Although learning a structured format for writing is necessary at young ages when such structure is needed, continuing to use it is detrimental to writing with any sense of creativity and flow. Using Jane Shaffer's method of writing is like painting the Mona Lisa with a piece of sidewalk chalk.
Walk with me through a typical Jane Shaffer formatted essay...
Intro, leading into thesis.
11 sentence paragraph: Transition with Topic sentence, Concrete detail, commentary, commentary, concrete detail, commentary, commentary, concrete detail, commentary, commentary, conclusion.
Repeat.
Repeat again.
Repeat again if necessary.
Conclusion, restate thesis
This method gives teachers a lame excuse not to teach students ideas for creativity. Not only that, but it hinders a students chance of moving beyond it into greater ideas. Jane Shaffer is the reason students do not like to write, and loathe papers. A-students hate it because they can't do anything else, lest they piss off their teacher, and F-students hate it because they have trouble following the format to the teacher's liking. And we wonder why our education system sucks sometimes. We can't just keep throwing money at the problem, we have to get rid of Jane Shaffer.
Students in high school need to be moved away from essays that follow a specific format. Slower for the regular classes and faster for the Honors/AP classes. Show them examples of well written, creative essays compared to an essay without Jane Shaffer. The best thing for them at first is to see examples, and for them to more or less copy what they see. These examples should be short and effective to show the students that sometimes less is more and the length of the essay need not be set in stone.
Shaffer still lives, amazingly. I think she lives in San Diego (am I allowed to say that?). I'm surprised that A- and F-students alike haven't bombed her house yet. Not like I'm promoting that kind of thing...(But now the seed of destruction has been planted. The idea is in your head, mwahaha)
Although I've met with some therapy groups and I'm beginning to write with a voice of my own, I have been forever scarred by this unearthly catastrophe. I know many others who have failed to move beyond it and continue to stress over it into college. And for that, I would like to say one thing to the daughter of the devil:
Damn you, Shaffer. Damn you back to hell.
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