Being an English teacher at No。2 Middle School has probably been the best experience of my life。I was waking up and knowing that something interesting is bound to happen that day。Before I arrived last February，though，I had some nervous worries。Am I too young to be respected？Will they understand what I say？Will I be a good teacher at all？These were all very important questions to me，because in America I am not a teacher。Rather，I am a very recent college graduate，with a degree in political science。Actually，I have never taken an education class in my life。But soon after I arrived，I realised that enthusiasm and patience are the most important characteristics for a foreign teacher here to have。
Though I am not a trained teacher，I have spent nearly all my life so far as a student。This means that I have been able to note a lot of differences between education in China and in the U。S。A。In China，students do not get a lot of choice in classes they take，only whether they will focus on arts or sciences。In America，though，most of our classes are ones we have chosen。Some classes are mandatory（for instance，at my high school，every tenth-grader takes American History），and there is a certain number of years a student must study a subject in order to graduate。But there are many classes that count toward that subject。So，while two years of arts might be required，a student can choose to fulfill that through classes in drawing，painting，sculpting or through singing or playing an instrument in music classes。
We hope that because students have chosen most of their own classes，they will be more interested in the material，and will have things to say about it。In general，American students are much more willing to talk。Our classes are often run as discussions，not as lectures。A teacher might ask one question，and debates among the students about the answer could last the whole period。If there is not a discussion，students usually ask many questions。At least in my classroom，my students do not share this same willingness to speak。In fact，their shyness is the biggest obstacle I face。It is so frustrating for me when I ask a question and all my students refuse to say a word！
It is easy for Americans to have discussions，because the text-book isn’t as important for us。Because of the all-important exam in senior 3 here，the textbook is necessary。But we have no such exam in the US，for Americans，a textbook is a good source of basic information。Teachers base their lessons on the book，but it’s considered fine to use other resources or to find faults with the book。Some teachers even refuse to use a textbook at all。Instead，they gather a variety of resources，which have viewpoints，and focus even more on class discussion。
Because there is less emphasis on textbooks，American student seem to have more interaction with the material covered in class。It seems as though students in the U。S are forever writing compositions that analyse information。Another very common activity is for a teacher to put the class into several groups，and to assign each group a differ-ent topic。That group will do research and prepare a lesson。For one class period，they are then in charge of sharing what they have learned with the rest of their classmates。
As one might expect，American teachers are generally quite informal，much less formal than most teachers in China。This is one thing that I have carried to my class from the U。S。For instance，I almost always wear jeans and other very casual clothes to class。As another example，I find standing all day quite uncomfortable。So，I sit on my desk。The first time saw me do this，most of them gasped and said，“Chinese teachers never do this！”I am informal mostly because I find it more comfortable，but also because I think it creates a less intimidating environment for my students。Many of my students are nervous at the prospect of talking with a native English speaker。I hope that if I seem more informal，it will make them more comfortable，and maybe they will be more open with me。
Even though they are quieter，it seems that Chinese students are far more eager to learn。I think education is more valued in China。The idea here seems to be，“if I don’t learn a lot，I’ll never succeed。”This can lead to a lot of stress，but it’s a great mind-set。Some of my students seem only to want to learn enough English to pass their se-nior 3 exam，but most have a genuine interest in improving their lan-guage skills。One example that illustrates my point very well is a day when I was feeling quite ill。I didn’t want to cancel class，but when I arrived it seemed clear that I wouldn’t do a very good job teaching。It was a beautiful day outside，so I told the kids that they could have a day of free play。Most of them relished the opportunity to have extra time for basketball，but a group of about 10 said，“We want to speak English。”I spent the class period just chatting with these students。I didn’t get the extra rest I had anticipated，but I was so happy that they actually wanted to speak！If a class of Americans were given a free day，I can almost guarantee that no one would do extra speaking。
In general，I find that Chinese students are far more respectful as well。This is not to say that American students are necessarily rude。In the U。S，we just show respect by behaving in class。For the Chinese，respect reaches far outside the classroom。Several times，I have been invited to students’homes，or to restaurants for dinner。They often give me small gifts as well。This behaviors is not so common in the U。S。
The experiences I have had growing up in America have been quite different from those of my students and friends in China。Not only my education has been different，but so has been my everyday life。When I tell my students，for instance，that I grew up in a small town of only 16，000 People，and that I have a brother，they are in shock。I do like to talk about American customs and tradition，be-cause it is interesting to see how they differ from Chinese culture。But I think these differences are not the most important things。I think it is very important to discuss what we have in common。It is fairly easy for me to do this in my classes。I am only a few years elder than my students，so we have many similarities。We know many of the same movies and musicians，like some of the same celebrities，and have many of the same interests。These similarities give us an easy starting point for conversations。And as we talk more，and get to know each other better，we see that we also have many of the same dreams for the future。This，I think，will prove more important than differences ever could be。
