Public schools re-opened yesterday, braving high winds from Hurricane Nate to get classes underway.

There's some important symbolism in that. It would have been easy to place an over-abundance of caution over the importance of education.

Instead, administrators, reasonably confident that Nate posed little risk to the Island, decided that the school year should start and it has.

Against that, two headlines have dominated the start of the year.

One was the announcement that CedarBridge Academy will introduce parenting classes to help parents to ensure their children are ready and willing to learn.

That's a sad indictment on Bermuda society in general, but it is also, most likely, a necessary step. It is also likely that the parents who will attend the classes are those who least need the help. Those who need it most may well stay away. It would be a welcome surprise to be proven wrong on this.

Today, this newspaper reports that some students at Berkeley Institute were turned away for having the wrong kind of shoes. The school is right to send out an early message that it will enforce its rules within the bounds of common sense, and students need to know that rules must be obeyed.

Parenting classes and enforcing the rules of the school are all important parts of education. But nothing is more important than the quality of teaching.

Earlier this summer, reported on how a teacher at Warwick Academy (a private school) had been successfully nominated by her colleagues and pupils to attend a summer course at Cambridge University.

An editorial said then: "One good teacher can help a student to want to go to school and to excel. If a school can attract more than one inspiring teacher, the entire school has a chance to excel and perform at levels that no one would have predicted.

"Well trained and enthusiastic teachers who love their subjects and love working with young people are the most important elements of any school. They are more important than big endowments. They matter more than whether the school is private or public. They are more important than 'state of the art' facilities. They are more important than the latest teaching fad or the latest system-wide reform or curriculum change.

"The problem is there are never enough of these kinds of teachers. To some degree, they are born and not made."

The editorial outlined several ways to encourage teachers to join the profession and to stay in it.

One solution is to ensure that pay, which has dramatically improved in the last decade, keeps pace with the cost of living. More importantly, teachers need to have opportunities to retrain and improve their qualifications.

The reputation of the teaching profession also needs to be elevated. The editorial said: "Bermuda has a sports hall of fame. Why not have a teachers' hall of fame? Aren't they role models too? Don't they have many more opportunities ? every day ? to influence and inspire young people than even the best sportsmen and women."

Opportunities for improved pay and training and for honouring the "profession" requires accountability from the professionals.

People who choose to teach because it seems to have easier hours and longer holidays than most jobs have no place in the profession. Teaching requires dedication, long hours and the willingness to go the extra mile.

Those who fail to meet these standards and fail to improve have to go, and the Bermuda Union of Teachers should support that policy rather than defend the indefensible as has happened in the past.

Bermuda's educators, parents and all those who want to confidence in public education restored should start this year with a renewed commitment to raise standards, increase accountability and do better by Bermuda's children.