The full gamut of emotions - from the depths of fear to the heights of anticipation - are always present on the first day of the school year.

From the five-year-olds who today venture forth, in brand new uniforms and shiny shoes, into the great unknown of "big school" to the 16- and 17-year-olds who will, mostly, swagger back in for their last year before venturing forth into the real world, today is all about promise.

Students, parents, teachers and administrators need to take up the challenge of the first day of school that education, far from being a chore, is a lifelong opportunity which should not only prepare the young to be contributing members of society, but is a worthwhile calling for its own sake.

Knowledge of English and maths, technology and the fine arts and history and chemistry is what makes the world a better place. When we understand our past, when we know more about the people and countries around us, when we understand how a computer or a car works, we are enriched by the knowledge, even if we do not use all of that knowledge every day.

On a more practical level, the more knowledgeable we are, and the better we are at critical thinking, the better we will be at making decisions about our lives and the less likely we will be to slavishly follow the conventional wisdom or leaders who don't always know better.

That, ultimately, is what education should be about. Students should emerge into the adult world with a sound basis of knowledge and the ability to continue to learn for the rest of their lives. They should have self discipline, sound moral values and open minds; that's not an easy combination to possess.

This year sees the fifth anniversary of the restructuring of the Island's schools. The middle schools, four of five of which have new principals, are at a crossroads. By many measures, they are a success. But they are having to rethink their approaches and curriculum as Bermuda must find ways to improve literacy and numeracy.

Then too, the secondary schools face their own challenges. This year, alternative schools are taking children who have displayed, in modern jargon, behaviourial difficulties. This should give them the chance to learn, with more attention, how to benefit from school instead of fighting it. And the students who remain in Berkeley and CedarBridge should have a chance to learn with fewer distractions.

Some of the students in the senior secondary schools in are returning for an extra year for the first time. This is in part because their predecessors have been unprepared for college work - it is important that the returning students see the extra year as a wonderful opportunity to success and not as a chore to be survived.

The Bermuda College, which will have much reduced freshman year, needs to use this breathing space to continue the reforms and restructuring that the new president, Michael Orenduff, has begun. It is vital that the College stays on course with a new direction; it is the chopping and changing over what its mission is that has done it the most damage in recent years.

This is Education Minister Paula Cox's first day of school too. She took over the portfolio last November and so far has handled a number of crises and issues which eminent good sense. Like any good teacher, she needs to continue to listen - to parents, students and the teachers on the front lines - as she works to restore confidence in public schools.