Mark Woods: Tears and gratitude as term starts

For much of the past decade the end of summer and the beginning of autumn has blurred somewhat against the backdrop of persistent drizzle. This year of course has been different and the Met Office’s recent announcement that this has been a very good summer confirmed two things we knew already. Firstly that this has been a very good summer and secondly that when it comes to backward-looking weather predictions the Met are second to none.

The fact that we’ve had sunshine to wave goodbye to has made this back to school week all the more pronounced a milestone in the eyes of the nation’s young. Paddling pools, ice cream and late nights are swapped for phonics, mashed potato and early mornings.

For a good few this week will also represent their first taste of the teacher-ruled universe which they will inhabit for many years to come. The first day at school and nursery often induces tears all round, firstly at the gate from the little one, swiftly followed by sobs on the way home from the bigger one.

It’s a milestone laden with emotion, but one which, because of where we are lucky enough to find ourselves living, is taken almost completely for granted. For millions around the world their worry is how, not where, their offspring will receive the education they are desperate for. And desperate is the word. In many of the world’s poorest countries I’ve been fortunate enough to work in, it is striking just how deeply young children feel the importance of an education. They know their route out of poverty depends on them sitting at a desk every day being taught the skills and the knowledge they need to fend for themselves in later life. They’ll happily walk miles to school and truancy is an all but unheard of phenomenon.

League tables and SAT scores aside we, on the whole, are blessed by the educational opportunities available to our children.

As the merry-go-round of PE kit on a Wednesday, library book back on a Thursday returns to our parental lives, it might just help us a bit to recognise how good we’ve got it.

Twitter @ mark_r_woods