AI as "do it for me" vs. "make it easier"

Colleagues,

This message was written by Claude.ai based on examples from previous emails and the show summary.

I hope you enjoyed my conversation with Jerry. I learned a lot, and it's had me thinking ever since.

Here's the big one for me: there's a difference between asking AI to do something for me and asking it to make something easier.

I'll be honest, I'm hesitant to hand a task over completely and say "do this for me." But I'm getting more comfortable asking AI to lighten the load on the stuff that drains my attention without adding much value — like sorting through email or editing down a biography. Low stakes, high friction. That's exactly where AI can take some weight off without taking anything away from me.

The higher the stakes, though, the more I want to do the thinking myself first, and then bring AI in as a thought partner to make my work better. Jerry told a great story about a team developing a document to support homeless families. They didn't ask AI to write it. They wrote it, and then asked AI to help them sharpen it.

That's the line for me. Do the work. Then let AI help you do the work better.
Give the full conversation with Jerry a listen — there's a lot more in there worth sitting with.

Sharing this blog post that came out with ASCD last week—short and sweet just like the coaching protocol I describe 🤣

Today’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast is sponsored by IXL!

Cheers!

​Frederick