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《原来你是这样的物理老师》
A Caring Teacher Helped Me Conquer Physics
I've always been a good student. I may not be the smartest in the class, but I am generally ambitious and hard-working. For a long time, though, math and physics classes were an exception. I used to be content to get by with lower grades in math and physics. That mindset1) changed thanks to my sophomore year physics teacher, Mr. Stevens.
At the beginning of that year, I brought a poor attitude with me to physics. Each day I'd arrive and wait for class to be over. I would have tried to listen to Mr. Stevens' lessons, but they seemed hard to understand and I didn't feel like trying.
So I didn't. I flunked2) quizzes and tests, yet never bothered to ask questions. I also told myself that since I was doing great in my other five classes, I didn't need to worry about physics.
I ended up failing the class in the first marking period. Initially I felt devastated; I had never failed a class before. But I convinced myself that it wasn't a big deal, and continued with my sour outlook throughout the second marking period. I guessed that my teacher could see I didn't care, and would be happy to keep failing me. But at the end of the second marking period, something unusual happened.
As on every other day, I sat through3) his lesson waiting for the final bell. Once it rang, I hopped out of my desk and started gathering my things. Just then, Mr. Stevens called my name.
I looked up. He said, "I'd like to speak to you once you're ready." I nodded. Great! He was going to give me a boring lecture on how I should take advantage of the free education I had been given, or start asking why I didn't care about school. Blah, blah. He didn't know me; he just knew my performance in this one class, so I wouldn't let his aggression4) affect me. What could he do? Threaten to call my parents? They couldn't penalize5) me for struggling. So with my head up high I walked over to his desk, ready for anything he was going to throw at me.
Right away, he gave me a welcoming smile and asked how my day was going. Surprised at his friendly manner, I told him I was actually a little stressed about a geometry exam, but other than that, I was all right. I assumed it was small talk before he landed the big speech, but what he had to say next surprised me even more.
"I just wanted to let you know that I know you're not doing as well as you could be in your class. I'm positive you are capable of way more, Neha. I picked up your transcript6) from the guidance counselor's office today and I see you have good grades in your other classes. Physics is a little difficult for you, huh?"
I couldn't answer. I was trying to digest the fact that he actually went and reviewed my transcript. I wondered if it could be that he was actually curious about me as an individual.
But part of me was just defiant7). He said I was struggling in "my" class—Hello? Physics was his class. Not mine.
He continued, "I want to invite you to tutoring. I tutor Tuesdays and Thursdays and plenty of students come in. It does get crowded sometimes, so I can't always guarantee I'll be able to help you on the particular topic you're struggling with, but if necessary we can arrange morning tutoring as well. I can sit down and review with you exactly what you are having problems with in deeper detail."
I tried to read his face, wondering what the catch8) was. The tutoring sessions weren't news to me, but I never expected him to reach out and invite me. Most teachers only pay attention to the students who look like they care. My geometry teacher always told us, "I'm not even going to bother with kids who do not want to help themselves." This teacher obviously had a different approach.
I had to snap out of9) my thoughts to respond to him, in case he would think I was stupid or disrespectful. I just nodded, and he smiled again, warm and simple.
The next day I decided to attend tutoring. I felt like I sort of had to. After he had spoken to me privately and taken out my transcript, how could I not? It was only polite, and who knew? Maybe it would help my grades.
I found the first session I attended really productive. I got to ask any questions I had, since there weren't so many students in the way. I couldn't daydream, because there was no one in front of me whose head I could hide behind.
After that, I tried to attend tutoring sessions often. I felt obligated to respond to Mr. Stevens' efforts to help—especially since, after all, I did need it. I'd usually go once a week, but if I was having an especially hard time or there was an upcoming test, I'd go twice or three times a week. I began to make progress, and to understand the material.
高中二年级那年刚开始时，我是带着消极的态度对待物理的。每天我到了教室之后就等着下课。我本该努力听一听史蒂文斯先生的课，但那些课似乎难以理解，我不想尝试。
所以我就没试。我大考小测都不及格，却也从不费心去问问题。我还告诉自己，因为我其他五门课学得很好，所以不必担心物理。
结果在高中二年级第一个计分学段，我的物理挂科了。一开始我还觉得沮丧，因为我以前从来没有挂过科。但我说服自己这没什么大不了，并且在整个第二计分学段还继续保持我那种不以为然的看法。我猜测，史蒂文斯老师能看出来我不在乎，并因此会乐得继续让我不及格的。但到第二计分学段末，发生了一些不寻常的事情。
他的物理课每隔一天一次，我和往常一样就坐等下课铃响。铃声一响，我就蹿离了课桌，开始收拾我的东西。就在这时，史蒂文斯先生叫了我的名字。
我抬起头来。他说：“你收拾好之后我想和你聊聊。”我点点头。这下好了！他即将对我发表一次无聊的演讲，告诉我应该如何利用给予我的免费受教育的机会，或者开始问我为什么不喜欢上学。等等，等等。他不了解我，他只知道我在这一门课上的表现，所以我不会让他的挑衅影响我的。他会做什么？威胁说要打电话给我家长？他们可不会因为我学习费劲儿就惩罚我。所以，我高昂着头，走到他的讲桌前，无论他要对我说什么我都做好了准备。
我一到他跟前，他就冲我露出了一个热情的微笑，并问我这一天过得怎么样。他友善的态度让我很意外，我告诉他，我实际上对几何考试有点小紧张，但除此之外，我感觉挺好的。我想当然地认为这是他在发表长篇大论之前的闲聊，但他接下来说的话就更让我吃惊了。
“我只是想让你知道，我知道你在你的物理课上做的没有你原本能做到的那么好。内哈，我相信你有能力做得更好。今天我在辅导员办公室拿了你的成绩单，发现你其他各科成绩都很好。物理对你来说有一点难，是吗？”
我没法回答。我在努力接受他真去看了我成绩单这个事实。我不知道是不是有可能他是真对我这个人感兴趣。
但我心里另一个声音却在挑事儿。他说我在“我的”物理课上学得费劲——别天真了好吗？物理是他的课，可不是我的。
他接着说：“我想邀请你来参加我的课外辅导。我每周二和周四有辅导课，有很多学生来。有时候人是会有些多，所以我不能保证总是能帮你解决你有困难的那些个别题目，但如果必要，我们还可以安排个早上的时间辅导。我可以坐下来，和你一起就你确实存在问题的地方，更详细地过一下。”
我试图读懂他脸上的表情，想知道这是什么诡计。辅导课对我来说不是什么新闻，但我从来没想到他会主动伸出手来邀请我。大部分老师只注意那些看起来对学习很上心的学生。我的几何老师总是跟我们说：“对那些自己都不想帮助自己的孩子，我甚至都不会为他们费那个心。”眼前这位老师明显态度不一样。
我必须迅速从我的思绪中跳出来回应他，以免他会觉得我迟钝或不尊重他。我只是点了点头，他又冲我一笑，温暖而单纯。
第二天，我决定去上辅导课。我感觉自己必须去似的。他私下和我聊过天，还找出了我的成绩单，有了这些事情，我还怎么能不去呢？我去只是出于礼貌，而且谁知道呢？也许这个辅导课能帮我提高成绩呢。
我发现我参加的第一次辅导课的确富有成效。我可以有问题就问出来，因为没有那么多学生妨碍我。我不能做白日梦，因为没有人坐在我前面，让我可以藏在他脑袋后面。
从那之后，我尽量经常去上辅导课。我觉得自己有义务对史蒂文斯先生努力提供的帮助做出回应——尤其还因为，毕竟我也的确需要他的帮助。我一般一个星期去一次，但如果我这一段时间感觉学得特别吃力或马上要有一个考试，我就会一个星期去两到三次。我开始有了进步，并开始理解所学的内容。
…………
文章摘自：《新东方英语·中学生》杂志2016年9月号
