Mind the Gap, Episode 25 — Tom Bennett is Running the Room

Episode Overview

• Tom Bennett discusses the origins and explosive growth of researchED, a grassroots, volunteer-led movement designed to promote evidence-informed practices in education and bypass traditional hierarchies.
• The conversation explores Bennett's role as the government's "behaviour tsar," his pragmatic approach to influencing policy, and his skepticism about the ability to scientifically measure long-term behavior trends.
• Bennett shares his core philosophies on student behavior, emphasizing that it is a learned skill that must be explicitly taught through routines, and that children both resist and crave the boundaries set by adults.
• He critiques the overuse of the term "trauma" to describe post-pandemic students and challenges schools in privileged areas to recognize the socio-economic advantages of their students rather than attributing all success to their own systems.

Key Concepts

• researchED: A non-profit, global, and volunteer-driven movement created to promote evidence-informed education, born from a widespread demand among teachers for practices grounded in research over "folk magic."
• Grassroots Growth: The movement's success was catalyzed by social media, which allowed educators to bypass traditional gatekeepers and engage directly with research and academics.
• The "Behaviour Tsar" Role: Bennett views his government advisory position as a "dream come true" for a practitioner, allowing him to influence policy and improve systems for teachers on the ground.
• Teaching Behavior: A central theme is that behavior is a skill that must be explicitly taught, practiced, and reinforced through clear routines and systems, much like any other subject.
• The Paradox of Boundaries: Children are described as both hating and craving boundaries, placing the responsibility on adults to confidently establish the structure and limits necessary for a safe and effective learning environment.
• Critique of the "Trauma" Narrative: Bennett argues that labeling the general student population as "traumatized" by the pandemic is an insult to those who suffer from genuine trauma and that most children proved to be resilient.
• The "Lucky Sperm Club": This term is used to critique schools in affluent areas that attribute their students' good behavior solely to their systems, failing to acknowledge the significant advantages their students have from their backgrounds.
• Inexperienced Critics: A recurring frustration is expressed with policymakers, academics, and commentators who criticize strict behavior policies without any practical experience managing a challenging classroom.

Quotes

• At 1:50 - "We don't have any staff. We don't have any money, and we don't have any premises or anything like that. What we've got is a lot of people bound together by their belief that it's quite useful to volunteer and promote evidence-informed education." - Tom Bennett explaining the grassroots, volunteer-driven nature of the researchED movement.
• At 5:15 - "I think social media catalyzed it because it enabled us to short-circuit the traditional conversational social cultures of the priesthood where ideas would be given to us like Moses from Mount Sinai." - Tom Bennett on how technology allowed teachers to bypass traditional gatekeepers and engage directly with research.
• At 19:51 - "Which government do you want me to work with? Because there's only one just now." - His pragmatic response to those who criticize him for collaborating with the current government to influence education policy.
• At 21:12 - "I don't trust their judgment when it comes to evaluating a school's behavior. I don't." - Expressing his skepticism about Ofsted's past ability to accurately judge school behavior, explaining why their reports aren't a reliable long-term measure.
• At 24:47 - "Children hate boundaries. Children crave boundaries. You need to be the one who builds the boundaries." - Offering a core piece of advice for teachers, highlighting the paradoxical but essential need for children to have clear limits and structure.
• At 28:13 - "The idea that every child is traumatized... is an enormous insult to the concept of trauma and the children that go through trauma and people that live with trauma." - Arguing against the overuse of the word "trauma" to describe the effect of lockdowns on the general student population.
• At 38:07 - "People who've never had to do it criticize schools who have strict behavior policies." - Expressing his frustration with commentators and policymakers who critique tough behavior approaches without having any practical, frontline experience.

Takeaways

• Treat behavior as a core part of the curriculum; it is a skill that must be explicitly taught, modeled, and practiced, not an innate quality students either have or don't.
• Confidently establish clear and consistent boundaries for students, recognizing that while they may test them, they ultimately need and thrive within a structured environment.
• Be critical of overly simplistic narratives about student populations and school success; question whether good outcomes are due to a system or pre-existing student advantages.
• Actively seek out and engage with evidence-based practices, using communities like researchED to connect directly with research and improve your professional craft.