我的兩個老師

\"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 and follow them tO their mysterious，yet enchanting realm. But， I feared， at the momentI'd 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 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， isn't it? Believe it or not， that was myfirst day of swimming class and also my first timetaking a class in China. That summer， my sister，cousin and I had enrolled in a two week beginnerswimming class.

When 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 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 with 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 afterwards) 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 beforever imprinted in my mind. How can anyone，especially a child， learn under such conditions?

I'm not saying that all teachers in China arelike my swimming instructor. I'm sure that thereare also many great teachers in China who lovethai- job and students. But even so， there is stilla najor difference between the two countries'education 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. 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. Everylesson， she teaches me using a gentle voice. Ihave never once heard her raise her voice toanyone， even to students that misbehave. Shehas a charismatic 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 method whenneeded. She understands that every person isdifferent and has different learning abilitiesand preferences.

At the beginning of each lesson， shegreets me warmly and asks me about my week.Then， she would update me on her week. Thisconversation is her way to allow me to relax andbecome comfortable 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 wasted 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 proposal because she didn't 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 word. When the boy noticed， hehastily put down the paper and exclaimed，\"That's 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 story， Mrs.C smiled and told me that her goal wasn't 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 inlearning. 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 greatfeat.

A teacher by definition is someone whodelivers instruction. And according to thatdefinition， both my swim instructor and my SATtutor are both teachers. I can't say whose methodis better， because both accomplish the same inthe end. But I like the latter better. Which do youprefer?

“跳!”教練指著兩米深的游泳池命令道。

“跳!”我像只第一次學游泳的無助的小鴨子，盯著那湛藍的，微波漣漣的池水，敢不敢離開腳下安全堅實的土地，跳入那既神秘又嚇人的池水呢?就在我終于決心要跳入水中的一瞬間，我害怕了，怕水會將我吞沒。

“跳!”我急忙深吸一口氣，緊閉雙眼，膽怯地向前邁了一小步，掉入水中。一口水嗆得我鼻子、喉嚨火辣辣的，我拼命蹬腿，掙出水面，奮力地吸了口氣。

看到我這個樣子，蜷縮在池邊的妹妹和表妹開始哭起來。

可怕，是不是?信不信由你，這是我在中國上的第一堂游泳課，也是第一次在中國上課。那年夏天，我和妹妹、表妹參加了一個為期兩周的游泳初級班。

當我第一次看到教練時，我驚奇于如此一張毫無表情的瞼，她有典型的游泳運動員身材，寬肩窄臀，肌肉發達。我更驚奇于她像趕鴨子一樣把我們趕入深水中后，不讓我們靠邊，幸虧在這之前，我學過一點兒，能浮在水面，但我那可憐的妹妹和表妹，在水中拼命掙扎著，試圖用狗刨式接近池邊，教練卻無情地用一根竹竿把她們趕到水中間去，兩個小姑娘嚇得眼里不知是水還是淚。

從那以后，每天早晨，妹妹都賴在床上，用被單把自己裹起來，說她肚子疼。在幾個人人的連哄帶勸下(許愿游完泳，買冰激淋……)，她才非常不情愿地爬起來。外婆總想讓我們多吃點兒早飯，可心里七上八下的，哪里還有胃口。

兩周的課終于結束了，不管怎么說，我學會了游泳，但這個經歷，卻永遠印在了我的腦海中。任何人，特別是孩子，怎么能在這種學習環境里學東西呢？

我并不是說，所有的中國老師都用這種方法，我相信在中國有許多熱愛教育和熱愛學生的老師，盡管如此，中美兩國的教育體制還是有很大的不同。我長這么大，有過許多老師，最近在高中中文課上我們比較了美中教育方式的不同，在討論的時候，我忽然想起了小時候那次學游泳的經歷，它使我對比想到了我另一位在美國的老師。

當我第一次見到C夫人，我的SAT輔導老師時，我立刻被她那安祥的神態所吸引，雖然她身材瘦小，甚至可以說是弱不禁風，但眼里卻充滿了慈愛、安寧和耐心。每次上課，她都輕聲細語，甚至對那些搗亂的學生，也從來沒見她提高過嗓音。她有一種魅力，能很快地讓學生尊敬和喜歡她，我敢說，就是給她一群猴子，她也能教會它們算數。我認為她的最大本事是能因人施教，針對不同的學生，采取不同的方法。

每次開始上課時，她會溫和地問我一周過得怎么樣，也告訴我她這周干了些什么，這樣的開始，使我覺得很放松、很舒服。然后我們開始上課，她一個問題一個問題地向我解釋，為什么是對的，為什么是錯的，從不讓我覺得她不耐煩了，或我有多笨。每次課后我都覺得自己能從一周的壓力中緩過來，心情也好多了，不但學到了東西，還有許多其他的收獲。

今天，她無意中講了一個故事。一個中國小男孩，每周來她這里上課，一次，他愁眉苦臉地對C夫人說，明天要考中文，他還沒復習好，今天的課能不能幫他補習中文。C夫人一愣，因為她根本不懂中文，但她沒有拒絕，想了想，笑著同意了。看了男孩的學習大綱，她發現要考聽寫，她就讓男孩念，她來寫，當男孩念時，她用她自己的方式寫“中文”，后來男孩注意到，馬上大叫，“不對，不對，應該這樣寫”。余下的課，男孩成了老師，她成了學生。第二天，男孩考了全班第一。說到這兒，C夫人笑著對我說，她的目的不是自己學中文，而是通過讓男孩當老師建立起信心，從而達到復習中文的目的。

我被這個故事感動了，她就是這樣的人，讓你心里感到溫暖，不害怕，有信心。自然，學習對大多數學生來說是件苦差事，遠不如玩兒開心?？晌矣X得，老師如果能首先激發學生在學習方面的興趣和信心，幫他們學會不怕或喜歡學習，比強迫學生學習，效果要好得多，也容易得多。

老師就是要向學生傳授知識和技能，從這一點看，我的游泳老師和SAT輔導老師都做到了，我不能說哪種方法更好，因為結果似乎都是一樣的，但身為學生，我更喜歡后一種，你呢?

（指導老師：Mrs.Lin 林余乃寧）