Second Home

         

In general, people always say school is our second home in the world. In China, when the school needs students' help, for cleaning or something else, the teacher will say the school is our home, the clean and tidy depend on student effort. However, the second home in different country is extraordinary dissimilar due to the huge different surroundings and culture. When I came to America, I gained a lot of alternative experiences about second home in the U.S. I have a new perspective of school.

“An jing”—Be quiet. When someone came in the classroom in china, he would always hear the word like “An jing” for the teacher, they were so strict to students, and they didn’t allow students to interrupt them when they were teaching. As a result of some of them were concerned about face-saving. In addition, they believed that teacher would not make any mistake. Nonetheless, in the U.S., teachers are so friendly that you are able to raise your hand to ask any question or even correct teacher’s error. American teachers encourage students to think positively and expand their mind. With the open education teaching system, American teachers and students are almost equal in every way. As far as I can see, I prefer the way students can say or ask anything they want in class, because it will not confine of thought.

            If I attempt to compare with the Chinese-style education and American one. My experience is a good example. When I studied in China, I had an amount of assignments, a lot of quiz and so many kinds of examinations which needed time to prepare. All our homework, we needed to finish by no using computer. Therefore, I didn't have too much time to join any activities in school. My daily class schedule was Monday to Saturday, from 7:30 to 9:30. I only had two little short break, I was able to back to the dormitory. That means almost every week I stayed at my second home. On the contrary, when I studied in the second home in the United States, I was able to have time to join so many activities , no matter it is in-school one or out. As a matter of fact, because many of the assignment will like a big project, you had enough time to prepare it, research it and finish it. While I was doing the homework in school or at home, I can use the internet to get more information and useful tips. Furthermore, I can type my papers on the computer and print it when the due day coming. It's more wonderful for me to learn something in American-style education, because it will give me more knowledge and less pressure to study hard.

         In china, when we discussed about how to learn something, we only had two ways to learn. First, we accept another person to give us knowledge. Second, we learned by ourselves. In my view, In Chinese schools, teachers are always teaching students by giving them a lot of information, requiring them to memorize and testing them all the time. All the things the Chinese teachers did are want to confirm how much knowledge that their student had already learned. On the contrary, In American schools, teachers inspiring their student to learn something by themselves. They hope them to learn independently. They teach students not only the knowledge but also the skills of learning, but it has the only thing is insufficient. Of course, If any student who does not have self-control, will be lost when he study by himself. He will not receive the knowledge but also waste his time.

         Consequently, school is a place that spreads the knowledge for people like farmers sow an area of land with seeds. Like each farmer has his different way to sow the seeds, so every second home has its own style and ways to teach somebody and enrich a student’s brain. We can't compare to get a result as which one is better, but I'm so thankful about what I experience and what I learn in the United States.