Simple Chalkholder

In the States most schools no longer use chalkboards and chalk. Why? It is messy, dusty and seems to cause allergy and breathing problems in both students and teachers. With the prevalence of asthma, schools have switched to white boards that use special markers or use technology such as smart boards or overhead projects to display information to get rid of the health hazard. We don't have that luxury in Kenya. Here it is a common practice to shake hands with a person the first time you see them each day. Often, a fellow teacher doesn't offer his/her hand to shake in the usual way because it is covered with chalk dust. Instead they offer the back of their hand to touch. I have often joked when this happens, "I can tell that you have already been hard at work this morning." One of the items we asked Andrea and Melissa to bring to us last month was a chalkholder. It is a simple tool that holds a piece of chalk. Only a small amount of the chalk is exposed at one time like the lead in a pencil. You hold onto the chalk holder rather than the chalk so that your hands don't become entirely covered with chalk dust. They kindly obliged and brought one for each of us. I've been teaching for a week now. No one has seemed to notice or commented on it until yesterday. One of the Form IV girls asked, "What happens when you run out of chalk?" When I showed them how it works, pushing on the end to move the chalk forward, they were amazed. I showed them how you could remove the chalk and simply insert a new piece which even increased their awe. At that point I had to go around the classroom to show them up close. Isn't it amazing how something so simple that we take for granted and really don't use anymore because it is outdated can cause such a reaction in Kenya.