“Autonomy isn't ANARCHY!”: A conversation with Sophie Smith-Tong

TRAILER

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjaMHrnDeTQ

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SHOW NOTES

Sophie Smith-Tong joins James and David to discuss her book Teacher Autonomy: Where Has It Gone and Why We Need It Back – and the conversation is as rich, funny, and urgent as the title suggests.

Sophie is a teacher of 16 years and mental health and wellbeing lead, who came to the question of autonomy through noticing the human cost of a system built on fear. In this episode, she makes the case that the loss of teacher autonomy isn't just a professional grievance – it's a structural wound that affects children's learning, teachers' wellbeing, and the long-term health of the profession.

In this episode we explore:

• Why only 18% of teachers strongly agree they have freedom over how they do their work – and why Sophie thinks fear is at the root of it

• James Callaghan's 'secret garden' speech and the long arc of tightening control since the 1970s

• The 'fidelity' culture: from scripted lessons to approved emails to clocks as cognitive overload

• Why wellbeing training is a sticking plaster – and what addressing the actual disease might look like

• David's 'good tired vs bad tired' distinction, and why autonomy determines which one you get

• Sophie's definition of autonomy: not self-rule without support, but self-governance within a collective direction

• 'Aligned autonomy', 'connected autonomy', and the difference between tight purpose and loose practice

• The curriculum and assessment review: evolution when revolution was needed?

• Child autonomy in early years – and why it gets educated out of children by year one

• Peter Gray's five educative instincts: curiosity, playfulness, sociability, willfulness, and planfulness

• Practical starting points for leaders and teachers: noticing, getting curious, making small changes

• The inner work required of controlling leaders – and why self-compassion is the first step

  
  

LINKS

• Sophie's websites

  • teacherautonomy.com

  • mindfulnessforlearning.com

• Follow Sophie on Instagram

• Follow Sophie on LinkedIn

CREDITS

• The Rethinking Education podcast is brought to you by Crown House Publishing. It is hosted by Dr James Mannion and David Cameron, and produced by Sophie Dean.

• Outro track: How it is and how it should be by Grit Control

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