美国教育概况

心诚则灵

“小班化教育”优点多 启良中学　徐玉英

　　近几个星期，校方组织我们参观了美国的几所中学，尽管其学校各有千秋，但他们都有一个共同的特点：那就是“小班化教育”。经观察，我觉得“小班化教育”确实有许多优点： 　　一有利于创设良好的学习环境。 　　由于学生较少，教室的空间就相对来说大了，所以教室布置的造型和色彩以及静态和动态都可以做整体的规划设计，力求最佳的安排和有效的使用与布置。例如，美国学校的教室内大多配置壁橱，供学生每人一橱存放学习、生活用品。教室内有图书角、动物角、玩具角、卫生角、植物角、电脑角等。反正各种东西应有尽有。课桌的摆放也是依据教学的需求随时可以进行组合变化的，墙壁贴满了学生的各种作品。这种合理化的、温馨的布置，使人感到“家”的感觉。它直接影响着学生学习兴趣和情绪，使教室真正成为宽敞、舒适的学习场地。 　　二、有利于提高课堂教学的效果。 1. 加快了教学速度，增加了教育密度： 　　由于教室的空间发生了变化，课桌的摆放可结合教学科目的需要，突出了小组作用，老师可用移动黑板在学生中间进行教学。学生人数的减少，大大提高了师生之间、学生之间交流的密度。增加了学生的操练机会，增强了学生的活动强度，加快了教学节奏，从而提高了教学效率。 2. 有利于进行因材施教和分层教学 　　“小班化教育”使得老师有更多的机会进行个别辅导，及时对学生做好提优补差工作；又可以根据实际情况进行集体教学、分组教学与个别交替使用、优势互补，这样既增加了师生之间的接触，增强了师生之间的互动关系，又有利于提高每个学生的学习效率。 三、有利于培养学生各方面的能力 　　“小班化教育”在教知识的同时，更注重学生各方面能力的培养。小组活动的增多，增强了学生的交往能力，培养了学生的团队合作精神，课堂上每个学生发言、动手操作机会的增多，提高了学生的口头表达能力，动手能力，创造能力，老师个别辅导的机会增多，又有利于学生个性的发展。 　　总之“小班化教育”好处多多，应该大力提倡。

心诚则灵

COCO给芽芽班小朋友的一封信 Coco 　

芽芽班的宝贝们： 　　你们好吗？猜猜我是谁？ 　　——对了！想你们的CoCo——王老师啊！ 　　知道我在哪儿吧？——对！美国啊！America，还记得吗？一个很远很远的地方。　 　　尽管你们还那么小，不会读信；尽管我们分开才一个星期，可我真的已经开始想你们了！还想朱老师，想练老师，想May，想你们现在该准备洗手吃中饭了，可我正躺在床上，提笔给你们写信，因为这里已经是晚上九点了，大家都要睡觉了，嘘！我们说轻点儿声，可别吵着别人了！ 　　大家都还好吗？Ammy早上来还哭鼻子吗？Angel饭吃多点了吗？Martin是不是还经常尿裤子呀？Coco希望我们芽芽班的每个宝贝都好好的，快乐地度过每一天，跟Coco一样，好吗？ 　　跟你们说说Coco在这里的情况吧！　 　　我们往上一坐，就像玩我们的蹦蹦床，可舒服了！每天我们随时都可以洗上热水澡，水龙头里开出来的冰水就可以直接喝，不像在幼儿园里，不能喝生水，Coco最喜欢这样子了——可以偷懒呀！你们可千万不能学Coco噢！因为美国和上海不一样，它的水都可以直接喝。 　　每天我们早、中餐都吃面包或泡面，晚餐就以米饭为主。晚餐也可以吃上红烧肉圆，炒茄子，鸡翅，大白菜等这些我们的家常菜，尽管不如家里和幼儿园里的好吃，但能在美国吃上中国饭菜，就已经很不容易了。所以在这里，Coco一点也不挑食，有什么吃什么，你们可得向Coco多学习噢，特别是Martin、Linda和Angel，只有什么菜都吃，才有营养，记住了吗？ 　　告诉你们，Coco要去的University Of Denver（丹佛大学）可漂亮了！昨天我已经去参观过了，还办了张Student Card，下次拿回来给你们看看，好吗？大家都说照片上的Coco好Cool，还真有点儿大学生味道呢！ 　　Coco还是第一次看到这么漂亮的大学呢！它就像一个建在小山坡上的公园，成片的草地，树木丛生，一幢幢古朴的建筑楼隐藏在绿树丛中，幽静，却有着浓郁的历史感和文化氛围。真想把你们也带来，我们一起坐在绿绿的草地上，打滚，唱歌，做游戏，讲故事，尽情享受大自然和阳光……能在这么优美的环境里学习，该是多么幸福啊！就像你们一样，在那么漂亮的凌云幼儿园里学本领，也是一件十分幸福的事情啊！ 　　在这里，Coco每天要坐两辆公交车去上学，早上出门前得自己准备好午饭——自制hamturger，两片面包夹一片火腿肉。上午上完课后，下午参加各种义工活动和学校活动，时间非常紧凑。知道吗？Coco还将有机会去美国得Kindergarten和那里得美国小朋友们学本领呢！很想知道美国幼儿园的小朋友平时都学什么本领，他们是不是也像你们一样可爱呢？我都快等急了！不过，Coco心里还真有点紧张，毕竟这是美国啊，每一句话，每一个词都是English，所以我得多加努力，加紧练习English，为了和American更好地交流，学到更多的知识。Coco和你们一起加油，好吗？ 　　时间不早了，你们一定也都吃好午饭了，该准备午睡了，是吗？我们一起入睡吧！你们睡地球那头，Coco睡地球这头，你梦到了我，我也梦到了你…… 　　Good Night! 想你们，我的宝贝们！ 　　想你们，朱老师，练老师，冯老师！ 　　还有陈园长和所有的老师们！

心诚则灵

We really learned in American Chen Yiping

These days we’re spending a lot of time observing different schools in Denver. Our teacher,Linda, wants us to get more new ideas and concepts of the education system here in USA and she also wants us to know the methods of bilingual teaching, so she made an arrangement for us to have a chance to observe in two international schools (students come from different countries and English is their foreign language) One is Merrill Middle School, the other is Abraham Lincoln High School. We are warmly welcomed at these two public schools. We observed different classes from language arts to social studies and talked with the principals and teachers there. We really learned a lot from them. Some of us even gave lessons in their school. We introduced Chinese culture to American students. Both the teachers and students there are very interested in our classes. These pictures may give you some more detailed and accurate ideas of our activities here.

　

心诚则灵

An Unforgettable Turkey Dinner By Fei Hongzhang, Jianbang School

November 28th was Thanksgiving Day this year, the fourth Thursday of the month. It has been the national holiday in USA since 1863, which is celebrated with a turkey dinner by American families. To be given more chances to communicate with native Americans, we were arranged to some American families to celebrate the holiday. Dave and I were invited to the Mcneils, an American family back from Indonesia, having just settled in the south of Denver. Informed that we would be picked up at 3:00 pm, we waited in the motel, watching others picked up away. At last , the right car for us appeared in front of our room at 3:15 p.m and came out of a tall thin mid-aged man. Introducing himself as Dick Mcneil and confirming that we were the very guys he wanted to take, he tried to start the car. What surprised us was that the car didn’t start until it took a 15-minute rest.Herhaps we were special guests to it. After the 15-minute-drive, we got to Dick’s house. Having introduced ourselves to the family, we were seated in the sofa in the sitting-room and began our talk with the five children and the other guests. The kids were so interested in China that they asked us to teach them some Chinese. To our surprise, the kids were learning Chinese smoothly and they grasped three Chinese terms “Ne how”(How are you?) , “Shey Shey”(Thank you) and “Tsay Giey”(Good bye) in five minutes. What’s more, Joy , the fourth child was very excited when she learned that my daughter , Agnel was the same age of hers and she showed great interest to make friends with Angel. So I gave her my daughter’s email address. Now they have emailed each other several times and have already become netpals. Times slipped so quickly that it was 6:00 pm. Sandy , the hostess had prepared the dinner. Seated at the table, after the family's prayer we started the special dinner.Although it was our first time to be guests in an American family,we enjoyed the dinner freely, for we had already got familiar with all the members on the scene just as we were making it at our own home.Attracted by the food , I was stuffed so much that I could not eat any more. After the dinner, we gave some introduction to the gifts for the Mcneils. One was the Longjin Tea and the other was Dragon and Tiger Brand Essential Balm, a kind of Chinese traditional medicine. At the moment, Dick’s sister-in-law happened to have got a bad headache and she rubbed a little balm on her temples. To her surprise, the balm was so effective that her pain was relieved a lot. They all praised the medicine for its good effect. And then we talked a lot about China and USA from families to countries, from cultures to politics and from modern to ancient. We showed our admiration to America’s advancement in many fields and they admired China’s long history in which there were so many magnificent creations and inventions to the world.In such a friendly atmosphere, our talk lasted over one hour unconsciously. Although we were not willing to leave the family , we could not disturb them too long.So we had to say “Goodbye” to the family full of hospitality. To our joy, the kids greeted to us in Chinese. At last we left the family in Dick’s car with so much gratitude. It was such an unforgettable experience that we would remember it forever. The importance was not how much English we had learned but how much we had made Americans learn about China. I think the goal for us to be in USA is not only to learn advanced methodology in English Teaching but also to make the world , especially USA know about China where great changes have taken place in the recent years, and also make the Americans realize what an important role China is playing in the world, for the most American people know only a little about China.So what we want to do is to be the bridge between China and USA.

心诚则灵

Celebrating Thanksgiving Day in an American family From Lu Guoyun Jiading No1. High School

Thanksgiving Day is an American traditonal holiday,falling on the fourth Thursday in November. The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, to commemorate the harvest reaped by the Plymouth Colony after a harsh winter. In that year Governor William Bradford proclaimed a day of thanksgiving. The colonists celebrated it as a traditional English harvest feast, to which they invited the local Wampanoag Indians. A week in advance, all of us were arranged for to observe Thanksgiving Day in different American families. To be frank, that is an adventure to us. When we learned the news we were a little nervous as well as excited. All of us were devided into different small groups with two or three of members in each group. Every group would go to an American family to celebrate Thanksgiving Day with members of that family. I was lucky enough to go to our American teacher Linda's home with Anna, who is from Liyuan High School and Tracey, from Putuo District. On the morning of Thanksgiving Day, different groups were picked up to different American families from our motel. With the well-chosen gifts, we began to experience this important American holiday. I was quite sure that we wanted to learn more about American holidays and its culture by means of experiencing this Thanksgiving. At 1:00 PM we arrived at our destination---Linda's house, where we were warmly welcomed. Especially, Linda's three pet dogs showed great interest to the guests from China. After greetings, I noticed the table for Thanksgiving dinner had been set in the middle of the room, with a lot of spoons and forks placed in order. Immediately, I realized that it would be a very formal Thanksgiving feast. We three were very glad because we had a chance to experience the atmosphere of the holiday and make our stomaches happy. More than two hours later, we began to enjoy those tasty traditional Thanksgiving food---roasting turkey, dressing, gravy, shrimps,salad, and pumpkin pie with icecream on it. So tasty! During the Thanksgiving feast, we had a pleasant talk, from which we obtained a lot of detailed information about it. I believe this will benefit my students a lot. When I returned to our motel, it was nearly 9:00 PM. My roommate Leo was already back. He told me he had a pleasant time, which was one of his unforgetable experiences. This was how we celebrated Thanksgiving in Denver, Colarado.

心诚则灵

( Christmas is drawing near, and all of us have been required to do some research work, based on which an essay about Christmas should be finished. The following is my essay based on meeting many Americans. So, in my personal opinion, it can reflect a true Christmas Day. Meanwhile I hope we can have a better understanding of America in different perspectives.)

Financial Pressure or Merry Christmas Lu Guoyun Jiading No.1 High School

In our daily lives, it is generally thought that on the holidays especially on those great holidays, people can relax themselves completely and enjoy themselves with no pressure. However, here I want to argue that reality is not necessarily so. Instead, the greater the holiday is, the more pressure people will meet. Even on the greatest holiday---Christmas, people have to face financial pressure. In general, when Christmas is around the corner, people will make a lot of preparations including decorating their houses, buying delicious food and nice clothes, sending their relatives and friends Christmas cards, choosing gifts for their kids, and telephoning their family members and friends who may be in another country, even in another continent. All these mean that you must spend a huge amount of money, no matter how poor you are. Can people comfortably afford the expense? According to my survey, nearly 80% of the people said no. As a result, a debt problem is unavoidable. Suppose someone has already been in debt, can you imagine what kind of situation he will be in after a "Merry Christmas"? Is he really happy? If not, what makes him unhappy? What gives him so much pressure? Of course "Merry Christmas". Perhaps, someone will argue that if you don't have money, you can not buy anything, even though tomorrow is Christmas Day. In other words, it is impossible for you to get involved in debt. Is that true? My answer is definitely not. Why? It is known to all that shopping places welcome credit cards very much and people can still consume a lot even if there is no money in the credit card. From the surface, shopping places are very friendly and generous, but beneath the surface, what they are interested in is only your money. They never care about your future. Finally when you realize that, you have already been buried into the huge debts. Therefore, in my essay it is concluded that on "Merry Christmas" most people face financial pressure. Instead of having a good time they struggle to survive. They use up what they have saved in a year, and what's worse, they are involved in huge debts, which suggests that they will have a hardship time later.

心诚则灵

Impression on DU High School From Lu Guoyun Jiading No1.High School

Two weeks ago, with the help of our American teacher Linda, we have got a very valuable opportunity to visit DU High School,an American private high school for gifted students, which impressed us a lot. In DU HS, I observed three lessons altogether, which were biology, European History and American History. There is no doubt that teachers in DU HS are well qualified. In class, they were good at motivating students by means of warming up exercises, discussion and role play,etc. As a result, students were so active that they raised a lot of questions, some of which even their teacher couldn't answer. During the whole process of teaching, students enjoyed their learning in a quite relaxed atmosphere, which made me remember the famous saying " Interest is the best teacher!" In addition, students were encouraged to do more research work after class. When the class was over, there were still some problems left unsolved. Teacher asked students to turn to library, internet or a certain professor in DU for a better solution. I am pretty sure that in this way what students will learn is the problem-solving ability instead of just some solid facts, and that students can lay a solid foundation for their future. Besides this, I contacted some students and teachers in person. I talked with them in detail about their school life. A girl, a Senior 2 student, told me that although her parents didn't pay much attention to her grades she has been determined to get "A" level in order that she can enter a good university. When asked what she usually does after school, she told me that it all depended. Sometimes she goes to gym with classmates to do exercises; sometimes to the library or turn to her mentor for some research work; during weekends, if weather permits, she goes to some attractions with her parents. I also talked with a teacher who teaches physics. He told me that he should prepare his lessons a week ahead of the time. In this way he will be well-prepared to give his students lessons. However, what is puzzling him is that in his opinion students couldn't spend enough time on physics. When he has learned that I am also a teacher, he asked me how I could deal with that properly. I said " Oh, I have the same problem in my teaching.

心诚则灵

Life in Denver Our big family Lu Guoyun Jiading No.1 High School

I am very happy because I have a big family which is composed of twenty teachers from different schools in Jiading District, Shanghai.Since this is a big family that means a lot of interesting things aroud us. So, if you are interested in them please take particular notice of our special section titled "Life in Denver", which I'm pretty sure can meet your curiosity and broaden you knowledge as well. Speaking of our big family, nothing can stop me from praising our head------ Joan( Wu Jingbo ), who is very kind and responsible. As a member, I sincerely appreciate what she has done for us. Every workday she cooks rice for us. During the weekends, she always prepares delicious Chinese dishes we are looking for. Oh, that is so great! We do believe we will never forget this. In Denver, we live in a motel called Driftwood, located between Colfax and Oneida. Our living conditions are OK. After all, our main purpose here is to learn advanced teaching techniques as well as English. Our learning schedule is quite flexible. From Monday to Thursday we have regular lessons in the morning; in the afternoon we are free,during which time, we all study in the library, focusing on what we are interested in or reviewing what we have learned in the morning. On Friday, we often go out to have a short visit to museums, zoo, schools and other places. In general, this is our big family; this is our life of our big family in Denver,CO. I do hope I can bring something new to you. Don't forget to visit our section----- Life in Denver

心诚则灵

Life In Denver Our Foreign Teachers From Lu Guoyun Jiading No.1 High School

In our big family, there are two distinguished guests,Linda, who is a native in Denver, and Mandy, who is from the Great Britain. Both of them are very kind and friendly to us. Their teaching style,focusing on learners' interests, is quite different from ours, focusing on completing teaching task. I remember clearly at the very beginning of this short-term program, Linda and Mandy asked us what we were interested in. After a heated discussion, we listed the following; American Education System ( especially public school and private school ), Basic American Values, American Culture and Customs, Holidays in America, Volunteer in America and so on. According to these, both foreigh teachers worked out a well-planned schedule. Every week we have a topic mentioned above. In this way, we will be able to understand American education in detail. Besides, in order to let us have an academic idea of such topics,some professors and scholars in DU have been invited to diliver different speeches to us, which benifits us greatly. In class, Linda is quite good at motivating us to speak more. What's more, she will give each student a chance to speak,no matter how good or poor that student's English is. All of us are encouraged as greatly as possible in class. So you can imagine our classroom atmosphere. Exactly speaking, we have a very good time in class; we have a lot of fun. In this respect, I am sure every one of us has been impressed a lot. I am also sure this will give us new ideas on our English teaching.

心诚则灵

Visiting DU High School No.2 High School Fan Shuhua

DU High School, characterized by problem-based learning, is a private school which enjoys high reputation in Denver. On Oct.28, we observed classes in this school. The first class I observed was European History. After I enetered the classroom, I didn't recognized who the teacher was in a circle of 14 students before a boy introduced me to Mr. Snyder,the young teacher. At the beginning of the class, a girl student raised five questions based on the chapter to be learned. (From the questions, I learned that they were studying the War between Prussia and Austria). Next, students began their discussions in groups. Everyone got involved .They disagreed and debated while the teacher kept quiet for most of the time. Once or twice he raised his hand to say one or two words to prevent deviation from the point. After about 10 minutes'discussion, each group presented their point of view. After that, a short discusstion resumed based on the different view points on the five questions. Following a series of disagreement and agreement, the five questions each found their agreed answer.Then the teacher gave two more points that the students failed to cover.Toward the end of the class, the teacher asked several students to cooperate to draw a map of Prussia, Austria and their neighboring countries.During the whole class, the teacher didn't explain much, and students were not busy taking notes.We felt relaxed, but a clear picture of the people, their social and economic conditions, the cause of the war and the location of the two countries on the Globe was formed in our mind. Even a month later, I now still can remember the map the students drew on the blackboard. We observed two other classes in DU High School. Teachers give much weight to the motivation of their independent learing and group discussion. Rote learning has no place in this school.

心诚则灵

What Do I Teach In China No.2 High School Fan Shuhua

On Dec.12-13, we visited Abraham Lincoln High School. It is a big International School. Over 80% of the students are Spanish Speakers. So most classed are ElE classes.Due to their background, they care little about their studies. They speak Spanish after class, at home and watch Spanish Programs on TV. I can understand this .Even when making a telephone call, I can hear"for English, press one, for Spanish, press two." Their English is aquired mainly in school. I think in this way they are similar to our Chinese students. I observed eight reading and writing classes of level 3 and 4. Most of the students have been learning English for about 2 years. In class, the teacher didn't explain as much as we do in China. For most of the time, students were talking and reading. They have little homework, but I was shocked at their reading, speaking and writing. They can express themselves freely, and can read all genras of works. I felt puzzled. Our Chinese students begin to learn English in elementary schools, and they have a great deal of homework every day .yet, even when they enter high school, they can't express themselves in English and have difficulty in understanding short stories. What's the problem of our language teaching? Judging from what I've seen, heard and experienced here, I think the biggist problem is that we teach examinations in China and here the teacher teaches the language. Take reading for example. We ask students to do reading comprehension every day, but we seldom ask them of they like to read the articles. Our reading materials are all similar length of articles with questions based on them. Ofter they have no idea of what the article is about after readind it. But here, in every classroom, I can see all genras of books of a level. For example, for level three , there are books including novels, fables, true stories, science fictions and Poems; the subjects cover people, life, history, geography, animals and so on. Students choose whatever they are interested in. They come up with their own questions and think actively and critically. The teacher does everything. Possible to motivate them to read, write and speak instead of pushing grammar and words into their minds. True learing is taking place here. This visit gave me many ideas and forced me to think a lot. I was so busy and I kept students busy all day, but what did I give my students? I stuffed words into their head but had no way to stop them coming out. How can I encourage true learning when I go back?

心诚则灵

我的点滴随想

娄塘中学 李刚

　

当地时间9月24日下午2点钟左右，从旧金山国际机场飞往丹佛的航班在上下颠簸中转而急速下降在丹佛国际机场――美国第二大国际机场。初踏上这个太平洋彼岸的年轻的国度，展现在我们面前的是丹佛机场旁边的平地上，停泊着各种各样数不清的小汽车。凯文开着小汽车驶出丹佛机场我向窗口望去，周围是一望无际的带着星星点点枯草的丘陵带。经过20多分钟的汽车行驶，凯文大哥将我们带到了我们现在居住的汽车旅馆。这家汽车旅馆坐落在Oneida街与丹佛最长的东西走向的Colfax街交叉点。我和嘉一中的陆国云在二楼的一个房间。一个房间二张床、电视机、电冰箱还有微波炉及配有一面镜子的写字台，在异国他乡能有这样的居住条件对我来说感到足够了。早几年播放的电视剧《北京人在纽约》中的主角王启明初到美国时是寄居在地下间。我在上海大学参加英语“专升本”时的论文导师朱洁老师的丈夫现在在美国也是好几个人一起挤在地下室。或许对很多初到美国的人来说，他们都会觉得伙食是另一个大问题。但在凯文和吴老师的精心安排下，我慢慢地也都适应了。最高兴的是在双休日还能品尝到吴大姐为我们烹饪的红烧肉和猪蹄。在异国能吃到家乡菜，你说我们会有多高兴。

美国丹佛的城市环境的确是国内很多城市所无法比拟的。现在都快下午5点了，但窗外依然阳光灿烂，蓝天白云，空气清新，始终感觉是在清晨。我记得在美国的第二天是凯文带我们搭乘两路公交车前往Evans大街的丹佛大学。一路上我带着满心的新奇感透过车窗往外看，沿途参天大树枝繁叶茂，低矮小树也是错落有致。往远处看，你会看到一幢幢不高但各有造型的小洋楼，真是别有风情。美国的街道划分相当清楚，一个个街区几乎都有规则的形状东西走向的称Street。到了丹佛大学，这座具有138年历史的大学依据散发着春青的气息。迎头那具有整整一百年历史的the University Hall 在绿草环绕中，仿佛是一个老人在晨曦中呼吸着清新的空气在向我们有力地招呼。进入教学大楼，是Dc Linda Meehan老师热切地欢迎，这一幕将记过留在我的脑海中，我庆幸我在异国能遇到这样好的老师。

在丹佛，我们已经住了将近4个星期。我们在周末在Linda老师的带领下参观了科罗拉多的州府，丹佛的市政府。在美国常人能进入州府、市府，并能亲眼目睹选举会议过程。这在国内似乎是无法想象的事。我国衙门向来是常人无特别事情不许入内的，更别谈能参政议政。在和两个老师的交谈过程中，我们也发现美国人对我们这个具有灿烂文化的东方古国知之甚少，有时甚至会有对我们的党片面误解。我现在才真正地意识到在美国不仅仅是学习英语这门语言，更重要的是对太平洋彼岸的这个国度的文化及社会的认识。我们是抱着提高双语教学水平的目标来到美国求学。为此我想：我们应该对上海至少是我们嘉定英语教学的现状有一个深入的理解，才能更好地接受一种新的英语教学方法。我决不赞成照抄照搬，一成不变地加以模仿，这种做只会像猴子掰玉米。在前二天的英语课中，有老师表示在我国不适宜在英语中采用角色表演，原因在于班级学生人数多。但我认为，学习一种新的教学方法在于学习如何灵活地在国内课堂教学中加以运用。四个月的时间是短暂的，这一次机会或许也是一生中唯一的一次机会，我想我会在吴老师的带领下以更高的要求勇往直前，争取每一天的成功。

心诚则灵

我的老师——Linda

　　我的老师Linda有一副慈祥的面容，一头金色的头发，大大的眼睛，白晰的肤色，再加上她匀称的身材，完全是个典型的西方女性。 　　听Linda老师上课真是一种享受，她的语调抑扬顿挫，声音甜润，讲到激动之处她会手舞足蹈，模仿动作惟妙惟肖，你完全想象不到她是一位五六十岁的老太太了。 　　博学的Linda对我们这些来自东方的外国学生可谓关怀备至，热情有加。我们一到学校，她就亲切地向我们介绍了学校的情况，以及有关部门的管理工作人员，这样，我们有困难，找谁解决心里就有底了。Linda常会适时地向我们介绍西方文化。课间休息，可以喝咖啡，或吃点心，Linda这时常来到我们同学中间进行交谈，当学生有问题时，她会不厌其烦地作出解答。如果我们一时听不懂，她那大大的眼睛便会注视你，鼓励你继续问下去；如果你听懂了，她的微笑很迷人。我们的领队偶然回答对了一句话，Linda便翘起大拇指夸奖：“Joan,good.”。有时一天课下来，时间很晚了，她还在解答学生的问题，她的笑容依然是那么亲切。 　　Linda对我们的文化、风俗习惯很感兴趣。她告诉我们她曾去过日本、台湾，了解了一些东方的文化，可惜她还没有机会去中国大陆。她说一定在近几年找机会去北京、上海、西安、长城看一看，那才是东方文明的发源地。她的话让我们感到自豪。记得开学的头几天下午，Linda组织我们看电影《末代皇帝》，看完后，她不解地问我们“为什么男人都有一根长辫子？”，“什么是太监？”，“《东方红》是首什么歌？”等等，有几个问题还真一时解答不了，我自愧对中国历史了解不透。 　　Linda不但课上得好，而且也非常热爱中国，对我们又是非常热情。我们到达丹佛后，她了解到10月1日是我们的国庆节，她就主动和我们的联系人Kevin一家于9月30日为我们举行了一个Party，以此庆祝我们的国庆佳节。当我们站在国旗前照相时，队伍中的她笑得同样的灿烂。当我们高唱国歌时，她使劲为我们鼓掌。 　　这就是Linda，我们可亲可敬的老师！

心诚则灵

我眼中的美国家长

　

在美国的五十多天里，凭着自己在一所美国小学参观时所见到的一幕以及平时老师Mandy和我们的交谈，我算是对美国家长有了“耳闻目睹”，有了些许了解，油然而生的是敬佩和感慨。 10月29日，我们前往参观了一所美国小学。十分幸运的是，那天正逢二年级学生为师生们进行马戏表演。我被安排分在二年级听课，只见教室内十几名小学生正在化妆、着装，另外还有好几位成人，我很纳闷，一个班级哪来那么多的“老师”，上前一问，原来是前来观看演出的家长们。那些家长兴致勃勃，一会儿帮助孩子穿上小丑服饰，一会儿为孩子戴好老虎帽，…… 终于，演出开始了。偌大的体育馆内，四周一圈，坐满了二年级的学生家长。他们手捧相机，与孩子们同样兴奋。节目表演的质量，可以说并不怎么样，但孩子们的参与意识和自信的神情，吸引了我们每一个人。全场的气氛十分活跃，家长们为孩子热烈地鼓掌，热情地鼓励，激动地喝采。在孩子们的邀请下，家长欣然与孩子们共同表演，一起跳啊，“疯”啊！这种热闹非凡的场面，在国内实属少见。因为，在这种场合下，我们的家长始终是正襟危坐，摆足架子，脸上明明白白写着“我是家长”。 虽然，整台节目在表现形式上并不完美，但其学生的参与面、影响力以及所要达到的教育效果却是空前的。 老师Mandy的儿子Mike已经开始上幼儿园了，听她介绍儿子就读的Montview Preschool，着实让我们看到了美国家长的另一面。 学校成立家长义工委员会，Mandy是学校Playground Commitee Chair（操场委员会主管），尽管Mike一周只上三个半天的课程。Mandy的工作是负责安排好各位家长来保持学校操场的整洁和活动器具的安放。每逢下雪天，她却会起个大早，通知几位家长去学校清除积雪，以保证孩子们正常的开展活动。 这种情况，在我们中国人的眼里，恐怕多少有些不可思议。在国内，有多少家长愿意为学校做义工呢？但在这儿，家长却工作得乐颠颠，十分自豪。 这恐怕就是我们的差距。虽然，我们在国内一直强调“亲子活动”，树立“学习型家庭”典型，但过多地追求了外在形式，追求一种近乎表演的效果，忽视了这种活动所赋予的意义及作用。我们再三强调学校教育、家庭教育和社会教育的三位一体，但家长始终都没将自己孩子的成长与自己所肩负的责任意识相等同，未与学校教育相关联。许多学校的家长委员会也无法发挥作用。因此，我们的学校教育面临着很多的困难与障碍。 “耳闻目睹”了这一些，我不由地在想，我们中国家长应该做些什么才能缩短彼此之间的距离呢？

心诚则灵

我眼中的美国教育

　 曹王中学　　王冰

　

来到美国大约四个星期了，从一开始的轻松悠闲到现在的忙碌紧张，感觉负担越来越重。虽然，每天基本上只上半天课，下午是自由学习时间，但是要消化课堂上所学的知识，了解美国的历史文化背景和现状，完成老师布置的各项作业，则也让人忙得不亦乐乎。

虽然，只有短短四周，但却给了我不少的启迪和感受。

一、充分发挥学生的主体意识，教学形式新颖多样。

开学第一天，美国老师就给我们上了别开生面的第一课。她们的教学内容与形式很特别。教学内容就是一张有22道题目的测试卷和一张校园地图。老师要求我们两人一组，在校园的不同地方寻找答案，时间一个半小时，一个半小时后，无论完成与否，都必须回到教室。根据老师的题目与地图，我们穿梭于多幢建筑物之间。其中不乏与他人交谈的内容，诸如询问咖啡馆老板的姓名、书店内某些书的价格、餐厅的晚餐等等。既让我们熟悉了各大建筑楼的位置、结构与用途，又锻炼了我们的口语交际能力，真正做到了让学生在主动学习中快乐地了解知识、掌握知识。

四周的课堂教学，许多内容都要求我们事先做好准备，诸如Denver的历史人物，美国历史等等。而后课堂上交流发言，编排情景剧等。充分发挥了学生的主体意识。美国教育尊重学生的主体意识和创新精神，通常老师对学生没有条条框框的限制，让学生自主发展，对哪方面的内容感兴趣，就自己多学点，多钻研一些。老师的教学形式无规律可言。前一分钟刚讲到历史知识，后一分钟可能就要求大家对某一些知识进行对话与辩论。多种的教学形式确实扩充了我们的思路，打破了不少以往的陈旧观念。

二、扩展课堂教学空间，让学生从学校走向社会。

在国内，我们传授知识通常都在学校内，而美国教育则鼓励学生走向社会，并鼓励学生多多参与社会。我们一个星期五天的课程中，总会有一天是被安排进行参观的。几个星期以来，我们参观了丹佛历史人物故居、动物园、教室、公共图书馆等地方。在这些场所、经常碰到三五成群的学生。在动物园内，老师、家长带领着孩子们边参观、边完成作业，十分直观形象。参观丹府时，同样也碰到此类情形。讲解员带领着家长和学生，详细而耐心地讲述科罗拉多州的历史、介绍历史杰出人物，无形中增长了学生的知识，加深了印象，而爱国主义教育更是在无形中得到了深化。

在商场中遇到的一幕让我记忆犹新。一次，我在购物中心遇到几个孩子在做问卷调查。调查内容是不同的语言及文字表达祝福，我愉快地接受了。我想，通过这样的教学形式，学生的知识面、语言表达能力、交际能力都在无形中上升了一步。这种学习与我们国内最近两年的研究性学习相似，但在美国，这种教学方法屡见不鲜。

三、充分考虑学生的人性化发展，发挥学生的创新精神。

四个星期以来，老师经常与我们谈到的是“你们想学什么？”“你们对什么感兴趣？”“你们有什么建议？”根据我们的反馈，美国老师不断地调整教学内容和方式。如果我们都表示同意，老师反而会觉得我们没有诚意，不认真，缺乏参与意识。而在国内，这种问题是难得会在课堂上被问的。我们经常遵循的是事先准备好教学计划，一切根据教学大纲。长此以往，老师也缺乏了创造意识，学生的思维也受到了限制，有一定的局限性。