Unraveling the Writing Rope: A Flawed Approach to Inclusive Education
It’s back to school time in my district. Our contract as teachers has the district responsible for providing quality professional development throughout the year. Usually, they offer a few days ahead of the school year. And, usually, it’s slapdash.
These past few days have been an interesting journey. These sessions are notoriously bad, and this week’s didn’t disappoint. I wrote last October about how we’re held accountable for Universal Design concepts in our classrooms, accommodating our diverse student group’s needs, but how the district doesn’t seem to understand that we teachers might need some UDL too.
Nothing changed from October until this week in terms of the misery. It was as if, yet again, the people who put the training together never imagined that there would be people with various disabilities attempting to access the content.
But this time, in addition to the poorly designed internal sessions, the district invited some of our “partners” to host Zoom sessions to ostensibly help teachers understand these new platforms. These sessions turned out to be webinars … sales presentations. No checks for clarification. No hands on. And, in Adobe Express’ case, the district actively blocks their web site. Thus, we couldn’t get on their platform to even try to follow along with the sales person’s blistering pace (11 examples in 55 minutes).
But for me, the kicker was our “free gift” for attending. It was a printed copy of Joan Sedita’s 2019 "The Writing Rope: A Framework for Explicit Writing Instruction in All Subjects." You can guess from the title, especially if you’ve been reading this space for a while, where the trigger lies. If not, here’s a link to catch you up.
‘The Writing Rope’ is a purposeful riff on Scarborough’s “Reading Rope.” And just like Scarborough, the author completely ignores the Gestalt Processors in the room.
Nevertheless, the theme of the PDs this week was “writing across the curriculum.” Thus the book. Mind you, I’m in the maths department. But I digress.
I went over to Amazon to see what the current retail price of the book happens to be. There, not only did I find the price, but also the priceless comment that the book contained nothing that isn’t found in a basic teachers’ college english class.
So it got me thinking. Given corporate capture and BigEd. And given that every teacher in the country’s second largest school district was given a copy … WTactualF?! Do you know how much money that is for an old book that likely few will read?
Thus, to process my frustration, I turned to a bit of humour. When I came home, after ruminating about the trees who unwillingly gave their lives for this piece of fish wrap that was now mine, I decided to put my frustration to work. What follows is what I came up with … A late-night informercial script suitable for my favourite literacy builder - readers’ theatre. I hope that you enjoy it.
Infomercial Script: Unraveling the “Science of Reading”
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Opening Scene: Late night, dimly lit living room. Host, Jaime Hoerricks, PhD, stands next to a small table stacked with “The Writing Rope” books. A TV plays in the background with static noise.
Jaime: “Are you tired of the same old, one-size-fits-all approach to reading instruction? Feeling like the so-called ‘Science of Reading’ is just a marketing slogan? Well, you’re not alone! Stay tuned, because we’re about to uncover the truth behind the so-called ‘Science of Reading’ and introduce you to a revolutionary solution that includes everyone!”
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Cut to: Montage of frustrated teachers and confused students.
Voiceover: “The ‘Science of Reading’—it's everywhere! But what if we told you that it’s missing a crucial piece of the puzzle? That’s right! The ‘Science of Reading’ ignores Gestalt Language Processors, leaving a significant portion of our students in the dark!”
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Scene: Jaime holding a copy of “Holistic Language Instruction.”
Jaime: “Introducing my new book, ‘Holistic Language Instruction! ‘It’s time to break free from the constraints of outdated teaching methods and embrace a truly inclusive approach to literacy that works for all language processing types and all ages!”
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Cut to: Classroom scenes showing diverse teaching methods and engaged students.
Voiceover: “Unlike the narrow focus of the ‘Science of Reading,’ which heavily relies on phonics, ‘Holistic Language Instruction’ covers the full spectrum of language processing. From analytic learners to gestalt processors, we’ve got you covered!"
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Scene: Jaime at a desk with colorful teaching materials and engaging activities.
Jaime: “Phonics, schmonics! Our students deserve better than a cookie-cutter approach. With ‘Holistic Language Instruction,’ we celebrate the diversity of language processing styles and provide strategies that support every learner. Because one size doesn’t fit all!”
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Cut to: Diagram of the “Writing Rope” next to a lively classroom scene with students using different learning tools.
Voiceover: “You’ve heard of the ‘Writing Rope,’ but did you know it’s just another half-measure? It still falls short for Gestalt Language Processors. It’s time to expand our horizons and integrate holistic methods that recognize and nurture all students’ strengths.”
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Scene: Jaime flipping through “Holistic Language Instruction,” highlighting sections on diverse learners and inclusive practices.
Jaime: “In ‘Holistic Language Instruction,’ you'll find practical, research-based strategies that work in real classrooms. From early childhood to adult education, we provide tools to create flexible, responsive learning environments that truly support every student.”
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Cut to: Frustrated teachers at a meeting looking at ELA assessment results.
Voiceover: “Across the US, school districts are struggling to make sense of their ELA assessment results. The numbers just refuse to go up, no matter how much they invest in the so-called ‘Science of Reading.’”
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Scene: Close-up of assessment graphs, with Analytic Language Processors on the successful side and Gestalt Language Processors on the unsuccessful side.
Jaime: “Here’s the surprise: the reason those numbers are stubbornly stuck is because the ‘successful’ side of the graph mostly represents Analytic Language Processors. The struggling Gestalt Language Processors are left out, unrepresented in the success metrics!”
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Cut to: Happy, engaged students in various classroom settings, from reading circles to interactive writing sessions.
Voiceover: “Join the revolution in literacy education. Say goodbye to the rigid constraints of the ‘Science of Reading’ and hello to a holistic approach that embraces the uniqueness of each learner. Order ‘Holistic Language Instruction’ today and transform your teaching practice!”
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Scene: Jaime standing in front of a banner with the book cover, smiling confidently.
Jaime: “Don’t let the so-called ‘Science of Reading’ dictate your teaching. Empower your students with ‘Holistic Language Instruction.’ Because every student deserves to be seen, heard, and understood. Order now and be part of the change!”
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Closing Scene: Contact information and a website link flash on the screen.
Voiceover: “Call now and receive a special educator’s discount! Visit our website for more information and join the community of educators making a real difference. ‘Holistic Language Instruction’—because inclusive education is the future!”
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Fade out to logo and contact info.
Voiceover: “This offer is not available in stores. Order your copy of ‘Holistic Language Instruction’ today and start making a difference in your classroom!”
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End of Script
Final thoughts …
The district likely spent about $450,000 on copies of ‘The Writing Rope.’ There are roughly 25,000 teachers in the district and the likely wholesale price is about $18 each. I don’t say this out of professional jealousy. Sure, I’d love to have the royalties on my book for 25k copies. But that’s not the point. Rather, the district likely thinks it’s fulfilled its contractual duty to ‘update’ the knowledge base of the teachers as regards writing. They’ve done their part. They gave out a book and a few hours of training. Now it’s on to teachers to put this information to work.
But, as we saw in the script, the test data won’t improve because they fundamentally misunderstand the problem. Just like the trainers don’t imagine that people like me will be in the training, the district doesn’t even know that gestalt processors exist. It’s certainly not a recipe for success.