[No. 23] Middle School Entrance Exam × Math Olympiad Finals - The Last Junior Challenge -

The results are finally out.

*If you are short on time, please start from the results in Chapter 4.
(Feel free to leave a like or comment while you are at it (bowing down in apology))

The Junior Math Olympiad Finals.
I feel like this year's competition was
even more tense than usual.

It was his final year as a junior, and I knew the teachers at his cram school
had high expectations, and many of his
acquaintances were also taking the exam.

And above all, his self-assessment results were
right on the borderline of his goal.

1) My history with the Math Olympiad

I have touched upon the history of our challenges with the Math Olympiad
in past articles, but

long before we even considered middle school entrance exams,
we have been facing it for five years
as a special event related to "math",

so it is no exaggeration to say it is my son'soldest childhood friend (no, that is an exaggeration).

We have had various dramas over the years, such as failing the preliminaries when we thought we were absolutely fine,
or declining to participate in the finals even after passing the preliminaries,

but this time, because his goal was
clearer than in previous years, his attitude toward it
had a certain tension to it.

2) To the finals venue: The usual lost parent and child

The venue was the
"National Olympics Memorial Youth Center" in Yoyogi.

The vastness of the grounds, as always,
makes me feel a little dizzy and leads to our standard state of being lost.

We parted ways with the children in front of the classroom,
and from there, the parents waited for over two hours.

The reason my son had a worried look on his face
when we parted was not because of nerves,
but because of his anxiety (shyness)
about not having anyone he knew around him.

Who on earth did he inherit that mentality from?

3) First half ends, an unexpected remark

The Junior (4th and 5th grade elementary) division
has a first half and a second half, with a break in between.

I went to check on him when the first half ended,
and since he seemed to have a decent grasp of it, saying "I'm confident about everything except one question!"
I didn't say anything unnecessary,

"I see. The second half will be difficult, I think,
but you can probably do it, so don't worry."

I said, giving him some baseless encouragement as I sent him off.

Two hours and twenty minutes in total, including the first and second halves.

A duration that would make even an adult want to scream, the expression of the fifth-grade elementary student who had been battling with math was,

as expressionless as always.

4) Self-grading, and "that one question"

Self-grading was done online.
Surprisingly, he was actually willing to
stare at his answer sheet.
(An SSR-class rare occurrence).

From his expression,
I still couldn't read anything,
but through each of his actions,
I began to catch glimpses of how high his level of interest was.

And the result was in the mid-70s.

Honestly, compared to his performance on past papers,
I think he did quite well.

However, it seems he said he made a careless mistake
on the very first question.

5) The announcement a few days later, and an unbroken heart

And a few days later, the announcement on the official website—
the names of the prize winners are posted.

Among them,
unfortunately, my son's name was not there.

And seeing the names of several classmates he knew
on the list,
this seemed to be quite frustrating for him,
and after some time had passed,
I was able to hear his true feelings.

The result was not what he had hoped for,
but it wasn't content that was all that disappointing.

I thought it depended on his own feelings,
so I decided to rub a little salt in the wound.

"Are you frustrated with this result?"
"Is your heart not broken yet?"

His answer was YES.

To this,
"Then let's go for first place together next year,"
I said, conveying my own resolve.

The last Junior year of elementary school.
Frustration remains, but the challenge was
worth it.

What kind of scenery will he see next year—
As a parent, I want to continue supporting him.

<Postscript added later>
The first question, which about 90% of the children answered correctly.
If he hadn't missed this one, the result would have been 3rd place.

My family was very frustrated,
but that is also part of his ability.

I want to connect this to the next time.

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