“I Didn’t Know What I Didn’t Know”
Written by Kate Watt, Director, Dyslexia Orton-Gillingham Institute (DOGI), Certified Yoshimoto Master Trainer, Teacher, and Mum
A Personal Reflection on Literacy, Teacher Training, and the Urgent Need for Change
As I reflect on my journey as both an educator and a mother, one phrase continues to echo in my mind: I didn’t know what I didn’t know.
I genuinely believed I was teaching well. I had a tertiary degree, so I trusted I was doing all the right things. I poured hours into preparation; late nights cutting, laminating, organising leveled readers, designing what I thought were rich and engaging literacy experiences. My classroom was vibrant and busy. But despite all that effort, some children just weren’t progressing. I couldn’t understand why the strategies that worked for some left others behind.
The truth is, my whole-language-based teacher training in the 1990s didn't equip me with the knowledge I needed to truly teach reading. I had no understanding of the science behind how children learn to read.
Years later, motherhood became my greatest teacher. I’m a proud mum of two wonderful children who’ve taught me more about literacy, education, and advocacy than any textbook ever could.
When my son was in Year 1, I simply had a gut feeling that something wasn’t quite right. I didn’t even fully understand the word dyslexia at the time…I was just grasping at straws, sensing that his literacy development was slower than expected. It wasn’t from a lack of attention; I simply lacked the foundational knowledge of phonological awareness, orthographic mapping, and how the brain learns to read.
I didn’t know that students like my son needed something very different; explicit instruction, systematic phonics, and early intervention grounded in the science of reading. I now know that this kind of instruction isn’t just helpful, it desperately needs to underpin teaching. It’s crucial for some, beneficial for all, and harmful for none. Every child stands to gain from evidence-based teaching, but for students like my son, it can be life-changing.
Thankfully, we found the right support, although at the time, I didn’t realise we had simply fluked it. By chance more than design, my son received intervention based on the Orton-Gillingham approach. With persistence, evidence-based instruction, and the right accommodations, he didn’t just catch up, he flourished. He went on to excel in high school, placing in the top percentile in many subjects. Today, he’s at university, and I couldn’t be prouder of the resilient, capable young man he’s become.
But I share this with deep awareness, sympathy, and respect for the fact that this is not the journey for most students and their families. Many children never receive the right support. Many parents are left confused, frustrated, and heartbroken - fighting for answers, facing long waitlists, or being told to simply “wait and see.” I know how lucky we were, and I don’t take that for granted. Every child deserves timely, effective support and it should never come down to luck or privilege. We must do better.
This isn’t just my story. It’s the story of thousands of teachers across Australia- well-intentioned, hardworking educators entering classrooms without the essential knowledge to teach all children how to read. And the consequences are profound.
The 2024 Grattan Institute report, The Reading Guarantee, delivers a stark reality: one in three Australian students are not reaching expected reading proficiency levels. That’s not just a statistic, it means 8 out of 24 students in a typical classroom are struggling to keep pace. These children face a heightened risk of falling behind across all subjects and becoming disengaged from learning. The early years of schooling are critical, not just for academic foundations but also for shaping a child’s confidence, self-worth, and sense of identity.
However, we are not in the dark, we know why this is happening. The 2019 Short Changed report found that most initial teacher education programs in Australia devote little time to reading instruction and even less to the practices that actually work. Structured literacy, explicit phonics and early screening are not being effectively or consistently taught. New teachers are still leaving university underprepared and overwhelmed. I know that feeling.I lived it. But decades later, this is unacceptable.
But there is hope. Encouragingly, some universities have recognised these gaps and have made meaningful changes to their teacher training programs. They are embedding the science of reading into their curricula and equipping future educators with the tools they need to teach reading explicitly and effectively. While this progress is promising, there are still tens of thousands of teachers already in the system who were trained without this critical knowledge. They deserve access to high-quality professional development to bridge that gap.
At the Dyslexia Orton-Gillingham Institute (DOGI), we’re working to close that gap…one teacher at a time. Our professional development equips educators with the knowledge, tools, and confidence to teach EVERY child how to read and spell. Our training is grounded in the science of reading and the Orton-Gillingham approach - evidence-based, explicit, and proven to work.
We partner with passionate, committed teachers who want to do better, but were never shown how. We help them identify struggling readers early, implement effective intervention, and unlock the doors that literacy opens for every child.
For me, this work is personal. It’s about more than education policy or classroom practice. It’s about the kids who sit quietly, falling behind while we wait for them to “catch up.” It’s about the parents who feel helpless, and the teachers who feel lost. And it’s about ensuring no child is short-changed by a system that didn’t prepare us to teach them well.
We can do better. We must do better.
Because now I do know, I won’t stop until every teacher, every child, and every family has the knowledge and support they deserve.