Scholarship / [Sholarship Essay for Skidmore] the experience that sparked interests in science [3]

Thank Kevin! :X I edited it again. Please help me to improve it!
It wasn't for Skidmore anymore. Just an essay! :D
XXX, Vietnam - "This afternoon, bring your scratch pads to the class. I want to see how you guys have worked at home. Everything, and your notebooks too," said my teacher - a small woman with a kind, round face.

At grade 9th, I transferred to a new school, which was established to teach some selected students in specialized classes. And she became my forth Physics teacher since then. Being considerate and patient, she always encouraged me and has been a big source of inspiration for me not only to discover the world of Physics, but also to develop a keener sense with science subjects later on.

We were usually allowed five minutes to solve a problem before she gave the correct answer and wrote line by line the instructions on the board. After every new theoretical lesson, we had to do no less than fifty related problems until we could not forget the theory and got used to various forms of exercise. She instructed us not only how to crack a problem but also how to draft both mentally and physically in the right way, which is to circle subordinate answers, to only apply numbers to variables in the final equations, and to use calculators wisely. I always liked her method because it gave me a feeling of being certain and confident whenever I encountered any tough problems or thought about complicated theories in the lessons. It was like when I met one about reflection or refraction, I would simply open the 'folder' containing things related to geometrical optics; or one about electricity, then I would refer to the 'folder' encompassing tips related to Ohm's law and electric circuits problems. And if I could not find anywhere a clue to the answers, I would turn to ask her.

Her eyes always sparkled with enthusiasm when we raised our hands for help. Perhaps, she was the only teacher who I could question without hesitation. We often had a long test at the end of every month during the time when we were studying with a higher concentration for the provincial Physics Olympiad in April. Normally, my mind seemed to not work well in the test rooms; as a result, the scores were often unstable then. She knew that. In October, I got only 7.5/20 and dropped from top five to the bottom of the rank in the class, though the highest score was just 11.5. I did not dare to look at her eyes on the day after the results coming out. However, she did not grow angry with me but encouraging me to be confident and believe in myself. She gave me some sample tests and said it was not just about memorizing and using formulas, but more about mastering my minds and staying calm in every situation.

We did not have a Physics laboratory then; and all we did were with her color chalk illustrations in the black boards. Nevertheless, we studied without realizing how much we was engaging in that fascinating subject. We did exercise at home. We talked about them when having lunch at school. We discussed a tough one in ten-minute breaks in the morning. We asked our Math teacher for help with complex equations in the afternoon. She really inspired us to learn Physics. In retrospect, I always feel grateful to her because she prepared the best for me to study in the only high school for the gifted in the region, at which I continued working with other inspiring teachers and the smartest guys I had ever met.

In that afternoon, it was kind of weird when she asked to look at our scratch pads instead of checking our homework as usual. I remember she once said something like seeing drafts sometimes revealed how clear our minds are and drafting was crucial in every science subject. Perhaps she just wanted to remind us one of her many important lessons, which are hard to forget long after we leave our school.

Writing Feedback / Follow the customs of the new country you are in, or keep your own customs? [4]

It's a nice written essay, I think. :)
If I am not mistaken, your essay topic is one of the TOEFL or IELTS. If so, it might be a better idea for you to state explicitly what your point of view is and spend time supporting for your idea instead of trying to develop both sides. We all know there are only thirty minutes to finish the essay.

I just have some suggestions:
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Just tell the fact, adding "I believe" seems to just weaken your point.
I think the above past perfect tense [had spent] is not really appropriate. I suggest "they have spend ...".

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"because they are something they use to memorize their home." I don't really understand this part. What did you mean?

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This is not a sentence. [For example, + a full sentence] or just something like "I knew some oversea students from Taiwan."

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. OK is OK :). But using something a bit formal like reasonable or acceptable is more appropriate.

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I suppose you meant CUSTOM here.

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???

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Parallelism error :).

Hope it may help!