My Life at Renda I learned very quickly that being a teaching assistant （TA) at the Univer

My Life at Renda

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.

【46】______ Eyes staring, mouths open, students examined my big nose, while I was writing my name on the blackboard.

At Iowa, when my first classes began, half of my students still hadn't arrived. When everyone finally found a seat, ringing cellphones and loud yawns (哈欠) interrupted my opening remarks. It is not that American students were disrespectful. 【47】______ 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. 【48】______ 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. 【49】______

The difference, I think, is that in the US I had to swallow more of my pride. 【50】______

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. In my students' minds, I had little to offer them, except perhaps some sample questions for the mid-term exam.

B. In others, the TA works as a grader and discussion leader.

C. I encountered these in China, and I faced them in the US.

D. On the other hand, being taught by a graduate student is not necessarily bad.

E. Most were polite, or at least, indifferent

F. Back at Renda, I had walked into my first classes feeling like a celebrity.