Marathon day

Jikyusoutaikai, or as I would like to say, marathon day at elementary school. It's one of those things that I admire about Japanese education. Along with the sports day, marathon day encourages the students to push their bodies, something the education system in the States made me absolutely loath. What's nice about the Japanese marathon day is that it isn't just a teacher telling a student to run. Everyone practices together daily, encouraging each other working up to the day. Even if the student doesn't get first place, they can see their practice paying off because they are timed everyday. Last year, my daughter made it across the finish first in her year. But this year she really struggled. Everyone encouraged her, including on the written assignments for class, and she ran her best. She didn't finish where she wanted, but she saw that she could improve with practice. And everyone seemed to have fun running, even my daughter who hates it.