A Parent's Guide to Still In Charge
Understanding the program, and starting the conversation at home. This guide helps you understand what your student is learning and how to continue that conversation. The goal isn't to restrict AI use, it's to make sure your student remains in charge of their own thinking.
Five principles for responsible AI use.
Still In Charge teaches five principles covering judgment, privacy, accountability, institutional rules, and knowing when to stop. That's the skill that will matter in every classroom, every job, and every decision your student makes.
1 · Think Better
Use AI to sharpen reasoning and ideas, never to replace your own thinking.
2 · Protect Privacy
Never input personal, school, or sensitive information into an AI tool.
3 · Verify Outputs
Check AI output before using it for anything that matters. AI can be wrong.
4 · Follow the Rules
Know what's allowed at school and work before using AI for any task.
5 · Pause and Ask
When something feels off: stop, ask a teacher or supervisor, and don't act until sure.
What each principle means at home.
Think Better
AI is a powerful tool for exploring ideas and getting unstuck. But the moment a student lets AI do the thinking for them, they stop building the skill that actually matters. Students who use AI to sharpen their reasoning come out stronger. Students who use it to skip their reasoning come out weaker, even if their grades don't show it yet.
Protect Privacy
Students often don't consider what they've entered into an AI tool. Once something is submitted, it may be stored, processed, or used in ways that aren't visible to you or your child. Personal information includes full names, addresses, phone numbers, school names, health details, financial information, and anything that could identify a person, including a friend or family member.
Verify Outputs
AI can be wrong, and it sounds confident when it's wrong. Every time a student submits AI output without checking it, they're staking their reputation on something they didn't verify. Verification is not optional, it's a core skill, and it starts at home.
Cross-check facts against a reliable source before citing them. Read AI-generated writing aloud, errors become obvious.
Ask "Does this actually make sense?" before submitting. Look up any claim that seems surprising or too convenient.
Follow the Rules
Institutional rules around AI use vary by school, teacher, and assignment. Your teacher's policy is the policy. "Everyone does it" is not a policy. Following institutional rules isn't just about avoiding punishment, it's about building the habit of operating with integrity in every environment.
Pause and Ask
The fifth principle is about building an internal alarm system. When AI says something that seems wrong, feels off, or creates discomfort, the right move is always to stop. This instinct, to pause rather than proceed, is one of the most valuable habits a student can develop. It applies to AI, and it applies to life.
Six questions to start the conversation.
These questions open a real discussion, not a lecture. They work for students of any age. The goal is curiosity, not interrogation.
What did you use AI for this week?
Normalizes the conversation. Most students are using AI regularly, this opens the door without accusation.
Did you check whether it was accurate?
Introduces the verification habit. AI produces errors confidently.
Did you share any personal information with it?
Covers the privacy principle. Students often don't consider what they've entered.
Was AI use allowed for that task?
Covers institutional rules. Students benefit from thinking through this explicitly.
Did anything it said seem wrong or feel off?
Covers the 'Pause and Ask' principle, developing the instinct to stop.
What did you decide to do on your own?
The most important question. Keeps attention on judgment, independence, and what students are building for themselves.
A shared framework for home.
A clear, agreed-upon set of expectations that students can refer to and parents can reinforce.
What AI may be used for
Understanding Concepts
Use AI to understand a concept, then do the work yourself. AI explains; you apply.
Grammar & Phrasing
Check grammar or improve phrasing on your own writing. The ideas must be yours first.
Brainstorming Options
Brainstorm options, then make your own decision. AI generates; you choose.
Research & Background
Research and background reading, with verification of key facts before relying on them.
What AI may not be used for
Submitting AI work as your own
Submitting AI-generated work without disclosure is academic dishonesty, regardless of whether the school has caught up with the policy yet.
Entering personal information
Entering anyone's personal, health, or financial details into an AI tool. A direct privacy risk most students don't recognize.
Using AI where it's not permitted
The teacher's policy is the policy, not what everyone else is doing.
Sharing unverified output publicly
Every unverified claim shared publicly is a reputational risk and a contribution to misinformation.
When to check in.
These are not accusations. They're prompts for an honest conversation. If you notice any of these, approach with curiosity, not confrontation.
Grades improved sharply while effort dropped
May indicate AI-generated work submitted as their own. Ask: "Walk me through how you approached this assignment."
They can't explain work they submitted
If a student can't summarize or discuss work they turned in, it may not be theirs. One of the clearest signals.
They never question AI output
Questioning AI output is the habit this program builds. A student who accepts whatever the tool says, and never pushes back, hasn't built it yet. Worth a gentle conversation.
They're entering personal details into AI tools
A direct privacy risk most students don't recognize as a problem until it's explained.
They seem anxious or avoidant about AI use
Ask directly and calmly, students often don't realize they can raise concerns without getting in trouble.
The goal: Still In Charge
Not to restrict AI use, but to make sure your student remains in charge of their own thinking, in every classroom, every job, and every decision.
A free program from Fellowship Intelligence.
If you have questions about what your student is learning, or want to get more involved, reach out directly.
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