Petroglyphs Monument Valley

Those of us who went to school when we were still using Roman numerals remember the teachers single largest teaching tool, The Blackboard. It filled the entire front of the  room and it was used from the first day at school when the teacher wrote her name on it in large flowing letters, ours was a “Miss Clarisse LaThong”, she was French if I remember correctly and I know I do, to the very last day when she wrote “Have a Great Summer!” in her perfect handwriting.

It was a surprise to me then when I found out that ours was not the only culture that used such a teaching aid. While traveling in the far back country looking for photo opportunities I found this remnant of a forgotten classroom tucked behind one of Monument valleys’ huge rock formations. It was in a small grotto-like area that was sheltered from the sun and wind for most of the day and probably held a dozen students and their teacher. The subject of the day seemed to be biology or perhaps animal husbandry as an illustrated portion of the study material still remains. It was amazing to realize that the Navajo were the first to come up with CliffNotes, a not so movable study guide to help the youngsters remember their lessons.

There was likely more to the days lesson than what we see here but due to the ravages of time portions of the blackboard have fallen away taking its message with it. It was comforting to realize that for years and years students had gathered here to learn their lessons before going out to spend the day herding the sheep they were learning about. I can see the young boys excitingly whispering amongst themselves about this new teacher that was going to be here this year as they left the classroom. I wonder what her name was.