The phrase often attributed to George Carlin — "never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups" — is catchy, but it misdiagnoses the problem. It suggests that dysfunction arises from individual stupidity, when in reality, the danger lies in systemic misdirection and the dynamics of group behavior.
The image above and its message resonate deeply with me, especially in the field of reading instruction and dyslexia
"You must always be willing to truly consider evidence that contradicts
your beliefs, and admit the possibility that you may be wrong.
Intelligence isn't knowing everything, it's the ability to challenge
everything you know."
Today, 29 January 2026, I read a post on LinkedIn by Sheron “The Ethicist” Fraser-Burgess, MSc. It invited educators to share ethical dilemmas they’ve faced, anonymous or named, to shape monthly dialogues.
After more than 20 years tutoring children labeled “dyslexic,” I’ve reached a clear conclusion: most reading struggles are not incurable brain-based disorders. They are often dysteachia—preventable failure caused by confusing, mismatched, or dogmatic instruction, later mislabeled as dyslexia. Children shut down, disengage, and fall behind not because they cannot learn, but because the system blocks clear, evidence-based paths to success.
The Missing Piece—Shame Avoidance in Intelligent Children
A recent LinkedIn post powerfully captured the hidden toll of modern teaching: the constant emotional labor required to be present for 20+ students, regulate the classroom, respond with empathy, and manage behavior—all without adequate structural support. The author rightly points out that student misbehaviour often communicates unmet needs, but teachers' burnout, disengagement, or departure from the profession communicates something too: care without backup has limits. Student well-being and teacher well-being truly are the same priority, and sustainable classrooms require counseling teams, shared leadership on behaviour systems, and policies that don't place the entire emotional burden on one adult.
A Balanced Approach to Teaching Reading to Dyslexic Students
In a recent LinkedIn post, reading consultant Brian Vieira argued strongly against sight word or whole word instruction, calling it the “worst way” to teach reading. He emphasized the superiority of phonics-based methods, pointing to the vast number of English words, the finite set of speech sounds, and scientific evidence favoring sound processing over memorization.
I’ve seen it countless times in my work with ‘dyslexic’ students: the moment when a child is present in body but absent in mind. They hear the words, but they’re not really listening. They’re not processing. Their mind has quietly “switched off.”
And truth be told, this isn’t unique to dyslexia. It’s something all of us experience in everyday life.
We’ve already seen how poor teaching methods—whether Whole Word or phonics—can leave children confused about the very basics of reading. But what happens when decoding looks fine, yet comprehension falters? Too often, the label “dyslexia” is applied without asking the harder question: is the real issue fluency, or language itself?
Why Reading Aloud Still Matters
Yesterday, I reflected on the challenges children face when learning to read, and the importance of balancing phonics with sight word instruction. Today, I want to turn to something equally vital but often overlooked: the power of reading aloud.
If decoding skills are the mechanics of reading, then reading aloud is the heart—it brings stories to life, nurtures comprehension, and builds the emotional connection that makes books more than just words on a page.
Fifteen years ago, when I first began tutoring children with dyslexia, one challenge stood out above all others: sequencing difficulties. These struggles—processing and ordering information correctly—often became the most persistent and frustrating hurdle for my students.
What Is the Pygmalion Effect?
The Pygmalion effect describes how belief and expectation can shape performance. When teachers or parents expect a child to succeed, the child often rises to meet that expectation. It’s a powerful reminder that encouragement is not just emotional support—it’s a catalyst for achievement.
In my last post, I argued that most children who struggle with reading are not “disabled” in the clinical sense, but rather victims of poor or confusing teaching. When the foundations are muddled—wrong sounds, distorted input, or unclear strategies—many children disengage, and once that shut-down happens, remediation becomes far harder.
It's Often the Teaching, Not the Child
In 2010, my mentor, Dr. Richard Selznick, shared a profound insight that has stuck with me ever since: most children on the left side of the bell curve aren't truly "disabled" in the clinical sense. Instead, they are often "teaching disabled" or "curriculum disabled." These kids thrive when given structured, explicit instruction with ample practice and immediate feedback. True dyslexia—where a child struggles profoundly even with the best teaching—is far rarer.
Here is a comment I made this morning, on a FB post by Dyslexia Inspired.
This resonates deeply with views I've been expressing since 2010. Back in 2004, when I began investigating why many intelligent children could fluently read in Malay and Pinyin (Hanyu Pinyin) but struggled with English, the prevailing explanation was a phonological awareness deficit as the root cause of dyslexia.
I wrote extensively on social media challenging that theory, arguing it couldn't hold because these same children demonstrated strong phonological skills in more consistent orthographies like Malay and Pinyin.
That dominant theory faced significant scrutiny and was largely reframed or debunked around 2017, with emerging research highlighting its limitations.
Now, it feels like the same old idea is being repackaged with new terminology—what I'd call putting fresh lipstick on the same pig.
For more on my early writings, Google search "phonological awareness luqman michel"
Here are comments on the post:
Intro
For years, I have written about dyslexic children who leave school unable to read, only to discover literacy later in life. Their stories raise an uncomfortable question: Why do so many fail in school, yet succeed as adults? The answer lies not in their intelligence, but in the way they were taught.
Visit my bookstore at: https://payhip.com/LuqmanMichel
Why Experts Ignore Evidence on Phonics and Dyslexia
The ongoing "Reading Wars" – the fierce debate between advocates of systematic phonics instruction and proponents of balanced literacy or whole-language approaches – have persisted for decades, leaving many children struggling with reading and labeled as dyslexic. Over the years, I've documented interactions with prominent educators and researchers on my blog. These posts highlight a frustrating pattern: questions rooted in real-world teaching experience and student evidence are often met with evasion, silence, or outright dismissal. This blog post summarizes five key entries spanning from 2020 to 2025, revealing a core issue that could potentially resolve much of the controversy.
