1、1我的两个老师“Jump!“ commanded our instructor, pointingtowards the two meter end of the swimming pool. “Jump!“ Peering over the edge of the pool,I felt as helpless as a newborn duckling at its firstswim. The aqua blue ripples of the pool glidedacross the water and dared me to leave the safetyof solid land
2、 and follow them tO their mysterious,yet enchanting realm. But, I feared, at the momentId give in and take the leap of faith, it wouldopen up and swallow me whole. “Jump!“ I took a ragged breath, squeezed myeyes shut, and took a meager step off the edge ofthe pool. I was met with a burning sensation
3、 inmy nose and throat. Kicking fiercely, I broke outof the water, gulping for precious air. Crouching by the side of the pool, myyounger sister and cousin began to cry. Scary, isnt it? Believe it or not, that was myfirst day of swimming class and also my first timetaking a class in China. That summe
4、r, my sister,cousin and I had enrolled in a two week beginnerswimming class. 2When I first saw our coach, I was surprisedto see such an emotionless face. She was builtlike a swimmer, with broad, muscular shouldersand narrow hips. I was even more surprised byher teaching method. After herding us all
5、intothe pool, she made sure that we stayed there.Fortunately, I had some previous experience so Iwas able stay afloat without too much difficulty.But, my poor sister and cousin struggled.Desperately, they doggy-paddled towards theedge of the pool. But the teacher, seeing theirattempt, prodded them w
6、ith a long bamboo stickand steered them to the center of the lane. Bothgirls were scared to tears. Every morning after that first day, my sisterwould not get up from bed. She would cowerunder her covers with the excuse that her stomachhurt. After much coaxing (and a promise to buyher ice cream after
7、wards) she would reluctantlyclimb out. Our grandmother would then forceus to eat a large breakfast, but the flutteringof butterflies in our stomachs made us loseour appetites quickly. The two week sessionfinally ended. And I did, however, successfullylearn how to swim. But that experience will befor
8、ever imprinted in my mind. How can anyone,especially a child, learn under such conditions? Im not saying that all teachers in China arelike my 3swimming instructor. Im sure that thereare also many great teachers in China who lovethai- job and students. But even so, there is stilla najor difference b
9、etween the two countrieseducation system. Throughout my life, I have had manyteachers. lust recently, we had a class discussionin my level four Chinese class at my high schoolabout education in China and America. It mademe think of one of my teachers here, in the UnitedStates. When I first met Mrs.
10、C, my SAT tutor, Iwas drawn to her serene nature. She has a smallbuild and is extremely thin. Her doe-like eyesreflect her peacefulness and patience. Every lesson, she teaches me using a gentle voice. Ihave never once heard her raise her voice toanyone, even to students that misbehave. Shehas a char
11、ismatic air to her and can easily gainthe respect of her students. I bet even if shehad a class of monkeys, she would still be ableto teach them arithmetic. I think her greatesttalent, though, is flexibility. She can teach awide range of students because she flexibleenough to change her teaching met
12、hod whenneeded. She understands that every person isdifferent and has different learning abilitiesand preferences. At the beginning of each lesson, shegreets me warmly and 4asks me about my week.Then, she would update me on her week. Thisconversation is her way to allow me to relax andbecome comfort
13、able with her. Then, we begin thelesson. Problem after problem, she explains whya certain answer is correct and why my originalanswer is incorrect. Never once does she loseher patience or make me feel stupid. After theselessons, I feel rejuvenated and in high spirits. Ifeel as if my time is not wast
14、ed and that I havegained something from it. Just today, Mrs. C told me a story of how sheonce taught a little Chinese boy. He went to heronce a week. On one particular day, he arrived andanxiously asked her to help him study Chinesebecause he had a test the next day. Mrs. C wassurprised by his propo
15、sal because she didnt know any Chinese. Yet, Mrs. C smiled andagreed to help. Looking over his study guide,she found out that it was a spelling test. Notknowing how to read or write Chinese, Mrs. Ctold the boy to read the first word out to her.While he read, she created her own charactersfor each wo
16、rd. When the boy noticed, hehastily put down the paper and exclaimed,“Thats not how you write that word! This ishow to do it.“ So, for the rest of the lesson, hewas the teacher and she was the student. Thenext day, the boy received the highest scorein his class. At this point in the 5story, Mrs.C sm
17、iled and told me that her goal wasnt tolearn Chinese. Instead she was helping the boybuild confidence by being the teacher and alsopracticing the characters. She is just that kind of person. Her sincerityallows her students to become comfortable withtheir environment and regain their confidence inle
18、arning. Rather than pushing her students to learnsomething, Mrs. C helps him or her learn to like (oreven love) what he or she is learning. Of course,initially, everyone views learning as a burden. Itis our nature. So if a teacher can develop theirstudents interest in a subject, then that is a great
19、feat. A teacher by definition is someone whodelivers instruction. And according to thatdefinition, both my swim instructor and my SATtutor are both teachers. I cant say whose methodis better, because both accomplish the same inthe end. But I like the latter better. Which do youprefer? “跳!”教练指着两米深的游泳
20、池命令道。 “跳!”我像只第一次学游泳的无助的小鸭子，盯着那湛蓝的，微波涟涟的池水，敢不敢离开脚下安全坚实的土地，跳入那既神秘又吓人的池水呢?就在我终于决心要跳入水中的一瞬间，我害怕了，怕水会将我吞没。 “跳!”我急忙深吸一口气，紧闭双眼，胆怯地向前迈了一小步，掉入水中。一口水呛得我鼻子、喉咙火辣辣的，我拼命蹬腿，挣出6水面，奋力地吸了口气。 看到我这个样子，蜷缩在池边的妹妹和表妹开始哭起来。 可怕，是不是?信不信由你，这是我在中国上的第一堂游泳课，也是第一次在中国上课。那年夏天，我和妹妹、表妹参加了一个为期两周的游泳初级班。 当我第一次看到教练时，我惊奇于如此一张毫无表情的睑，她有典型的游泳
21、运动员身材，宽肩窄臀，肌肉发达。我更惊奇于她像赶鸭子一样把我们赶入深水中后，不让我们靠边，幸亏在这之前，我学过一点儿，能浮在水面，但我那可怜的妹妹和表妹，在水中拼命挣扎着，试图用狗刨式接近池边，教练却无情地用一根竹竿把她们赶到水中间去，两个小姑娘吓得眼里不知是水还是泪。 从那以后，每天早晨，妹妹都赖在床上，用被单把自己裹起来，说她肚子疼。在几个人人的连哄带劝下(许愿游完泳，买冰激淋)，她才非常不情愿地爬起来。外婆总想让我们多吃点儿早饭，可心里七上八下的，哪里还有胃口。 两周的课终于结束了，不管怎么说，我学会了游泳，但这个经历，却永远印在了我的脑海中。任何人，特别是孩子，怎么能在这种学习环境里学
22、东西呢？ 我并不是说，所有的中国老师都用这种方法，我相信在中国有许多热爱教育和热爱学生的老师，尽管如此，中美两国的教育体制还是有很大的不同。我长这么大，有过许多老师，最近在高中中文课上我们比较了美中教育方式的不同，在讨论的时候，我忽然想起了小时候那次学游7泳的经历，它使我对比想到了我另一位在美国的老师。 当我第一次见到 C夫人，我的 SAT辅导老师时，我立刻被她那安祥的神态所吸引，虽然她身材瘦小，甚至可以说是弱不禁风，但眼里却充满了慈爱、安宁和耐心。每次上课，她都轻声细语，甚至对那些捣乱的学生，也从来没见她提高过嗓音。她有一种魅力，能很快地让学生尊敬和喜欢她，我敢说，就是给她一群猴子，她也能教
23、会它们算数。我认为她的最大本事是能因人施教，针对不同的学生，采取不同的方法。 每次开始上课时，她会温和地问我一周过得怎么样，也告诉我她这周干了些什么，这样的开始，使我觉得很放松、很舒服。然后我们开始上课，她一个问题一个问题地向我解释，为什么是对的，为什么是错的，从不让我觉得她不耐烦了，或我有多笨。每次课后我都觉得自己能从一周的压力中缓过来，心情也好多了，不但学到了东西，还有许多其他的收获。 今天，她无意中讲了一个故事。一个中国小男孩，每周来她这里上课，一次，他愁眉苦脸地对 C夫人说，明天要考中文，他还没复习好，今天的课能不能帮他补习中文。C 夫人一愣，因为她根本不懂中文，但她没有拒绝，想了想，
24、笑着同意了。看了男孩的学习大纲，她发现要考听写，她就让男孩念，她来写，当男孩念时，她用她自己的方式写“中文” ，后来男孩注意到，马上大叫， “不对，不对，应该这样写” 。余下的课，男孩成了老师，她成了学生。第二天，男孩考了全班第一。说到这儿，C夫人笑着对我说，她的目的不是自己学中文，而是通过让男孩当老师建立起信心，从而达到复习中文的目的。 8我被这个故事感动了，她就是这样的人，让你心里感到温暖，不害怕，有信心。自然，学习对大多数学生来说是件苦差事，远不如玩儿开心。可我觉得，老师如果能首先激发学生在学习方面的兴趣和信心，帮他们学会不怕或喜欢学习，比强迫学生学习，效果要好得多，也容易得多。 老师就是要向学生传授知识和技能，从这一点看，我的游泳老师和SAT辅导老师都做到了，我不能说哪种方法更好，因为结果似乎都是一样的，但身为学生，我更喜欢后一种，你呢? （指导老师：Mrs.Lin 林余乃宁）
