Educating Tina

I just watched Educating Rita on the TV. It's the first film that gave me a clue that just because I'd messed up at school, didn't mean I couldn't go back and try again. Julie Walters, I think, does the same course as I've done in the past, and when you've been there, you can see how easy it is to get swept up in the new world that you have, quite literally, at your fingertips.

What she learns, and what I learned, is that sometimes the knowledge itself isn't important, it's the choices that it gives you. You can choose to do something with your education, or you can choose not to. Because choice is the most important gift.I haven't just learned about literary criticism, I haven't just learned how to analyse a novel, a play, a poem.

I've learned about myself, I've learned confidence, I've made friends, and I've learned how to pass this gift to my son. I don't care what he chooses to be when he grows up. The best gift I can give him is the gift of choice.