REPORT Every culture has their own beliefs and with each generation becoming more educated these

beliefs have been relegated to the status of superstitions. What could not be explained in olden times have been dissected, analyzed and relegated to either being a superstition or tradition. I have gathered 3 pupils for my interview on superstitions and beliefs. My participants are 11 years old Suri, a Siamese girl brought up by a Siamese parents , her classmates, Eza and Aiman, both with Malay background. I briefed a bit on superstitions and what they mean and also how they are different according to certain people or race. Then, I ask them to talk about what they know about superstitions based on their basic and previous knowledge, experience and observations. Being a talkative girl, Suri started the session. With a smile on her face, she said she knew a lot of supertitions and beliefs. She confessed that some are very difficult to believe and this statement was agreed by both Eza and Aiman. Suri started with the beliefs of opening a 'rohm' inside the house will bring bad 'cho' because a snake will come in. She likes to use a combination of Cantonese and Thai words so she kept using the word 'rohm'. Aiman said he wanted to guess the word 'rohm' so he asked Suri if 'rohm' actually means umbrella because the superstition is likely similar to Malay's. Suri answered yes and Eza wanted to know the meaning of 'cho' and the meaning was bad luck. Suri told the group that they cannot clip fingernails or toenails at night because it will cause the spirit to be visible. She use fingernails and toenails in Thais so it was quite difficult for Eza and Aiman to understand her story. I asked Suri to show them what she meant and she showed them her fingernails and toenails. Suri continued her talk by saying how pointing at a rainbow may cause your finger. Again she used the rainbow word in Thai's. I prepared for her a piece of paper and a pencil so she drew on it to make Eza and Aiman understand what she meant to tell in her conversation. Once Eza got the meaning, she said the superstition is the same with Malay because her grandmother told her the same thing and this statement was agreed by Aiman.

Suri then talks about how on New Year, Chinese are not suppose to wash their hair and it is a must to wear red clothing for 'ja reen' and 'fatt'. Children and unmarried people are given lai see for good fortune. Eza and Aiman were a little lost so they asked Suri about why must because it would mean they would have to wear red and how long Suri is not suppose to wash her hair, was it the whole day or the whole or the whole month and what is the meaning of Lai See. Suri told them that it is 'chuaa' if she wash her hair. Eza asked her again the meaning of the word 'chuaa'. Suri said it means bad because brings bad luck. Aiman asked her of the word 'ja reen' and 'fatt' so she explained it is happiness and prosperity like 'Fatt Choi'. I showed the pupils a picture of Chinese New Year celebration and how exact Suri was in explaining the red clothes, ang pow and the saying of Gong Xi Fa Cai. Eza asked Suri on what if the person wearing black on that day and Suri answered it is bad luck. Aiman then asked her what if there's a combination of black and red. Suri said they are not allowed to wear the whole thing black and it is rare to mix the two but if it is combined then she guessed that it is ok. The last superstitious act or taboo that Suri talked about was the most recent event, celebration of Hungry Ghost Month. She said the ghost and spirits would come out searching for food. They are believed to visit the living so the living offers a lot of things like fake money, food and others to the dead relatives. Eza and Aiman seemed interested in this belief. I showed them a video of the Ghost Celebration on Youtube. Suri explained a the video played along.

Steps in teaching and learning to convey knowledge about the superstitions and beliefs in classroom. Through my research and reading, I found few articles as references on Malaysians Superstiotions and beliefs. Living in a multi-cultural environment really makes superstitions a colourful jar of beans. These articles will definitely be a big help to be used and explained in the class to convey the knowledge on superstitions and beliefs. My first step would be showing the reading materials to the pupils through the LCD screen. Reading aloud with them is necessary to check on their pronunciation and participation in learning process. Pictures and videos will be shown to strengthen the materials read. The second step is to devide them into groups. They will be asked to draw an interesting mind map according to their understanding of the reading materials. During this session, the reading materials will be showed again on the screen. This will help pupils in scanning and looking at the main ideas and details. Next is the group presentation. Each group are called out front to show the class of their work and talk about what they understood from the materials read. They will also include what they think of the superstitions and believe read and how agree are they with it. After the presentation, the other groups need to give a band or marks to the group presented ranging from 1 mark the minimum to the maximum 5 marks. By the end of the lesson, the pupils will gain the knowledge that needs to be conveyed. The teacher is on guidance mode and the lesson will be completely monitored. I will also tell them on how important it is to know and respect about culture and beliefs of others as it is one of the keys to unity.

Integration Plan for Students to foster unity (RIMUP) A programme aimed to produce a knowledgeable generation that has excellent spirit and personality, spirit of goodwill and able to take challenges in a whole collective manner. The objectives are; 1. To encourage participants from the society, teachers and students and all members of the school from the primary to the secondary level in conducting special activities together. 2. To inculcate the spirit of teamwork, helping each other and to create a harmonious environment in a planned and conscious manner. 3. To produce understanding and tolerance among students of different ethnic groups in school. 4. To share facilities, equipment, man power and expertise to carry out special activities successfully together. 1. Date 2. Day 3. Vanue : : : 01st August 30th August 2012 Thursday Saturday

SK Permatang Sintok Year 5 pupils 1 - Merdeka Poem Writing contest

4. Targeted pupils : 5. Activities :

2 - Workshop on essay writing with Unity theme. 3 - Fashion Show of Traditional clothes 4 - Food Fair Traditional Food of Malaysia. 5 Merdeka Hunt (Treasure Hunt) 6 MerdekaRaya speech day

References

Kementerian Pendidikan Malaysia (2001), Pembangunan Pendidikan 2001-2010: Perancangan Bersepadu Penjana Kecemerlangan Pendidikan, Kuala Lumpur KPM SK Permatang Sintok Yearly Plan & Takwim SK PERMATANG SINTOK'S RIMUP PLANS AND PROGRAMMES (HEM UNIT) http://forum.engkabang.net/index.php?topic=1088.0 http://thestar.com.my/education/story.aspfile=/2007/7/15/education/20070714104454 http://www.nsrajendran.com/newsroom/in-the-news/57-building-friendship-thatunites-the-races.html