a string to the bottom of the writing slate. In 1801, the ratherobvious solution to the problem made its debut. James Pillans, headmaster and geography teacherat the Old High School in Edinburgh, Scotland, is credited with inventing thefirst modern blackboard when he hung a large piece of slate on the classroomwall. 4a Slate Pencil A slate pencil (notchalk) was used to form the letters. This slate pencil was often sharpened onthe school wall. The advantage of slates over paper was that they could bewiped clean and used again and again. ... A slate pencil (not chalk) was usedto form the letters. Slate pencils weremade of soapstone or softer pieces of slate rock, sometimes wrapped in paperlike this one. Many students remember the sound of the slate pencil -- likenails on a chalkboard. ... In the nineteenth century, schoolchildren usedslates to practice handwriting and arithmetic without wasting precious paper. 5 When did theystop writing on slates? The main period ofproduction spanned the period 1770–1900. Thereafter, there were calls to removeslates from the schoolroom because they were regarded as unhygienic.Archaeological evidence indicates, however, that slates persisted in use wellinto the twentieth century. 6 What is chalk? Chalk is(uncountable) a soft, white, powdery limestone while slate is (uncountable) thebluish-grey colour of most slate. We use chalk even now for blotting excess inkfrom writing on paper. Chalks are available in stationery shops. 7. Present day use of slate Many small Gold andsilver merchants use slate for calculations even now. Metal slates are usedmore because of the availability. Major shops prepare all calculations in computer. 8. Slate and slate pencil Though I have notused for the last 20 years, the qualityslate I purchased in 1991 is safe with me in my table cup board along with afew slate pencils. 9. White board and marker I purchased a smallwhite board of size 1.5’x1’ and hung in my room about 5 years mark. I writewith marker important information like FD renewal date, for recollection. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Thatha_Patty" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/thatha_patty/1578633700.2543452.1643529613737%40mail.yahoo.com.
