{{B}}My Life at Renda{{/B}}
I learned very quickly that being a teaching assistant (TA) at the University of Iowa would be different from being a teacher at Renmin University.
{{U}} (46) {{/U}}Eyes staring, mouths open, students examined my big nose, while was writing my name on the blackboard.
At Iowa, when my first classes began, half of my students still hadn't arrived. When very one finally found a seat, ringing cell phones and loud yawns(哈欠)interrupted my opening remarks. It is not that American students were disrespectful.{{U}} (47) {{/U}}They were, however, far more skeptical than the students I had at Renda. The truth is I couldn't fault them for their skepticism. Undergraduates at large US universities—especially freshmen and sophomores—often have several classes a semester handled by TAs. In some cases, the TA sets the course content. {{U}}(48) {{/U}} Most have good intentions, but very few are as effective as professors.
Every teacher has to confront obstacles to learning—no matter what the culture. Students who talk during lectures, students who cheat, students who question the grade they get for a paper or project dealing with these is all part of the job.{{U}} (49) {{/U}}.
The difference, I think, is that in the US I had to swallow more of my pride.{{U}} (50) {{/U}}
I had a responsibility to teach them, of course, but I had to do so indirectly—as a guide who himself had a few things to learn from the students.
A. Back at Renda, I had walked into my first classes feeling like a celebrity.
B. In my students' minds, I had little to offer them, except perhaps some sample questions for the mid-term exam.
C. In others, the TA works as a grader and discussion leader.
D. I encountered these in China, and I faced them in the US.
E. On the other hand, being taught by a graduate student is not necessarily bad.
F. Most were polite, or at least, indifferent.