April 29, 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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Vision Doesn’t Need to Be Big. It Needs to Be Clear.

A school vision doesn’t need to be inspiring poetry. It needs to be clear enough that everyone in your building can say it, live it, and apply it. I once worked with a school where the mission statement was three paragraphs long. Nobody remembered it. We distilled it down to: “Every kid known. Every kid challenged. Every kid supported.” Suddenly, teachers used it in meetings, students referenced it during projects, and parents knew what the school stood for. Your vision should be the compass, not the wallpaper. When people start saying to justify their decisions, you know they've internalized it.

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“

Your keynote today at ASTE about finding that 'one thing' tied in directly with keynote speaker Mawi's message about making a MAD goal. Making it measurable, attainable and deadline driven. Powerful stuff here at ASTE. I am always recharged after being here. Thank you for helping be a part of that and best of luck to you at reaching your goal.

— @kimasundberg, Educator

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.