Installments

Here lives the second installments of multiple choice questions throughout the website.

=SCRUFFY/ Installment Two= Part I of the Scruffy story exemplies two concepts: that of hook prior to the lesson, and that of the frame. Using this as a concept a hook hangs a frame, and a piece of art sits inside of the frame. Hook equals sustained interest- or something familiar and permanent to hang something to; Frame equals how the picture is represented or presented; and picture signifies the content of your class.

These three elements: gaining and sustaining interest, finding a structure in which that can take place, and presenting the required content all takes place in the preparatory stage. Like an artist who considers the viewers of art, the art gallery patrons must be imagined in the opening stage; the frame must be purposeful towards that perceived body of people, and the subject matter must still live within that frame.

When shifting back to the educational setting, the framing of the lesson lives in the imagining of the students at hand, although the concepts and content stay ever present. What can each of these elements tell us about the teaching profession? I'd like to start backwards by nearly dismissing the art itself (the content). This is the nearly unalterable portion, often dictated by the mandates of the system or the reality of the field of study. How much it is present; to what level it is explored; and to what degree it leads to other content is where the art comes into play. Is it a thick painted Van Gogh, or a minimalistic line from Diego or the other muralists.

Likewise, the hook is as effective as the sturdiness of the permenant structure it is attached to (e.g. the wall), the weight of the frame and content, and where it is to hold the piece up. Additionally, how deeply it is embedded in the structure can come into play. Finally, the placement of the wall, the lighting, the traffic patterns, and all sorts of other external considerations, can make the hook, the frame, and the content insignificant.

Art is only appreciated if is presented in an appropriate spot, and if the patrons have a proper mindset to appreciate art. Education imitates art in this respect, as art imitates life.

Finally the frame (the structure holding the content) has to be significantly structured (lest the artwork fall and become damaged), non obtrusive to the content, and enhancing the art being focused upon. Style of frame often affects the focus of the art. Most importantly, though (unless this is the goal) the frame must not overshadow the art. If it does, the frame itself becomes the art.

Educationally, this can be seen as the perrenial battle between the content and the skill set. Any professional artist knows that there is the imaginative strand of art aligned with the technical aspect. One cannot be separated from the other for art to exist. Likewise, content cannot be stripped free from the (often arbitrary) confines of a chosen structure or format. I call, therefore, for a transparency of purpose, a looking at the frame, and a recognition in the classroom of the functions of that frame in order from the students to accept that the chosen frame is A way to present information, rather than THE way to present it.