@TomBennett71. Extreme traditionalism.

This needs to be highlighted, because it affects everyone. The Tory 'Behaviour Tsar' has been given £10m of *your* money, to 'improve' behaviour in schools. He's an extreme traditionalist, and this is what he thinks of most teachers. 1

The tweet was a response to this article, by Melissa Benn. She highlights what *some* private schools are doing. It's interesting and highlights the range of pedagogy in our schools. A few are traditionalist. A few have approaches like these. Most are somewhere in-between. 2.

However Bennett, from his tweet reveals his deep prejudice and dogma. If you don't teach and organise your schools the way he and his DfE buddies want, he's questioning your teaching. You teach *badly*. That's almost everyone reading this tweet. 3

4. Good teaching is the preserve of the extreme traditionalists. Only they know how to teach properly well 7 how to improve schools. It's a belief straight from Michael Gove, Nick Gibb & our dear, hapless, Education Secretary. The New Right. Bennett's tweet encapsulates it. 4

5. It's right there in black and white. Pupils who are not taught the way Bennett wants are taught badly. By bad teachers. There's a small group on Twitter that support these beliefs. Fortunately it is not big. 5

6. Most teachers use a range of methods, as in the schools in the article and every teacher employs DI & traditionalist methods to explain. But Bennett at al. call you bad teachers, because you are not teaching their way. It's wrong and it's time to call it out. 6.

7. There are 27,000 schools in the country. A very few schools and trusts teach in highly traditionalist ways. Good luck to them, if they are not selecting by behaviour, off-rolling to support their control and punishment regimes and are causing no safeguarding issues. 7

8. The vast majority don't teach & organise themselves in this way & still achieve good/excellent results. Control & punishment and the almost inevitable route to exclusion are anathema to most, who have secure behaviour policies, despite what he would have you believe.. 8

9. What I see are dedicated, professional, creative teachers, prepared to embrace new ideas & test them out. Teachers fully prepared to research and employ the best methods for the children in *their* classrooms. I see good behaviour (and some not good) in school after school. 9.

10. I see wonderful new entrants to the profession who know they'll have to work hard to build relationships with pupils, not wanting to punish them for every mistake, but prepared to talk and find ways to engage them. I see teachers with 30 years experience doing the same. 10

11. I also see schools doing very, very well, but not employing Bennet's control and punishment methods, teacher at the front all the time, expecting excellent behaviour, but not giving the time to build those relationships which will enable this long-term. 11.

12. I don't agree with Bennett that those private schools have bad teachers. But they do, on the whole, have good behaviour. It's a badly chosen article and if he wants to unblock and discuss, I'd be more than happy to do that. 12.

13. However, if you wish to attend his training, know well that the man leading it thinks you teach badly, if you decide not to follow his methods. The beliefs of the 'Tory behaviour Tsar' leak out through that tweet. Don't mistake that these are hardcore, New Right, beliefs. 13.

14. There is no best way overall to teach. That's quite clear. Those very few who feel they've found it are very likely mistaken. And to put your trust in someone who takes the Tory pound to deliver what they want, after the current disasters, may not be the best way at all. End.

Thanks for reading, but that tweet series has been coming for some time. Comments are very welcome. Abuse, mockery, dog whistling, gaslighting and the foul backlash that can happen when you criticise extreme 'Trad' views, from the usual suspects, isn't.