We couldn’t help but chuckle when we read the quote in Julie Goldberg’s Northern Lifestyles cover story on Saturday from Wilson Elementary School fifth-grader Eli Worth, who said the best part about the first day of school is that it’s one day closer to the first day of the next summer vacation.

We understand the sentiment.

School can be hard work, and it eats away at all the time you’d swear God made for sports and video games and bike rides and our favorite cartoons.

But, now that all students across Michigan have returned to class, we’d like to take a moment to encourage students to stick to it.

Study hard.

It’s worth it.

We promise.

According to the Global Partnership for Education, the benefits of learning are myriad. An extra year of school, for example, increases earnings by up to 10% for men and up to 20% for women.

We would add that school provides all kinds of skills — time management, personal responsibility, working with others — that benefit you no matter which career you choose (you could even be a newspaper editor!).

And it allows you to build relationships with your peers that, if you’re lucky, can last a lifetime.

As Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest.”

So, welcome back, students, and knuckle down.

(THE ALPENA NEWS)