【此專欄以一位華裔美國(guó)中學(xué)生的親身體驗(yàn)，為了解美國(guó)中學(xué)學(xué)習(xí)環(huán)境、學(xué)習(xí)方式、校園生活、課余活動(dòng)、升學(xué)準(zhǔn)備、交友與聚會(huì)等中國(guó)中學(xué)生和家長(zhǎng)感興趣的話題，提供短小精悍的中英雙語(yǔ)介紹。本專欄分中學(xué)篇和小學(xué)篇，分別在《中學(xué)教師》與《小學(xué)教師》中以連載的方式刊出。本期刊出的為中學(xué)篇的第一期短文?！?/p>

作者簡(jiǎn)介：王若桑，出生于美國(guó)康涅狄格州?，F(xiàn)為美國(guó)羅德島州南郡高中3年級(jí)學(xué)生。

Connie R. Wang is currently a junior student of the South Kingstown High School, South Kingstown, Rhode Island, USA.

前言（Foreword）：

千里海域、萬(wàn)里高空，紛繁的時(shí)空斷隙，需要溝通和跨越。雖然中國(guó)與美國(guó)之間陸地與海洋之間的巨大分隔無(wú)法通過(guò)有形的橋梁來(lái)連接，但中美之間的社會(huì)與文化之間的溝通和聯(lián)接應(yīng)該是相對(duì)容易的。這種聯(lián)接就存在于社會(huì)和我們之間。我們是誰(shuí)呢？我們是美國(guó)和中國(guó)社會(huì)中的新一代，我們?cè)跍?zhǔn)備著，去承擔(dān)社會(huì)賦予我們的使命。我們有同樣的對(duì)未來(lái)的希望、渴望、愿望和理想，然而我們不得不面對(duì)山水空間的巨大阻隔。每當(dāng)提及中國(guó)的變化及其對(duì)世界的影響，看到越來(lái)越多的與我同齡的中國(guó)小留學(xué)生到美國(guó)來(lái)留學(xué)和訪問(wèn)，看到同樣年齡的美國(guó)青少年到中國(guó)去學(xué)習(xí)和旅行，便想起我到中國(guó)旅行時(shí)遇到的值得記憶的一切。畢竟是兩個(gè)不同的社會(huì)，如何準(zhǔn)備和應(yīng)對(duì)所面臨的一切，一定是充滿了挑戰(zhàn)。為此，我希望通過(guò)本系列短文，來(lái)分享一位美國(guó)中學(xué)生的校園學(xué)習(xí)與生活，實(shí)現(xiàn)與中國(guó)青少年朋友的交流。

對(duì)青少年一代而言，中美兩個(gè)世界的差異或許不像想象中那么大。比如和中國(guó)同齡朋友一樣，我很喜歡一些體育項(xiàng)目。我參加學(xué)校的曲棍球隊(duì)和田徑隊(duì)，在體育競(jìng)技的過(guò)程中，我經(jīng)常體驗(yàn)令人沮喪的挫折、令人興奮的勝利，或者來(lái)自各方面的壓力。體育之外，我還喜歡屬于我的音樂(lè)。我可以演奏單簧管和鋼琴，有時(shí)也撥拉一下吉他。除了音樂(lè)優(yōu)美旋律，我也常常會(huì)玩出刺耳的噪音。盡管音樂(lè)通常是用以帶來(lái)享受的，伴隨著對(duì)完美的追求而帶來(lái)的卻是壓力。當(dāng)然，在我們這個(gè)年齡段里，面對(duì)最多的內(nèi)容，還是教育，或者說(shuō)是學(xué)習(xí)。美國(guó)的高中教育是四年制，課程涉及語(yǔ)文、數(shù)學(xué)、科學(xué)和社會(huì)科學(xué)等。作為高中三年級(jí)的學(xué)生，我感覺(jué)到文學(xué)和科學(xué)課程是我所喜愛(ài)的。誠(chéng)懇的講，雖然人們通常認(rèn)為中國(guó)或華裔學(xué)生的數(shù)學(xué)功課會(huì)很好，我可是一個(gè)例外。我們承認(rèn)美國(guó)和中國(guó)的教學(xué)安排和課程計(jì)劃有區(qū)別，但我認(rèn)為對(duì)教育的基本要求是一致的。更重要是我認(rèn)為中美教育對(duì)課堂、作業(yè)、考試和要求學(xué)生的責(zé)任和義務(wù)是一致的。我們正處于所謂不知疲倦的年齡，在這種年齡，我們的父母要求我們是最出眾的，他們已經(jīng)知道了什么是最好的。但我們卻常常被自己無(wú)止境的對(duì)個(gè)性和自由的追求所慫恿，以至于不能認(rèn)同來(lái)自父母的忠告。通常我們必須要經(jīng)歷一些不盡完美的行為，來(lái)學(xué)習(xí)和認(rèn)識(shí)到我們是如此的天真。我猜想這樣的開(kāi)篇，設(shè)立了一個(gè)慣例，即無(wú)論我們是中國(guó)學(xué)生還是美國(guó)學(xué)生，我們都要經(jīng)歷來(lái)自父母的、同學(xué)的和我們自身的，要求我們是最優(yōu)秀的那種壓力。我們漸漸遠(yuǎn)離我們的孩童時(shí)期，在這個(gè)過(guò)程中，我們所面對(duì)的世界逐漸變得越來(lái)越清晰、越來(lái)越現(xiàn)實(shí)。在接下來(lái)的段落里，我會(huì)與大家分享在美國(guó)校園的生活。通過(guò)每一篇短文，我們或許會(huì)認(rèn)識(shí)到雖然我們遠(yuǎn)隔半個(gè)地球，我們卻有很多認(rèn)同，而這些認(rèn)同正是在這不斷變化的世界中聯(lián)接我們這些不同社會(huì)未來(lái)主人們的紐帶。

一、美國(guó)中學(xué)的課程設(shè)置與學(xué)生的課程選擇

教育與知識(shí)本身的最基本的概念是源于個(gè)性。美國(guó)許多學(xué)校在常規(guī)的數(shù)學(xué)、生物學(xué)、物理學(xué)等課程之外，都有各種其他課程設(shè)置，以便學(xué)生們會(huì)有機(jī)會(huì)根據(jù)自身的興趣和將來(lái)的發(fā)展來(lái)選取特殊的課程。美國(guó)的高中教育是四年，一年級(jí)新生往往從選擇同樣的常規(guī)課程開(kāi)始。學(xué)生們可以選擇是否參加所謂的高級(jí)班，普通的一年級(jí)課程包括數(shù)學(xué)中的幾何學(xué)、科學(xué)中的地球科學(xué)、英語(yǔ)、以及社會(huì)學(xué)中的西方文明史。除此四門(mén)課程外，每個(gè)學(xué)生可以選擇兩門(mén)選修課。選修課可以是更具挑戰(zhàn)性的課程，或者是更具娛樂(lè)性的。大部分選修課對(duì)所有年級(jí)的學(xué)生開(kāi)放。通常受歡迎的是烹飪藝術(shù)、不同檔次的藝術(shù)課、表演課、管弦樂(lè)隊(duì)、合唱隊(duì)等。但很多同學(xué)通常選擇一門(mén)語(yǔ)言課，并延續(xù)至高年級(jí)。因?yàn)榈缴暾?qǐng)大學(xué)時(shí)，很多學(xué)校要求申請(qǐng)者有語(yǔ)言課基礎(chǔ)，包括至少一門(mén)外語(yǔ)。高中二年級(jí)時(shí)，同學(xué)之間的選課開(kāi)始有了較大的不同。課程開(kāi)始更加具有挑戰(zhàn)性。學(xué)生可以選擇超過(guò)一門(mén)以上的科學(xué)課。許多我的同學(xué)希望以后從事與科學(xué)有關(guān)的個(gè)人發(fā)展方向，另外在申請(qǐng)大學(xué)時(shí)，兩門(mén)以上的科學(xué)課程會(huì)使成績(jī)單更具有競(jìng)爭(zhēng)力。標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的二年級(jí)課程包括數(shù)學(xué)課中的代數(shù)、科學(xué)課中的生物、英語(yǔ)課中的美國(guó)文學(xué)、社會(huì)學(xué)課中的世界常識(shí)。選修課與一年級(jí)時(shí)相同，學(xué)生可以增加科學(xué)課，例如化學(xué)?；瘜W(xué)是標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的三年級(jí)課程。所以二年級(jí)學(xué)生選修化學(xué)就會(huì)使其比其他同年級(jí)學(xué)生提前一年完成此課。三年級(jí)時(shí)的選修課與前述相同，不同的是三年級(jí)時(shí)可以選修四年級(jí)的物理或生物課。如果在二年級(jí)時(shí)已經(jīng)選修了三年級(jí)的化學(xué)，這些同學(xué)還可以選修四年級(jí)的化學(xué)。標(biāo)準(zhǔn)的三年級(jí)課程包括數(shù)學(xué)課中的初級(jí)微積分，（為四年級(jí)時(shí)的微積分課做準(zhǔn)備）科學(xué)課中的化學(xué)、英語(yǔ)課中的文學(xué)、社會(huì)學(xué)課中的美國(guó)歷史。三年級(jí)時(shí)的壓力非常大。因?yàn)檎n程的分量急劇增加，包括四門(mén)所謂高級(jí)班，或大學(xué)階段的課程。三年級(jí)學(xué)生可以選高級(jí)美國(guó)歷史、高級(jí)生物、高級(jí)化學(xué)、高級(jí)文學(xué)。選此高級(jí)課的同學(xué)可以得到額外學(xué)分來(lái)提高其平均成績(jī)。當(dāng)然同學(xué)也可以只選普通班的課。如此，例如某人可以選普通數(shù)學(xué)班的課、高級(jí)英語(yǔ)課、普通物理班的課、普通社會(huì)學(xué)課中的國(guó)際關(guān)系課，另外一名同學(xué)可以選不同的組合?？梢?jiàn)在四年級(jí)時(shí)每個(gè)學(xué)生的課表都有很大的不同。

美國(guó)與其它國(guó)家學(xué)校的不同，在于學(xué)生可以在核心課程設(shè)置的前提下，設(shè)定自己獨(dú)特的選課。例如我可以選諸如氣象、動(dòng)物行為、心理、體育經(jīng)濟(jì)與市場(chǎng)、一系列的文學(xué)課等。盡管這些課程并不是人人喜歡，但學(xué)校能夠提供此類選擇的安排，和學(xué)生具有選擇此類課的能力就令人很感清新。學(xué)生選此類課時(shí)，往往認(rèn)為這種課比較容易，以期避免令人厭煩的常規(guī)課程。結(jié)果是很多人都對(duì)他們的興趣所在和將來(lái)做什么有了新的理解。就像生物、代數(shù)和化學(xué)的重要一樣，促進(jìn)學(xué)生在校學(xué)習(xí)的積極性也是同樣重要。無(wú)論是例如數(shù)學(xué)和科學(xué)類的核心課，還是例如外語(yǔ)或心理學(xué)類的選修課，有時(shí)在清晨能激勵(lì)學(xué)生上學(xué)的往往是一門(mén)他們不愿意缺席的一門(mén)課。美國(guó)的教學(xué)計(jì)劃是以學(xué)生需要為基礎(chǔ)的，那么課外活動(dòng)呢？本系列的下一篇短文，我將介紹學(xué)生們?cè)诮淌宜谋谥?，參與課后活動(dòng)的情況。

英文原稿

Bridging The Gap

Foreword:

Thousands of miles apart, a gap must be bridged. While the physical distance of land and ocean between China and America may be difficult to bridge, the gap between the two societies and cultures is much simpler and easier to connect. The bridge itself lies within society, within us, actually. Who are we? We are the young generation of Americans and Asians, ready to fulfill our spots in the world. We share the same hopes, desires, and visions for the future, yet we often cant see past the vast distance between. I have seen the dramatic changes that occur in China and its influence to the world. More and more Chinese teens come to America to study and visit in comparison to the American teens traveling to China. Seeing Chinese teens face the differences in American culture brings back memories of my own experiences from trips to china. All in all, these are different societies and there are challenges in preparation to confront the cultural differences. In reading this new series, I hope it brings to you a sense of connection to an American teens life.

Ive slowly come to realize that our two worlds may not be that different. I enjoy my fair share of sports, field hockey and track. I, too, have felt crushing defeats, heady victories, and above all, the pressure to be perfect. Not into sports? I also enjoy my fair share of music by playing the clarinet and piano, as well as picking up the guitar. I have heard my fair share of disheartening notes as well as beautiful melodies. While music was intended for pleasure, again, there is always the pressure to be perfect. Finally, the one area I have saved for last because in my opinion, it is one of the most important factors in life: education. In my high school, we are required to take 4 years of literature and math classes, as well as some courses on science and social studies. As a junior, Ive come to find that literature and science classes are my favorite. To be honest, even though the American stereotype is that Asians excel at mathematics, I happen to be an exception. Im sure that American and Asian curriculums have their differences, but I would imagine the basics are similar. More importantly, I bet the sentiment we share towards our classes, homework, tests, and obligations as young students are very similar at heart.Were at a tireless age. An age where our parents want the best for us and know whats best, but we blinded by our restless souls in the pursuit of individuality and freedom to actually see and appreciate their sound advice. Often, we have to experience the “l(fā)ess than best”mistakes in order to learn and realize how na? ve we truly are. I guess for this first article, Im setting the scene by saying that whether were Asian or American, we both experience the pressure to be perfect from our parents, classmates, and selves. Were starting to come away from our childhoods, and in doing so, the world is becoming more vivid and real. Throughout these next few months, Ill hope to share my perspective of the American culture as an Asian teen.And with each article, perhaps we will realize that despite living on continents half way across the world from each other, we, at the heart of it all, share many similarities that may connect us and bond us as the future of this ever evolving world.

Article 1. Curriculums and Individuality

The very idea of education and knowledge itself stems off of individuality. In America, many schools offer a wide array of classes besides the norm of Algebra, Biology, and Physics so that the students will have more choices and possibly become more engaged in a specific area of interest for the future. For standard classes, the majority of students begin by taking the same classes freshmen year. While it differs from student to student the decision to take an honors (advanced) or non-honors class, the standard freshmen course template consists of all year classes on geometry for math class, earth sciences for science class, a standard english course, and a class on western civilization for social studies. Along with those four courses, each student in my school is allowed 2 electives. These are 2 classes to choose that can be for more education and enjoyment. Most electives are available for all grade levels, and many popular ones include culinary arts, art classes of different levels, drama classes, orchestra, band, and chorus. Most students, however, spend one of their elected classes taking a language class and will continue to do so for another 3-4 years. This is because most colleges would like to see that a student has taken at least a foreign language. For sophomore year, the schedules begin to differ rapidly because classes became more challenging and students are allowed the option to take more than one science classes. Many of my fellow peers wish to engage in a scientific career in the future, and many peers also figure it will look good on the college applications that a student took two science classes. As for the standard classes, a typical sophomore class template consists of all year classes on algebra for math class, biology for science class, American literature for english class, and global studies for social studies. With all the electives the same, students can add an extra science course, being chemistry in this case. Chemistry is the standard science class for juniors, so sophomores taking chemistry would be one year ahead from their peers. Junior year all electives are the same, with the option of taking a senior level physics or biology class in place of an elective. Some may also elect to take a senior level chemistry class if they had taken chemistry their sophomore year. The course template for junior year is a pre-calculus class to prepare students for the senior year calculus math class, chemistry for science class, humanities for english class, and U.S. history for social studies. Junior year is rather hard because as the work load is dramatically increased, there is the introduction of four AP classes, meaning “advanced placement”or college level courses. Juniors are allowed to either take AP U.S. History, AP Biology, AP Chemistry, AP Humanities to give them an honors credit for their GPA, or just take the non-honors course. With calculus for standard math, AP english, physics for the standard science class, and international relations for the standard social studies class, it can be noted that each students personal schedule is widely varied by senior year. What I believe really makes America stand out from other countries in their education is the students ability to choose unique classes besides the core, standard studies. In my school, we have classes for meteorology, animal behavior, psychology, sports business and marketing, a series of literature classes, and much more. While these classes are not the most popular, the ability to take these classes is refreshing and is a great example of how schools place much importance into the actual enjoyment of the class for students. Students often take these classes with the mindset that the class will be an easy way to avoid the “boring”standard curriculum, but many often walk away with better recognition of their interests and what they wish to pursue for the future for a career. As important as classes such as biology, algebra, and chemistry are, it is equally important to get students engaged in learning and being in a school environment. Whether it be a core class such as mathematics and science, or an elected class such as foreign languages or psychology, sometimes all it really takes to drive a student to get up in the morning is that one special class that they cant bear to miss. While the education system of America allows the curriculum to be flexible for the studentsneeds, the next entry of this series will involve the extra-curriculum involvement of students to show the life of a student beyond the 4 classroom walls.