Giving It Your All

By Steve Huerd

Having worked with high school students these past twenty-four years in professional youth ministry, I’ve seen thousands of students who have made incredible sacrifices to gain entrance into the colleges of their choice.

Students' Commitment to College

A friend of mine was telling me recently how his son (only now in "eighth" grade) decided that he wanted to attend an Ivy League school.  This goal pushed him to spend many Friday nights studying while his other friends were out having fun, so he could earn the highest GPA possible.  He also pushed hard in cross-country and track so he could be nominated for team captain.  He ventured into DECCA and other organizations that would shine on elite college applications.  After being turned down by several Ivy League institutions, he eventually wound up on the west coast at Stanford.

Stanford University, Palo Alto, CA

Every year it seems that the stakes grow higher as high schools offer more and more AP courses as they seek to prepare their students for college.  With the rising cost of undergraduate tuition, well-meaning parents are constantly pushing their kids to take as many college prep, AP, and college-high school credit courses as possible resulting in even higher standards of performance.

Over and over again in high school counselors' offices the phrase, “If you want to go (there), you’ll have to do this and this” is repeated to youth who truly want to obtain the best that the next four years can give them.  And, year after year, in school after school, they pursue their dreams with intense fervor and discipline-- hoping that one day it will all be worth it.

Whether you agree or disagree with the current state of affairs regarding this phenomenon, the reality is that there is an ever-increasing class of eager students pushing themselves to achieve their dreams and aspirations.  They come naïve and somewhat open-handed to us, the learned and the educated of society, to prepare them for what lies ahead.  Along with their parents they pay small fortunes in order to sit at our feet, to read the books of our choosing, and to complete the coursework we deem appropriate.

Our Corresponding Responsibility As Professors

Knowing this truth, how should we feel as professors of these students?  While we are instinctively aware that we simply cannot give them "all" that they need-- knowing them and seeing their hearts should motivate us to be the absolute best we can be.  In every class, we become stewards of their sacrifices, hope for their dreams, and wisdom for that which they seek.  And while the mileage of this truth varies from student to student, the overall stewardship and responsibility of imparting knowledge and training to them continually remains in our court as professors.  Teaching at this level to such impressionable and eager minds is truly a high calling worthy of the stricter judgment God requires (James 3:1).  Being aware of the generational impact of our teaching upon the church and the society as a whole ought to cause us to give it our best.  May God, in his mercy, grant us continued steadfastness showing us His approval, making our efforts successful.