October 16, 2025

Hi ,

I felt like an idiot.

I’ve been using AI for years, but this week I took an assessment on how well I can use AI. It was humbling to say the least.

The challenges were very technical, included word games, outputting things just right, and process/flow charts. Man, it was tough. It was a timed test, and I never got the first question right. I had to skip it and come back later, which I did, and I’m glad I did because I still couldn’t figure out how to get it to format it correctly, even when I told it EXACTLY what to do!

This week, we’ve got two awesome LIVE events.

First up is AILeader Office Hours. I’m presenting at VAESP next week, and going to use this to answer your last minute questions before that presentation. AI keeps moving fast, and we all need a place to come ask questions and not feel like an idiot.

Second, is my monthly Big Impact Mixer. You never know what is going to come out of these, but this week we are going to share networking strategies and tips. Some come with your best ones. We’ll talk about networking for business, relationships, connections, jobs, and whatever else you can think of.

But I’m not going to be the “guru” this week. The smartest person in this room will be the room. So, if you’ve got something awesome you do, come share. If you want to learn something awesome, come share.

Here’s a tip to whet your whistle, though. Every time I enter into a new relationship with someone, I expect that it will last for 10 years.

Thinking with a long time horizon immediately deepens the relationship and removes the icky transactional feel. Just walking into a meeting with that intention forces you to slow down and see where you’re at.

All the best!

Jethro

PODCAST Episode

Maximizing Student Potential through Personalized Learning Instructions with Maxwell Roach Transformative Principal 572

Maxwell Roach highlights the benefits of personalized learning approaches that cater to individual student needs, enabling educators to unlock each student's full potential.

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Concepts & Frameworks

Organic vs. Mechanistic Skills

Organic skills are what people often call soft skills. But they are anything but soft. They are constantly growing and evolving. They are constantly changing and improving. They are living! Mechanistic skills are those skills where you can easily see if someone has them? Do they know addition? Multiplication? How to code? Organic skills are these: Do they know how to communicate effectively? Do they have empathy? Are they patient? and so many more. Organic skills are hard to quantify, but easily noticeable when they are absent. And they are essential for our day-to-day work, especially in schools.

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“

It's been our pleasure to work with Jethro Jones for a number of years with my administrative team, working with them on different leadership techniques. And I've seen a great improvement, not only in my principals, but also the impact that's had on our students. And recently we hired Jethro to work with our staff on student driven learning. And he did a great job with our staff over a two day training session that was very well paced and provided great opportunities for our staff to ask questions and develop as a group.

— Greg Doverspike, Superintendent, Durand-Arkansaw School District

Jethro Jones

Transformative Principal

Education and leadership nerd, and founder of Transformative Principal. You might know me from my latest books, How to be a Transformative Principal and SchoolX, and the longest running ed leadership podcast, Transformative Principal.