Thank you to everyone who tuned into the live!
A quick recap of Thinkering Weekly - Live! for everyone who missed it (… but shouldn’t have!)
I was coming in hot from a top secret location at the Thinkering Media headquarters. After fixing some technical problems with wiring issues on the roof, Garrett was live with blue skies overhead. It was a good one.
Question of the Week: What Makes a Good Learner?
Garrett went straight to curiosity. A learner who admits they do not know everything yet is the learner who keeps moving forward.
A Thinkerer is a curious changemaker - it’s one of the first things we defined as a Collective.
I (smartly) added something that has been coming up across every industry conversation Thinkering has been having lately in a super secret project coming soon with the one and only Kip Glazer :
Companies are not asking for GPAs anymore. They want to know who you are as a human, how hungry you are, and whether you have the grit to push through when things get hard. The industry is defining what a good learner looks like whether schools are listening or not.
Comments open … We want your answer.
Or submit next something for us to ask the community next week!
Big News: Thinkering and NREA Are Official
Thinkering Collective just announced a formal partnership with the National Rural Education Association. We will be in San Antonio in October covering their full conference from our lens, which means you are going to hear from rural educators and school leaders whose voices do not get nearly enough airtime.
Evin said it best in the press release: “Some of the most innovative, resilient, and community-centered learning experiences in the world are happening in rural schools.”
We are going to show you that. Check out the new news!
https://nrea.net/nrea-thinkering-collective-partnership-2026/
Kingston, New York Recap
Garrett and Evin just got back from the Deeper Learning 2026 conference at Ulster BOCES and Garrett would not stop talking about it. The aha moment was finding out mid-conference that every bit of food being served, all the catering, all of it, was done by students. No announcement. No signage. Just students running the show because that is what they do there every day.
They also got a student-led tour of the facility. Cosmetology. Auto shop with one of the only full car lifts on the East Coast. HVAC. Electrical. A full apparel program where the students designed and made the shirts they were wearing that day.
Superintendent Jonah Schenker is the real deal. Interview coming soon. If you are in the New York City area, drive two hours north and go see this building.
Jethro Jones Interview Is Up
Garrett sat down with Jethro Jones, co-founder of BePodcast Network and AI education consultant. The line that stuck:
AI can generate a hundred thousand lesson plans, but it cannot go implement them. Until we figure out how humans actually use these tools inside classrooms, the lesson plans are useless.
Go read the full piece! If you are trying to AUTOMATE or OPTIMIZE anything, talk to him on LinkedIn!
Luis Torres, the Bronx Principal
They met him in Kingston and now have an invite to go to the Bronx and see his school in person. He founded the first ever hip hop high school, partnered with Grandmaster Flash and others, raised money for music studios and an esports arena, and when Garrett asked him how he makes it all happen, he said: I grind. That is it. That is the answer.
Coverage coming. Follow the Bronx Principal on Instagram in the meantime.
MUST NOT MISS - ROADTRIP NATION x EDMENTUM
The interview with the COO of Road Trip Nation and CEO of Edmentum is live! It was filmed in an RV in Orlando in hundred-degree heat with no AC. The conversation was that good anyway.
Welcome to the New Thinkers
Daniel Casey, Brian Zevituk, Aaron Droud, Danielle Wallace, Mary Kaiser, Cassie Godios, Abigail Widger, Amanda Pakanowski, and Connie Stahl are officially part of the Thinkering network. Their capstone projects are coming in live and being uploaded!
Officially meet Erica Levich - an amazing Thinkering partner who is help Teachers get their TIME back!
Where We Are Headed Next!
Marvelous Education Alliance Symposium, October 7 through 10.
MassCue, October 14 and 15. EdTech Leaders Alliance in DC, October 18 through 20.
National Forum to Advance Rural Education in San Antonio, October 19 through 21.
Canadian EdTech AI Summit, October 28 and 29.
Come find us. We will be the ones covered in Thinkering clouds and camera gear asking strangers what makes a good learner and what they would build without restrictions and red tape. If you have an idea, join us and build at ThinkeringCollective.org
