August 16, 2026

I’ve been interested for a long time in the idea of soft skills. I even helped produce a podcast focused on this called Skilled by Design. Tom Bay has done a lot of work in this arena. As has Seth Godin.

I recently found Dr. Marvin Berkowitz’s book PRIMED for Character Education: Six Design Principles for School Improvement to have the best definition, and one that I will adopt and use frequently. I only wish I had come up with it.

I use the notions of organic vs. mechanical concepts, metaphors, and terminology. So much of what we say and do in education is framed in terms of mechanics. We teach. We transfer knowledge. We control behavior. We manage classrooms. We engineer school change. And so on. Instead, I want to hear us talking about and enacting more organic processes. We should nurture learning and development. We should foster understanding and human flourishing. We should educate for character. Humans are organic entities (p. 5).

Organic skills are what have traditionally been termed the soft skills. The beauty of this view is that they are the skills that continue to grow and develop. You can’t perfect these skills, for as soon as you are proficient, a new level is unlocked.

Mechanistic skills are the hard skills of math, engineering, and science. There’s a definitive answer. There’s a clear evidence of mastery. It’s less context-dependent. You can make a multiple choice test on mechanistic skills, but if you try to make a multiple choice test on organic skills, you’re sure to have some argument.

My friend Jeff Becker just created a new software to share his organic skills video lessons for schools. Check it out, and if you want to be part of a pilot with that, just apply here.

All the best,

Jethro

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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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“

Jethro does a phenomenal job of making school transformation feel possible and attainable. Rather than purely an inspirational and aspirational message, Jethro shares in a way that makes innovative change that impacts students within reach for all stakeholders. We felt energized and empowered to make a difference for students immediately!

— Kelly Tenkely, Founder, 5Sigma Educon

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.