Chalkface
Encyclopedia
Chalkface literally means a cliff or quarry exposing chalk, e.g. the White Cliffs of Dover
.
To work "at the chalkface" means to work in education, specifically in a school. This term, believed to have originally been coined by Ted Wragg
for his Times Educational Supplement
column, should be seen as a metaphor for the coalface. At the time the term was coined, coal mining
was still seen as the hardest, dirtiest, most dangerous job there was. The term appears to have resonated strongly with the teaching profession, as it quickly came into general use. In 1991, the BBC
broadcast a television series called Chalkface, written by John Godber
.
The term has also been used to describe an experimental genre
of music in which lyrics and music are improvised and never played twice.
White cliffs of Dover
The White Cliffs of Dover are cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France. The cliffs are part of the North Downs formation. The cliff face, which reaches up to , owes its striking façade to its composition of chalk accentuated by streaks of black flint...
.
To work "at the chalkface" means to work in education, specifically in a school. This term, believed to have originally been coined by Ted Wragg
Ted Wragg
Edward Conrad Wragg known as Ted Wragg, was a British educationalist and academic known for his advocacy of the cause of education and opposition to political interference in the field...
for his Times Educational Supplement
Times Educational Supplement
The Times Educational Supplement is a weekly UK publication aimed primarily at school teachers in the UK. It was first published in 1910 as a pull-out supplement in The Times newspaper. Such was its popularity that in 1914, the supplement became a separate publication selling for 1 penny.The TES...
column, should be seen as a metaphor for the coalface. At the time the term was coined, coal mining
Coal mining
The goal of coal mining is to obtain coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content, and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from iron ore and for cement production. In the United States,...
was still seen as the hardest, dirtiest, most dangerous job there was. The term appears to have resonated strongly with the teaching profession, as it quickly came into general use. In 1991, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
broadcast a television series called Chalkface, written by John Godber
John Godber
John Harry Godber is an English dramatist, known mainly for his observational comedies. In the 'Plays and Players Yearbook' for 1993 he was calculated as the third most performed playwright in the UK behind William Shakespeare and Alan Ayckbourn. He has a wife and 2 children.-Biography:Godber was...
.
The term has also been used to describe an experimental genre
Genre
Genre , Greek: genos, γένος) is the term for any category of literature or other forms of art or culture, e.g. music, and in general, any type of discourse, whether written or spoken, audial or visual, based on some set of stylistic criteria. Genres are formed by conventions that change over time...
of music in which lyrics and music are improvised and never played twice.