First+Read

// I sit with my dog Scruffy whose attempting to gain my attention, asking with his eyes for perhaps a walk, perhaps a portion of the half eaten sandwich by my side, or perhaps an affectionate scratching followed by a game of catch with his favorite squeak toy, but I am now typing this, trying to organize my own thoughts about a little explored topic of teaching, or at least one little explored by me. // // I set myself to work; my mind is good for it; I’m in my zone…and yet I cannot ignore my dog. Last October, after years of denying ourselves a pet, we caved in and headed to the Animal Shelter and fell in love with a Jack Russell, who is indelibly adorable, and who immediately became the fifth member of our family. Scruffy’s personality came out in all sorts of loving ways, but we began to notice the remnants of a dark past. There’s no way to know what experiences he suffered, but all the signs of separation anxiety began to show, and a genuine fear of large noises will set him off to periods of shaking. // // Scruffy climbs aboard my lap, now, edging my laptop away from me, and becoming a furry silhouette against the casement of light of the screen. I offer him a moment of my time, as my thoughts lingered to where I wanted to go with this lesson. // // Scruffy shoots a glance at me and abandons the hope of getting more scratches, retreating to his sentried position at the backdoor to see if anything interesting might pass by. I look up to acknowledge him. From where I sit the divided light door, filled with small scratches on its inside paint, segments my view of our backyard into an area of a small vegetable garden, an area where we set up our weekend barbeques, and an area where we could stretch out under the big tree with a book. Scruffy’s face almost presses against one of the small panes of glass. Something intrigues him, and I perk up thinking that maybe my window of opportunity has arrived. // // I looked beyond the edge of my laptop, to the window, the multiple frames that made it up; I look at it anticipating Scruffy’s ritual of a subdued request, a low bark, a gentle scratch, and looking back at me. He tires of this glassed in obstacle, so I get up, crack the door open, and from my place inside, see him enter a glassed off world, embossed like a painted character in some unnamed French Impressionistic painting, becoming an art-piece separated from my world, become something, I too can focus upon, inspect, analyze, critique, and walk away from unscathed in my assessment. He pounces on a water dish, unaware, and no doubt uncaring about my introspection. // // I set off to work, beginning my passage. Scruffy turned, those begging eyes returning. I mused on. Scruffy sat and waited, turning occasionally to see me lost in my own thoughts. I started constructing the work in my head. Scruffy turned now and face on, pierced the glass barrier with his stare. I began to type. // // My son arrived at that moment, the front door providing a gust of wind that drafted through the house, and slammed the backdoor. Scruffy jumped, pleaded with me, immediately shaking as he was trapped behind the glass, and all his fears exploded into reality. //// I put down my computer, and opened the back door, calling him in. He jumped up and raced inside, and greeted my son with great enthusiasm, his fear now entrusted to my son to dissipate, passing me in the process. // // He was not, and never was, the art of my passing imagination. He was real no matter the side of the glassed frame, and as my son and him bonded with the long sought after walk, I knew I had the start of my story. My hook was written for me with this episode. // // Press the best answer for Part II. // // Framing is: // // a. How a lesson is presented, as in the lens you approach a topic / issue. An "economic" frame of World War II, therefore, is a discussion of the positive elements of war and getting out of the Great Depression. // // b. How something is viewed, whether intentional or not, often displayed in non-verbals. For example, if your presentation style is such that you use raised intonation at the end of each sentence, there can be a perceived perception of questioning that you may or may not have. // // c. The context created to exemplify a point. For example in lesson one on controversial issues, if "this is the way to keep your job" or " this is how you stay out of trouble" or "administration might be playing big brother on this one" is used in your verbage, this may send a message of your belief and/or attitude. // // d. All of the above. Framing is how the content is framed, how the presentation leads to framing, and how the attitude is framed. Ultimately the teacher led frames informs the frames of other stakeholders. //