To Be An American Student

To Be an American Student

Many years ago, a pretty girl was named WEN. Her mother always wanted to send her to the U.S. when she was a child. Finally, the girl was sent to the U.S., but she lost herself there. In fact, from old China to new China, a lot of people want their children to become foreign students. They often try anything to send them to the U.S. If you ask why parents do this, they always say this is the best way for their children’s future. It’s the same for me. Although I have just been in the U.S. for one year and a half, I have found that there are many strange things which I have never seen before. Slowly, I have started to lose myself in this foreign country- the U.S., especially concerning my education.

The first strange thing that I noticed was the school schedule. When I went to school the first day, I went to school early just as I would in china. Only one difference was there was no person in our class. At first, I just thought maybe the other classmates went outside for a morning walk. As time passed and class was about to start, other people slowly entered the classroom one by one. The confusable thing was that the teacher was late, too. What happened? Was I sleeping? I was bemused. In China, it is very important for students to be on time, and we have to study in school every day. However, in the U.S., students schedule looks like a funny picture which you can draw according to your humor. Students studying in the American schools could decide their class schedule by themselves. This isn’t the only thing that makes me feel strange and lost; the other one concerns teacher and their methods.

In addition, I was unacquainted with the American teaching methods. In the U. S., teachers usually want students to express personal ideas so that they don’t follow everything from the textbooks. They use the real objects and group projects to let students understand the lesson, not just listen to it. These methods are quite different between China and the U.S. In China, when I was taking classes, teachers used to ask us to write down what they said and wrote. Certainly, American teaching methods are very different and peculiar for me. At first, I didn’t know how to follow these teaching methods. Sometimes, I doubted these methods effectiveness. From now on, I know the answer because I can also clearly remember what activities happened for a long time. From things’ meaning to its use, the American teachers always teach lessons through a special way, and sometimes, they will choose the outside activities.

The last unusual thing is the school activities. No matter if they are outside or in the classroom, I had never tried them before I came to the U.S., but I love trying them now. While I knew I would be an American student, I was so happy and scared. The happy part was I could finish one of my small dreams, and then the scary one was I didn’t know how the activities worked. Were they difficult? There were so many questions in my mind. After almost two years, I have found that these activities are very special and useful. American teachers usually let me increase my experiences through those activities. This special teaching method doesn’t only give me an experience, it also makes me understand what the real studies are. Likewise, studying isn’t only focusing on reading and writing, it is also the actual life.

In the end, I cancel my doubts and find myself in this new country- the U.S. I realize that being an American student can help me learn a lot of new things and find out my real education path. At the same time, I have started to accept American education. It hasn’t only taught me a lot of surprising study methods, but it has also given me many experiences to improve myself in my future life. As an American student, I plan to study my best to finish my education.