My Experience with Schaffer’s Victims

Wiley wrote an article about the Schaffer method of writing the five paragraph essay and its pros and cons. I do not disagree with the Schaffer method in theory; it can be useful to have a guide for struggling writers, and it is an acceptable compromise between how writing should be taught and the logistics behind teaching writing in public high schools. But when put into practice, this method is significantly more harmful than helpful. I have experienced the detrimental effects of teaching strategies like the Schaffer method firsthand.

Last week I was tutoring a Butte college student who had to write a 6-page research paper about marketing and commercials. She did not know how to find her own research or write and structure a paper, so she resorted to writing a five paragraph essay. She did not work on finding sources or writing outside of our tutoring sessions. During our sessions, she needed confirmation of every sentence she wrote. She must have asked me at least 20 times per session, “What do I write now?” “What else do I have to say?” To which I would reply, “What do you want to say?” “Do you feel like there is more you want to say about this?”

She was completely dependent on direction from other people in order to get through a fairly simple writing assignment. This shows us a couple of things:

1. She believes there is a “correct” way to write and it follows a very strict formula.
2. She is not capable of writing independently because she was probably taught that “quality writing” is all about fulfilling a checklist. If she is not told what is on the checklist, she cannot write.
3. Feeling the need to follow a formula interferes with one’s ability to communicate their own ideas and cripples one’s capacity for autonomous thought in writing.

I can guarantee that the student I tutored will receive a terrible grade for the paper I helped her write. If she were able to write independently, I would have been able to spend more time working on making her ideas more clear. Instead I had to hold her hand to get most of the way through an essay. After spending over $100 on tutoring, this student will probably barely get a passing grade. These are the kind of results and mindsets that the Schaffer method produces.