My Stride Across the Eastern and Western Education

歐雨田

My inspiration to write about the culture shock from the lens of education stems from a one-hour history class. On that day， each student received a different painting that depicted peoples life in the Great Depression. The goal was to write down all elements demonstrating that time period. The teacher challenged us to think deeper by choosing the less obvious pictures. While I was writing down my ideas， I heard a big wave of computer typing sound， but naturally believed that my peers were just typing words and so did not give a second thought. But the “suspicious” part was that the sound would abruptly stop once the teacher started to walk around the classroom. The teacher probably also detected this “bizarre phenomenon”. As soon as she told everybody that there were no definite interpretations to the questions， I understood that this was her euphemistic way of warning us， “DO NOT SEARCH ONLINE， THINK BY YOURSELF！” After a while， she repeated these words with a stricter tone. During the third time， she walked in front of the classroom， and disappointedly asked， “What is the point of searching the answer？ Is getting the correct answer more meaningful than the process of your individual thinking？” The room was filled with awkwardness； nobody enjoyed the activity—neither those who sought online for help nor people like me who followed the rules.

However， I do have to explain that the above situation took place in a unique setting—my high school， located in the U.S， but with a 70 percent of Chinese student body. What I came to realize was a scene of culture shock， a phrase that previously seemed so abstract no matter how many times I had heard. But were I in a typical American or Chinese high school， I would not have understood my struggles of ferrying back and forth between China and America. I am truly the beneficiary of my schools mission to bridge both culture， and merge the advantage of each education. When most Chinese students first came here to study， they were unfamiliarized with many aspects of American education. Even after studying U.S for at least three months back then， they still had ingrained habit that played an unconscious role. Getting used to a new environment was challenging. For international students， the largest barrier is about adjusting to the learning environment， not just the language. Language skills can be improved overtime， so as long we are courageous and work hard enough； in contrast， teachers expectations and therefore classroom requirements are harder to grasp. Therefore， it is unsurprising to see students who study abroad receive grades that are disproportional to their effort， since they failed to understand American teachers expectation. This brought up the question— how can we “read” the teachers anticipation？

From details. Notice what their emphases on homework and quizzes are. Pay attention to their criticisms and encouragements to other students in class. For instance， I learned that my history teacher valued individual thinking and honesty the foremost. Hence， for students who violated the rules， like what happened above， they received unimaginable final grades despite their excellent test scores. Dont get me wrong， since I am here not to teach you how to flatter teachers， but to share my secret of obtaining the scores that I deserve in the first place. This is important because teachers in the U.S break down the final scores into five big categories—participation， quiz， exam， homework， and presentation. Although the proportion varies among schools， quiz and exam count at most 50%， while the other three that are subject to personal interpretation can take up at least half of your final grades. The saying goes， “a beard well lathered is half shaved，” and a good impression is analogues to the well-lathered beard. Chinese students who initially come here are not used to this “subjectivity” because they are educated in schools where exam grades almost occupy 100%. However， I am not criticizing any particular education form， since the rule bricks are tailored to the countrys situation—Chinese massive population made over 40 students per class， so noticing each students performance in class is an impossible task for teachers. At this stage， the most urgent thing is to learn how to succeed in both American and Chinese education style.

Still， my history teachers question lingered in my mind—why do we regard receiving thee correct answers the ultimate goal of our enlightening education experience？

Tests dominate in China， and for the test graders convenience， there is usually one right answer to each problem. Answers are usually in the form of multiple choice or number. Students under this evaluation standard become scared of making mistakes in the tests， and eventually in their everyday life. The excessive attention on result renders them to neglect other important aspects in life， such as the fulfilling process of the learning experience. This reminds me of my story in seventh grade， my second year in China after coming back from America. Although I was raised in China， and lived in America for merely two years， I was not used to the passive interactions between the teachers and the students. There were only few students who raised their hands to answer the questions， so that teachers were forced to pick students “against their will”. Hence， the classroom was astonishingly quiet— more like teachers monologues than “discussion forums” in America. I felt incredibly awkward because I raised my hands too frequently， which was something to be proud of when I was in my elementary school in Massachusetts. This discomfort lasted for about two months， until one day my teacher came to me with the suggestion that I should think more carefully before answering. This conversation discouraged my confidence—I spoke less in class and became one of the many quiet students. Nonetheless， I was still puzzled by the fact that few students actively participated in class， so I “interviewed” the others about the reason to their silence. Their responses were surprisingly alike—they were afraid to provide the wrong answer. At that time， it was quite a discovery for me， who was accustomed to the environment where teachers encouraged students to be involved no matter what they say. Throughout my high-school career in America， I have never heard any teacher saying what my Chinese teacher in middle school said. Moreover， is common to have open-ended questions or essays even on a science test with no “exact” answers. Teachers are satisfied to see any forms （e.g painting， elaboration， projects） of answers demonstrating the students comprehensive understanding of the material， a standard that shifts the students attention from scores to their missing piece of knowledge. Moreover， classes are like “discussion forums，” in which everybody is motivated to share their thoughts. It was as if the two classroom standards were playing the tug of war inside me， fighting for dominance in my personal values. They both had their advantages， but I personally prefer the one with more freedom. As I thought about my struggles to adapt， I realized that my peers in history class had encountered the same situation， with the single difference in a reversed culture shock： from China to America. When I first came to America at the age of nine， I experienced cultural shock； the same situation happened two years later when I returned China. But now， coming back to America to attend a STEM high school was still a challenge for me— not merely because I entered higher education that prepares me to college， but because I have to re-adjust my studying habit.

I partially disagree with those who believe that self-directed learning separates Chinese from American education. In my opinion， both are geared towards the same goal but through different ways， which creates another obstacle for students like me who “astride the cultures of east and west”， a self-comment borrowed from Lin Yutang. In different stages of our education career， teachers gradually give us more freedom. In China， my middle school teachers gave out homework without ever checking it； their role was to provide guidance rather than strictly supervising us till adulthood. They expected us to be “young adult” whom would retrospect on our own mistakes. No matter which country we are studying in， we receive more freedom as we head to the higher education. One big difference that I encountered in my Chinese elementary school and middle school was that， whenever after a test， middle school teachers asked us to record the mistakes in a separate notebook， whereas elementary teachers required parents signature on the test paper. The former method solely depended on the students themselves， and nobody could “save” them if they had no wish to learn. In contrast， elementary school put more weight on the parents， whose role might render their kids to study for the parents， not themselves. Part of the reason that a lot of students performed poorly in middle school and later high school was their lack of self-motivation. They did not equip self-governing skill because of over relying on parents. In my opinion， kids should regard study as an approach to their dream， not a task to satisfy their parents. Once they truly understand this concept， nothing can stop them from being success； the strongest determination comes from within. True， people might argue that elementary kids are too small to self-govern； most of them are still vague about their dream. I cannot reconcile with this idea. Did kids receive enough opportunities to explore their interest？

I told the anecdote of how I always waited until the last moment to let my mom sign the test papers—most of my American friends laughed. They thought I was joking because no such thing called “Parents signatures” existed in the U.S. But I was not. This leads to my point about the learning culture in American high schools. American education in itself is promoted by self-motivation， and this idea can be seen from the degrees of freedom that teachers give to their students. To be honest， there is not much writing homework in my high school， as most of it is just reading assignment. I should take the word “just” in the previous sentence away， because it might give you the wrong impression that reading textbooks is trivial. But it is not.

NEVER expect teachers in the U.S to lecture about what was already written on the textbook； they will either extend on the materials or lead a discussion for students to share thoughts and questions. Their job is not to orally present the book， but a “manager of a discussion forum”. Two years ago when one of my friend and I came to the U.S， she complained about how useless her chemistry class was because the teacher never lectured. The teacher asked students to write down their questions on a piece of paper after reading the text book at home. My friend expected her teacher to answer， but instead， the teacher just sat in a corner and let other students to provide the fruit of thought. She even doubted her academic knowledge. I was puzzled. Although I was not in her class at that time， I often went to her office to ask questions. Quite the opposite to what my friend said， the teacher could quickly know why I am confused and explained it short， sweet and to the point. For those who failed to complete the readings， the punishment is being “invisible” in class， just like my friend. Later when I tried to help my friend with this problem， she told me that she only glanced over the highlighted parts. “THAT IS THE PROBLEM！” I screamed. The freedom in class made reading the textbooks particularly important. This form of teaching is common in America.

The direct outcome was that she learned nothing but how bored the class was. In contrast， those who were well-prepared for class gained a deeper understanding of the knowledge from the discussion. Hence， freedom can be additionally beneficial to the self-driven students， who ultimately succeed not by their parents or teachers will， but their own. This is how education in America functions. Although my mother never stopped reminding me to read textbooks before classes， I did not realize its importance until I studied in grow up and entered a boarding school in America. In China， students receive so many exercises that they would naturally form the conception that， homework that requires writing is the most important， since it has to be turned in to prevent the teachers from “communicating” with their parents. This mindset might work in China， but not in America. For those who are preparing to study abroad， I highly recommend you to treat all homework equally， whether the teachers ask you to hand it in or not. Do not be disappointed if there are so few “exercises”， because it is a time for you to read the textbooks （or additional information if you wish）. Teachers expect you to review and pre-view on your own to be ready for class discussions. Whether reading or writing， please regard homework as a tool to refresh memory and enhance comprehension， not an involuntary mission.

Your attitude will reflect how well you participate in class， and eventually your grades. However， keep in mind that GPA should not be the primary motivation to keep up your good work. I say this from experience. Placing too much emphasis on grades will exhaust you. It is a shame that once in a while， you see no meaning to your exploration when you look back. Don't let yourself regret.

We always say that interest is the best motivation， so you might ask me how to deal with classes that are to fulfill requirement but not necessarily to your interest？ I prefer to answer this question with a Buddhist philosophy： Everything that you do in life has a purpose； something might initially seem insignificant but turned out to be remarkable in your life. All subjects， whether biology or math， somehow correlate with each other， and you never know how learning one thing can impact your life unless you embrace it.

I have been asked many times to evaluate whether education system in America or China is better， and my answer is just a simple laugh. What did they expect me to say？ Each system is specifically tailored to each country， and replacing， for instance， the Chinese education system with the American one might harm the society as a whole. Changing the policies is a long process， during which we still have to grow and learn. Accordingly， the purpose of this essay is to help my peers who are preparing to receive a fulfilling education experience in America. I hope this essay does not intimidate you. Just keep in mind that adjusting to cultural differences is a shared task for all of us international students， so you are certainly not alone. Hopefully， my stories and suggestions may help you approach your dream a step closer.