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Colleagues,
Like many, our family has experienced a big schism resulting from the toxic and divisive political environment. What used to be an enjoyable visit with relatives has become a game of dancing on eggshells, trying to avoid “controversial” subjects and waiting for the shoe to drop. It has been tempting to just quit. There is the family we are born with and the family we choose. And yet… This past week, Pam and I drove the 9 hours to visit family to try to maintain connection. The outcome was refreshing. We did talk about politics, but we didn’t fight about it. I don’t see things the way other family members do, but I do understand their views a little more. Partly because I was a better listener and partly because they did not try and beat me into submission. Maybe…. Maybe… We are all getting tired of the hate. Maybe it’s time:
What do you think? Cheers! Frederick
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Colleagues,
There are things AI can do well, but for me, the reason to use it is to give us more time to engage in face-to-face relationships. AI is, to some extent, just another time management tool (I know this is oversimplification). The question is, what do we do with that time? If it is simply to help us move down the to-do list, we are missing the real opportunity. Stay focused on priorities, on people. The rest is just window dressing. Cheers! Frederick Colleagues, This message was written by Claude.ai based on examples from previous emails and the show summary. Yesterday I shared the distinction Jerry helped me think through — AI to do it for me versus AI to make it easier. Today, one more idea from that conversation, and then the part that surprised me most. I keep coming back to a practical use case: alternative licensure teachers. A lot of them are walking into classrooms without ever having learned basic classroom procedures — the kind of thing experienced teachers do without thinking. I could see us using AI to draft a rough first pass at those procedures. Nothing polished. Just enough to give a group of teachers something to react to. Then hand it off. Let them argue with it, fix it, make it theirs. The AI doesn't make the decision. It just removes the blank page so people can get to the real conversation faster. But here's what stuck with me most. In an entire conversation about artificial intelligence, the most important takeaway had nothing to do with the technology. It was this: we need to be better listeners. That tracks with something I believe deeply. Presence — really listening, without rushing to fix or add or perform — is still the most powerful tool any of us have. No AI replaces that. If anything, the more we offload the easy stuff, the more capacity we should have to be present with people. Catch the full episode with Jerry here. I’m happy to acknowledge Kaleidoscope Adventures as a sponsor of yesterday’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast! I appreciate their support and encourage you to connect with them if you are thinking about planning a school trip!  Cheers!
Frederick 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 Colleagues,
I’m really hesitant to do this, but I’ll trust you to give me feedback on whether or not it was worth it. In tomorrow’s episode of The Assistant Principal Podcast, I’m digging into AI. Given some of the discussion on the show I thought it would be interesting to ask Claude.ai to write a couple pieces related to the show (tomorrow and Wednesday). Don’t worry, I have no intention of using Claude to write stuff for me, I just thought it would be an interesting thought experiment. For reflection today, think about efficiency versus effectiveness. It looks different based on the task and purpose, but just because something is efficient (like having a chat bot write your emails) doesn’t mean it is effective. Also, sharing this blog post that came out with ASCD last week—short and sweet just like the coaching protocol I describe 🤣 Cheers! Frederick |
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