Daily Perspectives #2 – Thoughts from Playing Catch with My Child

I train future childcare workers at university and play catch with my child at home.
There are things I have come to see through both of these experiences.

Just when I thought it had gotten a little cooler, the heat returned—it is a difficult season for managing one's health.

Today, I would like to write about university students' internships.
I will write as thoughts come to me, so I hope you can read this in a relaxed frame of mind.

At the university where I work, during this time of year, there is a task called field visits.
It involves going to see students as they are being looked after at nursery schools or schools and expressing gratitude to their supervisors.

From the sound of their voice over the intercom or the expression on their face during the initial greeting,

• “This internship seems to be going well”

• “This might be a bit tough”

That kind of atmosphere comes across.

What is striking is that their grades and attitude at university do not necessarily match their performance in the field.

For example—

• Student A is serious and excellent in class. When they go to an internship, their expression becomes stiff due to nervousness, and they struggle because they cannot interact well with the children.

• Student B struggled with assignments. When they went to an internship, they naturally played with the children with a smile and were a great success. The teachers even said, “You are being very helpful.”

Every time I see this contrast, I keenly feel that “what makes you strong in the field is not just knowledge, but human ability.”

Brightness, toughness, and knowing how to “relax” in a good way—
these strengths become a great support when interacting with children.

That said, learning knowledge is also indispensable.
It is condensed with the accumulation of experience and wisdom from our predecessors, and only by inheriting that can we take the first step toward new challenges and creation.

However, you cannot overcome the field with that alone.
I feel that what is ultimately questioned is flexibility and toughness as a person.

I think that children these days have fewer opportunities to acquire “toughness.” There are few experiences of failing or struggling, and even when they do, many children avoid them.

In the background, there may be a culture where adults have only praised “success.”
That is precisely why the experience of failing wholeheartedly and trying again in sports or play is very important.

While playing catch with my second son, I suddenly thought about something.
“Having an adult nearby who will laugh and throw the ball back even if you make a mistake”
That might just be the first step in fostering toughness in a child.

In conclusion

• Acquiring knowledge means inheriting the wisdom of our predecessors and serves as the foundation for new challenges.

• However, what truly proves effective in the field is “human power” — cheerfulness and toughness.

• That foundation lies in how we support “experiences of failure” from childhood.

How should parents and educators face a child's failures?
I am taking that question home as homework for myself.