The most important role models should and could be parents and

Hear now the words of wisdom, drawn from the heart of Andrew Shue’s saying: “The most important role models should and could be parents and teachers. But that said, once you’re a teenager you’ve probably gotten as much of an example from your parents as you’re going to.” This utterance carries the weight of generations, for it speaks of the sacred duty of those who first light the torch of learning, and of the inevitable moment when the young must begin to walk in their own fire. It reminds us that the early years are the soil in which the seeds of character are sown, but in the years of youth and trial, the harvest depends upon the will of the one who grows.

The ancients knew this well. Fathers and mothers, like the roots of a mighty tree, nourish the sapling with strength unseen. Teachers, like the rains and the sun, give the mind both challenge and warmth, so that it may stretch upward. Yet, as the boy or girl ripens into youth, they turn their gaze outward, seeking new winds to test their branches. The saying reveals a truth both tender and stern: that parents and teachers give what they can, but they cannot journey forever with the child. The time comes when the young must draw wisdom not only from hearth and classroom, but from the world beyond.

Consider the story of Alexander the Great, whose mother Olympias and father Philip of Macedon gave him strength of spirit and the crown of command. Yet it was his teacher Aristotle who lit the lamp of philosophy in his mind. Parents gave him ambition and heritage; a teacher gave him the discipline of thought. But once grown into a man, Alexander no longer looked back to childhood examples alone. His steps took him into distant lands, where he tested himself against kings, deserts, and destiny. Thus do we see the truth of the quote: the examples of parents and teachers are pillars, but youth must build upon them or else collapse into ruin.

When Shue says that by the age of a teenager the lessons of parents are mostly absorbed, he does not scorn their importance. Rather, he recognizes the law of life—that the young eagle cannot stay forever in the nest, even if its wings were shaped by the mother’s care. At this time, new role models emerge: mentors, friends, heroes in history, or even figures in art and literature. These do not erase the work of parents and teachers, but they call the youth into a wider fellowship of wisdom.

Yet there is danger, too. For if the young do not discern wisely, they may fall into the shadow of false idols, mistaking vanity for greatness. Many in history have chosen poorly, following corrupt leaders or empty pleasures, and their lives became wastelands. The teaching, then, is double-edged: honor the foundation given by parents and teachers, but learn to choose rightly among new influences, lest your spirit be led astray.

What lesson, then, shall we take? First, let parents and teachers be mindful of their holy calling. The impressions they leave in the tender clay of childhood endure longer than marble. Let them strive to shape lives with courage, kindness, and discipline, for these are gifts no riches can equal. Second, let the young, as they step into youth, remember to measure every new influence against the good they first received. Ask: does this new voice strengthen me as my parents once did? Does it guide me toward truth as my teachers strove to?

And to all who hear these words, know this: you must walk your own road, but never forget who placed the first stones beneath your feet. Seek out mentors with wisdom, read the lives of the noble, and choose companions who strengthen your soul. Above all, live in such a way that when others look to you—as they surely will—you too may become a role model, passing forward the eternal chain of guidance that binds one generation to the next.

Thus, the saying of Shue is a torch of remembrance and responsibility. Parents and teachers give the spark, youth fans it into flame, and the grown soul must keep the fire alive—not for themselves alone, but for all who come after. Live so that your life is a light. Live so that the young may not stumble. Live so that you, too, become a worthy example.