Ep 17. As Difficult As ABC

Jonathan is back on Earth, this time with a new assignment. He now has to walk in the shoes of a really smart and successful businessman named Arthur Thompson. Arthur was once in Jonathan's shoes--an unassuming and unambitious man who worked in a logging mill--but he worked hard and improved his life, and now he is the head of a successful country-wide lumber corporation. However, despite his success and happiness, Arthur is now faced with a difficult problem he can't solve: his young daughter, Becky, is failing in school.

Arthur is absolutely devastated by the possibility that his daughter might not be able to make anything of herself and is determined to make sure that Becky gets back on the straight path. Despite his efforts, Becky just can't seem to care about school. She skips classes, doesn't turn in her homework, and is constantly distracted whenever she is in school. Arthur has already talked to her, cajoled her, and even punished her, but to no avail. He is at a loss, and he doesn't know what to do.

As Arthur and Jonathan switch places, Jonathan soon finds out that there is more to the story than meets the eye. Becky is not stupid, nor is she lazy; she is simply bored. The curriculum she is studying is not challenging her in any way, and she is completely losing interest as a result. Jonathan realizes that he needs to convince Arthur to take a look at the school's curriculum and see whether there is more that he can do to challenge young students like Becky.

Together, they talk to the school's principal and discover that parents and educators in the community were concerned about the curriculum, and have been for years, but no one did anything about it. Jonathan convinces Arthur to use his influence as a prominent businessman to make a change, to keep it local rather than waiting for the federal government to fix things.

Meanwhile, Becky's teacher, Miss Elizabeth Cummings, starts taking notice of the young girl. As one who challenges her students, Miss Cummings gives Becky an extra challenge: write an essay about something she feels very strongly about and that is real and relevant to the world. Becky chooses the subject of gas and oil pipelines, and shares it with the members of the school board, who are impressed to see such maturity coming from an 11 year old.

Arthur then joins forces with Jonathan to rally the parents, the educators, and the community to come together to help make this happen. It took a lot of hard work, dedication and focus, but they were able to put together a comprehensive plan to overhaul the school's curriculum, and bring it up to date with modern technology and real world applications.

As it turned out, this new curriculum was exactly what Becky and her fellow students needed. They were finally getting the challenge they needed to thrive, and were able to go above and beyond what was required of them, now that they had discovered the pleasures of learning. Becky's grades improved dramatically, and eventually, she was able to graduate from high school with honors. It was all due to the efforts of Jonathan, Arthur, and the community.

"As Difficult As ABC" is a heartwarming episode of Highway to Heaven that they very young can relate to and will make the elders ponder things around their community and state. The story centers around the importance of education and how it's never too late to learn.