A Memorable Teacher

When I was in middle school, I started to learn English. My teacher, Miss Liu, had a lasting influence on my love of English education. First, she tried her best to make learning English easy and interesting. The second language was too hard for us, because of the boring grammar and the strange pronunciation. She always made a song or interesting story with the learned vocabulary to help us remember and pronounce them as well as cut some square cards with vocabulary words on them and then put them on the objects in the classroom. For example she put the card “blackboard” on the real blackboard, so when we passed and cleaned the blackboard, we could see and recite it. It was good for our memories. For the grammar, she used games to help us master the grammar, such as simple present, present perfect, present progressive. She made sentences with these grammar lessons and separated class two groups. The winner group was that could answer the question accuratelyand quickly. They could win the game and get the prize, which maybe were candy or pencils. From it, we got much fun and learnt more. Second my teacher also had a strict side. Everyday she gave us phrases and vocabulary to recite. On the second day she would ask us them. If someone couldn’t answer her correctly, he had to stand up at his desk until class was over. Moreover, she corrected homework carefully. If we wrote a sentence with a wrong tense, we had to write five new sentences with correct tense by ourselves to understand more about the mistake. The last memorable aspect of her, was that she took care of us outside class, because she believed that if we had a strong body and comfortable feeling, and then we could study 100% at class as well as be a eager student. For example, when we went to dining room and met her, she always bought chicken legs or vegetable for us and said, “Eat more, grow more, and learn more.”. She was my most memorable teacher, because she made me really love English.

Lunar New Year and Spring Holiday

There are three important festivals in Taiwan, and the most important one is lunar New Year’s Eve which is also called Spring Holiday and different from New Year that people yell for final countdown in New York. We usually have five days in the holiday vacation which is like Christmas in Western culture. During the first two days and the day before it, we have to clean house, welcome New Years with celebrations, and go back to mothers’ old homes.

The day before New Year is usually the busiest day in the year; we have many things to do: cleaning, special dinner, and fireworks for celebration. First, people clean their houses completely which means they send old things and the year away and welcome the new one, and we wear new clothing which used to be red. Second, for the celebration, we always have a plentiful dinner at home, and closer family will gather and have fun. In my family, my parents prepare dinner with my grandmother; the process can improve the relationship between families, and there is a tradition: hand-made meat balls and big hotpot which means “together”. After the dinner, family talk to each other and care about how’s their life going? Finally, the thing that all children look forward for entire year is coming- the red packet (envelope) which adults usually put cash inside and means "money warding off evil spirits". Children put them under their pillows while they sleep on New Years’ Eve, but some of them won’t sleep just pull all nighters playing games and fireworks used to scare away “Monster Nian,” which is a made up creature.

In order to welcome New Years’ Day, whole family members usually wake up early, go to worship ancestors, and visit other relatives with New Year’s gifts that mean: “Congratulations! You will be safe and well this new year.” People have a great lunch with the items after worship which means “peaceful and fine”.

According traditions, all married women then go back to their parents’ home on the second day of New Years, so that their parents can know that their daughters are fine and good wives in husbands’ homes and treat daughters and their husbands meals.

These traditional celebrations show Spring Vacation is a meaningful family holiday and gives us a good reason for having a break to release the whole year’s stress and fatigue.

My Third Grade Teacher

My third grade teacher was a passionate person who I will never forget. First, she encouraged me to participate in class. For instance, she praised me whenever I answered in class, regardless if it was good or not. She gave me a “grape” when I got the correct answer, cleaned the class room, or did a good job on my homework. The grapes were not real; they were drawn on a pretty piece of paper which encouraged me to participate in class because if I filled up the “basket” with grapes, I got a reward. Second, she made me have pride in myself. For example, she praised my drawing, and, as a result, my classmates followed my advice in team projects and extra class after school. Also, she gave me a chance to act for a school video which we filmed to use as teaching material in another city. The chance helped me to get more pride in myself because I was chosen out of many school mates. It made me think of myself as a special person. Now, when I am depressed, I remind myself of her lesson: keep pride in yourself and engage in life.

My Politics Teacher

Three characteristic make Mr. Qiao become the teacher who most profound impact teacher my life. He is my high school politics teacher, and the first time I saw him, he looked very strict, but in fact, he was very kind. He thought about us all the time. Once, one of my classmates was hurted on the website, and Mr. Qiao helped her to find some information on the internet to protect her. If someone broke school rules, he didn’t punish them like other teachers. He used appropriate ways to solve problems. For example, one day, one of my classmates was absent without permission. Then next day, Mr. Qiao just talked to him very friendly, and told the advantages and disadvantages, after that, the boy never did same mistake. Secondly, he was very patient. He never gives up any student, even if the student didn’t like to study. For example, if a student did not understand a question, he would explain details again and again until the student figured out the problem. I liked to listen in his class, because he was a humorous man. He found something interesting and would share it with the class. He didn’t just ask you to remember the textbook. He always combined it with news. How amazing it was to find that every piece of news was related with the text perfectly. Evert time I went to his class, I felt excited. Other students envy us. On our school’s blog, we established a poster about my politics teacher, and most students wanted to become his student. Mr. Qiao is such a kind, patient, and humorous teacher that I miss him very much.

The Strategies of Preparing Exams

There are three useful strategies that have helped me prepare for exams. One of the strategies is to take notes, which I write down as clearly as possible. Usually, those definitions and examples that instructors mention in class are the most important information that could be asked in the exam, so making notes about what they say can help me find the main points quickly. Also, while taking notes, I keep thinking and memorizing the instructors’ words; thus, it saves me more time for remembering the main points when I prepare for the exams. In addition, understanding where one can learn efficiently is another practical strategy before starting to study. For example, some students would rather study in the library than at home because it is easy to lose their focus in their houses. Like me, I might leave my seat a couple times for drinking water or cleaning my room if I study at home; but in a library, I can really concentrate on what I am studying. On the other hand, Some people might prefer to join in a study group for preparing exams. Such as my friend Jim who thinks that joining in a study group is an easy way to prepare for exams since he can borrow other members’ class notes. If there is something he does not understand in the textbook, he will discuss it with them. The other strategic method for preparing exams is to let your physical condition be ready for taking exam. Many studies show that having a crammed study in only a short period of time does not help our brains memorize information into the long-term memory. That means, after staying up last night, you may forget most of what you studied next day. In conclusion, accurate note taking, studying at library, and having a good rest before an exam are three strategic rules that I always follow for preparing exams.

My Most Memorable Teacher

Mr. Liu is the most memorable teacher in my life. He was my after school science tutor who I found through my best friend. He taught me well for 3 years, so I learn a lot. Mr.liu impressed me due to several reasons. First, he was really skillful man in science. Every time I gave him my science questions, which even my science teacher had to think about for a very long time, he just read it once and figured it out immediately like he had already seen them many times before. The other thing I was very surprised about was that he was an "all-rounder", he was well rounded in science and math. It seemed to me that he was expert in math, physics, chemistry and biology. So I often praised him for his talent, but he said he is not a smart person, just hardworking. Secondly, he had a really clear thinking and nothing confused him. For instance, I often had class with my friend while we had different problems. So every time during class, she asked math or biology and I asked physics or chemistry questions. I always felt confused that we asked different questions during one class. However, he was never confused and managed everything well. Third, he was a disinterested man. He also gave me some helpful and useful materials of the methods of solving the science problems, which he had painstakingly developed during his holidays. Actually, he did’t need do that because he was just an outside school tutor, but he said he teach us not for money but just to teach. For him,teaching was not a job: it was an avocation. What's more, every time he explained something to me, he was not only just explaining it like other teachers, but also emphasized the main point to make me focused. Finally, he was really special in how he treated students. He had a very kind attitude and he has never angry with my faults and patiently taught me even when I was confused. He even cooked for me and gave me snacks as bonus that made me want to learn more and never felt boring. I much appreciated him taught me how he taught me well and made me interested in studying. I’m very proud of being his student and I really respect him. I enjoyed every class with him. Thank you Mr.Liu. You are the most excellent and special teacher in my whole memory!

The Memorable Teacher Who has Great Styles

My most memorable teacher had three great teaching methods which were suitable to me. When I was a middle school student, she was my homeroom teacher. First, her teaching style in lecture was very helpful to me. She used to tell her story or made which included mathematical formulas so that we could memorize what we learned. Second, the ways she handled students was decent. She treated us strictly, but she didn’t punish us with a rod. When we broke the rules, we could choose our punishment like review, voluntary presentation, summary for class mates…etc. Getting punishment makes me study, and that was even helpful. Third, she was a great counselor whenever we had a problem because she was a pretty good listener and adviser. When I disappointed myself after a test, she encouraged and counseled me not to give up. I could feel better, so I could do my best for the next test. She was my best teacher because of her wonderful teaching styles, so I still remember and respect her.