A Decade in Literacy Advocacy
In the stormy world of literacy debates I’ve been both a quiet observer and, at times, a thunderclap. From my tutoring sessions in Sabah, I’ve long championed phonics over fairy tales and called out the “dysteachia” that turns eager kindergarteners into reluctant readers.
Now, the term itself has boomeranged back into the spotlight, landing squarely at the feet of Jo-Anne Gross (@RplusDyslexia), the Canadian dyslexia advocate who helped shape this conversation.
What Is “Dysteachia”?
“Dysteachia” blends dyslexia with bad teaching. It’s a sharp critique of systemic failures that masquerade as student deficits. The word empowers parents and teachers to demand better instruction—but it also risks blurring lines, tempting some to dismiss dyslexia as merely poor pedagogy.
Here’s the twist: Gross herself popularized the term a decade ago, only to recently redefine it in ways that feel like a rhetorical U-turn. As someone she blocked for echoing these ideas (more on that later), I see this as a teachable moment for all of us.
The Origin Story: 2015 and the 99% Declaration
Back in June 2015, after my “Confessions of a Teacher” post on Sabah’s multilingual classrooms, Gross dropped a comment that felt like a mic drop:
“The factory of labeling the victim is still in place. I think 99% of the problems are dysteachia brought on by outdated teacher licensing institutions!”
That “99%” wasn’t just hyperbole—it was a battle cry. Gross, founder of Remediation Plus, flipped the script: stop pathologizing kids, start fixing teachers.
Her words validated what I’d seen in Borneo: students branded “slow” suddenly thriving once I corrected the letter sounds taught wrongly. For me, dysteachia wasn’t just a buzzword—it was the smoking gun behind countless reading failures.
The Pivot: 2025 and the Backpedal
Fast-forward to November 2025. Ontario’s Right to Read rollout reignites the dyslexia vs. dysteachia debate. Advocates like Dr. Karin Maria Hodges (@KarinMariaPsyD) and Parents for Reading Justice (@Parents4RJ) amplify the “fix the instruction first” mantra.
Gross re-enters the fray, but with a narrower definition:
June 2025:
“It’s not all Dysteachia.”
November 7:
“I’m sticking with #Dyslexia is real. So many are now denying it stating it’s Dysteachia. Dysteachia is not knowing how to teach Dyslexic students. It’s not the reverse for God’s sake!”
This shift—from “99% dysteachia” to “a failure to teach dyslexic students”—protects dyslexia’s permanence while distancing herself from skeptics who dismiss it entirely.
It’s pragmatism: start with a sledgehammer to smash outdated norms, then wield a scalpel once the dust settles. But the risk is real—families may chase diagnoses while Tier 1 phonics reforms languish. In Sabah, where resources are scarce, we can’t afford either/or. We need both: honour neurodiversity, and hammer dysteachia.
A Personal Block, A Persistent Call
Years ago, Gross blocked me—likely for my relentless posts arguing “less labels, more literacy.” Blocks sting, but they don’t silence. They remind me of the kids still trapped in colonial-era curricula, their potential bottled up by dysteachia we could fix tomorrow.
Meanwhile, bridges are being built:
Dr. Hodges, herself dyslexic, wrote on November 8:
“Lifelong. Very real… My Dyslexia is forever partially remediated.”
Parents4RJ posted on November 13:
“Kids aren’t broken. The reading instruction is.”
These voices strike the balance Gross once championed.
Closing the Circle
Ten years on, the boomerang lands: dysteachia endures because dyslexia demands it. But history need not repeat as farce.
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