Sisu Journal
Definitions, field questions and ideas about how children meet the real world.
We would rather publish less and make every article worth reading: a clear answer, honest boundaries, and something a family can carry into daily life.
In-depth reading
parenting
Hong Kong's New School Year Brings AI into Education: Children Need More Than Faster Answers
As Hong Kong schools implement AI education in 2026/27, learn the five capabilities children need and use a practical family AI judgement card.
sisu
Alisa Vainio's Marathon Gold: Sisu Is Not a Solo Act
On 16 August 2026, Finland's Alisa Vainio won the European women's marathon in 2:22:26. Her preparation, pacing, fuelling and support network show how sisu can combine perseverance, judgement and mutual support.
sisu
The Clouds Did Not Clear. Was the Wait Wasted? — Sisu and the 2026 Total Solar Eclipse
The 2026 total solar eclipse brought clear views in Spain and rain in Iceland. When careful preparation cannot secure the result we hoped for, sisu helps us acknowledge disappointment, separate responsibility from control and choose an appropriate next step.
sisu
What Is Sisu? A Finnish Word That Is Difficult to Translate — and Worth Knowing
Sisu is more than courage, perseverance or resilience. This introduction explores the judgement, recovery, support and purposeful action contained in taking the next appropriate step.
Topics in preparation
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- J2
Real Hope Is the Willingness to Take One More Step When Things Are Hard
Hope is not only the belief that circumstances will improve. It can also be the capacity to identify one honest, appropriate action while difficulty remains.
- J3
Courage Gets You Started. Sisu Keeps You Going.
Courage helps us approach the unfamiliar. Sisu becomes relevant after the start, when fatigue, doubt and uncertainty call for judgement, support and renewed action.
- J4
Are We Solving Too Many Problems for Our Children?
Helping is not the problem. The more useful question is whether a moment calls for an adult to take over, provide a prompt, create scaffolding or leave room for an attempt.
- J5
Children Do Not Need More Hardship. They Need the Right Challenge.
A worthwhile challenge is not simply harder. It has purpose, adjustable difficulty, recognisable risk, available support and room to pause, adapt and ask for help.
- J6
There Are Many Outdoor Activities. What Makes Outdoor Education Different?
Being outdoors does not make learning automatic. The distinction lies in purpose, meaningful choice, manageable consequences, thoughtful facilitation and reflection.
- J7
How Can a Rally Become a Classroom Without Walls?
A rally need not be about speed or ranking. When route, mission, choice, team responsibility and reflection are intentionally connected, it can provide a structure for real-world learning.
- J8
Why Do Forests, Nature and Independence Matter in Finland?
An exploration of what Finnish relationships with nature and independence might offer Hong Kong families, without reducing a diverse country to an education myth.
- J9
Taking Children to Lapland for the First Time: What Hong Kong Parents Should Really Ask
A question-led guide to the environment, preparation, family fit and verified operational information parents should examine before a Lapland journey.
- J10
Travel Leaves Photographs. What Should a Programme Leave?
Travel and educational programmes do not sit in a hierarchy. When a journey claims a learning purpose, families should be able to see meaningful choice, responsibility, facilitation and reflection beyond the itinerary.
- J12
The Sisu Rally: Turning a Finnish Word into a Real-World Experience
The Sisu Rally is not a speed competition or simply a journey to Finland. It uses route, mission, choice, team responsibility and reflection to give families a setting in which to encounter sisu together.