Make learning materials in two classes: cheap, erasable surfaces such as sand trays, slates and chalkboards for daily practice, and costly durable ones such as paper, bark and bound books for records and texts that must last. Match the material to the purpose, so that scarce paper and ink are not used up by practice that could be done on a slate.
The writing surfaces, inks and books a school without a supply chain can make, and which job each one suits.
Practice And Record Need Different Materials
A child learning letters writes the same shapes hundreds of times. That use calls for a surface that costs little and wipes clean. A recipe, a medical procedure or a seed log has to survive years, and calls for something durable. Using paper for the first wastes the community’s scarcest material; using sand for the second loses the knowledge.
| Purpose | Material | Cost to make | Lasts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Daily practice | Sand tray, dirt, slate, chalkboard | Very low | Erased and reused |
| Short notes, labels | Smooth bark with charcoal | Low | Varies; long if kept dry |
| Records, texts | Paper with durable ink, parchment | High | Long if kept dry and cared for |
Three Companion Articles Hold The Detail
- Homemade Paper & Ink: what is needed, and where the detailed procedures are
- Slates & Chalkboards: reusable surfaces for daily practice
- Preserving Books: protecting the printed and written material that survives
Other Materials That Teach
Not all learning material is written. A set of weights and measures, a model of a lever, a seed collection, a map drawn in the dirt and a sundial each teach something that a page cannot. Songs and stories need no material at all (Oral Instruction Techniques).
For the wider range of surfaces and instruments, see Writing Surfaces and Writing Instruments.
Common Mistakes
- Making paper before it is needed. Papermaking is hard labour; a slate covers practice for years.
- Berry ink for anything important. It fades; see Ink Making.
- No spare copy of the one good text. See The Redundancy Principle.
What’s Next
- Learn next: Slates & Chalkboards
- Combine with: Knowledge We Cannot Afford to Lose, which sets out what deserves the durable materials