The Hidden Layers of Teaching Expertise Why “Teacher” on a CV Isn’t the Whole Story
A powerful true story of mismatch, confusion, and breakthrough—revealing why the right experience matters more than just experience.
📚 The Problem
Recruiters often treat “teacher” as a catch-all label. But teaching is a mosaic of specialized skills. A secondary science teacher isn’t automatically equipped to teach phonics to six-year-olds. The result? Mismatched placements, frustrated educators, and confused learners.
“Experience matters, but the right experience matters more.”
👩🏫 Alanna’s Story: Credentials vs. Context
Meet Alanna Maurin—Highly Accomplished Teacher, literacy advocate, and mother of four. With 14+ years in classrooms and accolades like Teacher of the Year, she’s a force in education. But in 2020, she faced a challenge that her credentials couldn’t solve: her youngest son, Louis, was failing to learn to read despite a full year of structured phonics.
🆘 A Cry for Help
Alanna turned to Twitter—not for applause, but for answers. Louis was confused, emotional, and stuck. Despite her expertise, she admitted:
“I do not teach beginning readers.”
🔧 The Fix: Precision Over Pedigree
Enter Luqman Michel, founder of Dyslexia Friend. With targeted, stepwise guidance, Louis retrained his sounds, mastered sight words, and rediscovered joy in reading. Within weeks, he was reading cereal boxes and choosing books for fun.
💡 The Takeaway
Even the most accomplished educators can hit blind spots when their experience doesn’t match the challenge. In education—especially for neurodiverse learners—specificity isn’t optional. It’s life-changing.
📣 Call to Action
Have you faced a mismatch in education? Are you supporting a child who’s stuck? 👇 Share your story or explore practical tips below.
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🧠 The Hidden Layers of Teaching Expertise
Why “Teacher” on a CV Isn’t the Whole Story
Scrolling LinkedIn over coffee, I saw a post that jolted me. It named a frustration I’ve carried for years:
“Most recruiters don’t understand education. They see ‘teacher’ on a CV and think that’s enough.
But teaching isn’t a monolith. It’s a mosaic. A secondary science teacher dazzling with equations might flounder in a Year 2 phonics class. A literacy expert guiding Year 5 students through critical texts might struggle with decoding basics. The right experience matters more than just experience.”
👩🏫 Alanna Maurin: A Teacher, A Mother, A Cry for Help
In late 2020, I met Alanna Maurin—Highly Accomplished Teacher, certified by AITSL, with 14+ years in classrooms and a Master’s in Reading and Literacy. She’d won Teacher of the Year and led anti-bullying initiatives. But on Twitter, she wasn’t seeking applause. She was pleading for help.
Her youngest son, Louis, had just completed a year of “Specialised Synthetic Phonics.” Instead of emerging confident, he was confused and emotional. He cried over “tricky words,” faked stomach aches, and withdrew.
“He’s confused. Very much so. And he’s sad and emotional about learning to read.”
Alanna admitted:
“I do not teach beginning readers.”
Her expertise lay in middle primary—guiding 9- and 10-year-olds through complex texts. But Louis needed decoding basics. It was a classic mismatch.
🧰 The Fix: Stepwise, Specific, Simple
I reached out. We retrained consonant sounds—pure and precise, no schwa noise. We drilled Dolch sight words by sounding out letter names (“a-n-d” for “and”). No guessing. No skipping. Mastery first. Then word families like “air” for “hair” and “chair.” We added interactive storybook reads and car-ride reviews for sticky words like “near.”
After just two lessons, Louis was begging to sound out cereal boxes. His sounds snapped into clarity. By January 2021, he was reading books on his own.
“Reading is now fun. He enjoys it and chooses to read.”
🎨 Recovery, Resilience, and the Road Ahead
We lost touch after Alanna’s surgeries, but glimpses of her resilience surfaced—like her watercolor paintings shared online. Today, she continues shaping minds in South Australia. And I have no doubt Louis is thriving.
🧭 The Bigger Picture
Alanna’s story isn’t just a feel-good anecdote. It’s a wake-up call. Even credentialed experts can hit blind spots when the challenge doesn’t match their experience. In education—especially for neurodiverse learners—specificity saves souls.
“In education, nuance isn’t a luxury—it’s a lifeline.”
💬 What’s Your Take?
Have you faced a mismatch in your world? Are you supporting a child who’s stuck? 👇 Share your story in the comments or explore practical tips below.
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