How far can you go?

Two more days of rest for so many, then back to school on Tuesday.

If you think a little inspiration might go a long way right about now, you won't get it from us. As families across Kootenai County are revving up their back-to-school engines, the inspirational fuel comes compliments of three teens recently featured in The Press.

These three amigos, boyhood buddies from Hayden Lake, decided a few weeks back to pack up their bicycles with bare essentials and spend a week pedaling on a grand adventure. Destination: Seattle. Why? Well, why not?

Jared Pierson and brothers Scott and Stephen Sturges were nearly run off rural highways, shot at by a misunderstanding property owner and dehydrated by an unforgiving sun. But they also camped with homeless people who shared their stories, gained wisdom that comes only from sleeping under the stars and accomplished something that was extremely difficult - which was the point.

In their own words, the lads wanted to see just how far they could go. With the 2010 public school bells about to sound, we think those are words to guide all our classroom adventurers.

There are new opportunities and daunting challenges for today's students. Thanks to passage of KTEC facilities funding, students can begin preparing for the opening of the technical high school in autumn 2013. How far these students go three falls from now might be determined by how hard they work and how well they plan now.

Jobs are scarce and there's no indication they're coming back in abundance anytime soon. High school students, ask yourself: How far can you go? We echo sentiments expressed in a recent column by Dr. Robert Ketchum in which the former workforce training director urged students and educators alike to focus on education that leads to jobs. Uncomfortable as it may seem, the sooner you decide what you want to do when you grow up, the more likely you'll be to actually wind up doing that.

And speaking of educators, we ask the question again: How far can you go? You're smart people, so you already know that your success can be measured by answering just one question: How far do your students go? To the degree that you can inspire them, like three boys motivated to push themselves way beyond summer lethargy, this academic adventure promises a happy ending.