Knowledge Day, 1 September 2007

Every school courtyard today has the same arrangement: children in rows, parents at the edges, a bell rung by the smallest pupil carried on the shoulder of one of the oldest.

And flowers. An enormous quantity of flowers, all going to teachers, so that by mid-morning every staff room in the country looks like a florist.

I like this because of what it takes for granted: that the first day of school is a public occasion and that the person receiving the flowers is the teacher.

Happy Knowledge Day to every pupil starting today, and to the teachers who will be holding the flowers.