Middle School Elective · Grades 7–8
You're not in a class. You're interns at an agency — and today we talked about the tool that changes everything, and how to stay in charge of it.
Week 03 · AI, Responsibly · Own Your Future · Fall CohortWe renew our minds daily, and God directs our steps. The hardest thing about anything new is getting started — so we start here, believing, and we invite the Holy Spirit into the work.
What draws the eye first was chosen — hierarchy is a decision.
Colors speak masculine, feminine, bold, calm — they aim the design at someone.
$150 running shoes earn it by showing the benefit boldly: perform better, look better, be better.
You're a tough audience — good. Every design competes with everything else your customer could buy. Your job is to make them believe.
A saved set of instructions for something you do all the time — so the quality never depends on memory.
A connection between two tools that weren't built together — my notes flow to my AI without me touching them.
Mic → notes → AI → next week's lesson. An orderly process — that's how professionals use AI.
This lesson exists because last week's class went through that exact pipeline. You'll build your own workflows before this year is done.
Colors + fonts + spacing + photography, chosen on purpose and written down — then collected into a mood board so every piece your brand makes feels like it came from the same place. Your pod builds one soon.
First prompts are training wheels — anyone can ride those. Prompting is a language, and here's the professional move: tell the AI your goal, then ask it to build the prompt with you and ask you questions until you're on the same page. Your taste + your design system is what makes the output yours.
It will sound like it has feelings. It doesn't. No matter how real it sounds, it is not a person and not your buddy.
You control it. It doesn't control you. It can get things wrong or say something off. Push it, critique it, verify it.
If anything it says makes you feel creepy, hurt, sad, or scared — tell your parents, or tell me. Never hold it in.
Permission, every time: every account, every use, goes through your parents. In class we use guardrails — that's not fear, that's how professionals stay safe. Aware, not afraid.
Robots and AI will change what jobs look like — and create new ones. You won't wait on anybody to hand you one. You're learning to think, to create, to sell, and to do — so wherever the world goes, you adapt and you build.
Born in a stable. Washed His disciples' feet. Constantly finding need and meeting it. Business exists to serve — and in your pods, you'll lead the same way: servant leadership, teammates first.
Bring next week: pod name ideas + why (your pod is a surprise — you won't know your team until the reveal) · your three takeaways from today — we open class with them · and keep the sketchbook going. Next week: pods form, names get chosen, problems get pitched.