Culture Transmission＞ Class Promotion

Class Promotion

1. Motive and Purpose

Most people do not have a good impression to the Shenjiang statues. When seeing Shenjiang statues in temple festival parades, they usually stay far away from them. Our Cyberfair project is about the Luzhou Shenjiang culture. When we visited temples, we learned a lot about Shenjiang history. For helping students learn the Shenjiang history of Luzhou, we asked our instructor to arrange a promotion, so that more students would be able to learn Shenjiang stories. We prepared a lot for the promotion. For example, we had to know what we wanted to talk about, what materials we needed, and where to collect data. We taught the 12th class of 5th grade. In total, there were ten speakers, nine members and one instructor for the Cyberfair project. Hopefully, this instructional activity would help everyone learn the history of Luzhou Shenjiang culture and the impact of the culture to Luzhou. We also hope that the members of the Cyberfair project would be able to learn more about the culture through the presentation. Then we could continue being the ambassadors of the Shenjiang culture.

2.Procedure and Contents

Step 1: Introduce the historical stories, origin, and background of Shenjiang.

Step 2: Introduce the Shenjiang statues
1. Large-sized Shenjiang statue: 320-360 cm
2. Medium-sized Shenjiang statue: 150-200 cm
3. Small-sized Shenjiang statue: 100-130 cm

4. Model Shenjiang statue (used for worship): 70 cm

Step 3: Introduce the Shenjiang roles
1. Sheng: Small Sheng, Old Sheng, Civil Sheng, And Martial Sheng
2. Dan: Small Dan, Old Dan, Civil Dan, And Martial Dan
3. Jing: Small Jing, Old Jing, Civil Jing, And Martial Jing

4. Chou: Small Chou, Old Chou, Civil Chou, And Martial Chou

Step 4: Introduce the order of a temple parade
1. Luguan card: marks patrol route
2. Sweep flag (vertical): flag that represents the major gods of the temple
3. Beiguan or Nanguan: music name
4. Little god palanquin (such as the one for General Hu): smaller than the one for the general Shenjiang
5. Leading Shenjiang: (if from the underworld, these are General Qi and General Ba) under the command of the major gods
6. Shenjiang: guards of major gods
7. Main god palanquin: vehicle for main gods
8. Drum troupe: the troupe responsible for beating the drums

9. Float: like a modern float
10. Second sweep flag (horizontal)
11. Big flag: triangle shape of Xuanshe
12. Leading drum or leading flag: used to lead Bajiajiang and Shijinjiang in the parade
13. Bajiajiang and Shijinjiang: for expelling demons
14. Horn or Suona Horn: for making sound effects
15. Quintian drum (small drum attached): for Xuantian god only.

16. Lengthened god palanquin: for the Third Prince

 

3.Teaching Fun and Interaction
This is our first time telling stories about Shenjiang in front of other students. Even though we have spent many months studying Shenjiang, and we have read numerous documents, it wasn’t as easy as what we thought when telling Shenjiang stories to schoolmates. The process wasn’t very smooth, and there were some obstacles. Although there were no big problems, these little issues were good learning experiences for us.

4.Experiences
Shun-wei Huang: Today, I felt like a teacher, haha! In class, I was a little nervous even though this wasn’t my first time appearing on stage. The contents we introduced included Shenjiang categories, Shenjiang roles, and their origin and history. We were well prepared, so we talked smoothly. I did not expect that we could do so well. However, I noticed that some students didn’t seem to understand, since this was their first time hearing about the Shenjiang culture; however, some students were very focused on our speech. Because of our speech, they have a new impression of the Shenjiang culture. I am satisfied with this introduction.
Kuan-ting He: I think the Shenjiang culture workshop was very successful, even though only two of us introduced the content. We were well prepared for the presentation and we confidently expressed what we wanted to say. It was not easy to finish in 40 minutes without breaks, but we had been ready. However, I think that we talked too quickly. If we have a chance to speak again, I will try to speak slower and clearer.

Yuang-ting Tseng: The promotion in class 512 was successful, since the explanation was great and the students responded actively. The speech was vivid and fun, and they followed the order to present slowly. The two people were working together very well. They presented the content in good detail and patiently explained again for the students that did not understand. I think the reason they did so well was because of the practice and coordination before the presentation. If we ever have the chance to do a class presentation again, we will apply what we learned from this experience to it.

Ming-hsien Hsu: The Shenjiang promotion in class 512 was very organized and successful. The presentation wasn’t very smooth, but they helped each other on the speech. When one person forgot their lines, the other would take over and continue the speech. They practiced a lot during recess, and I admire that. If I get a chance to perform on stage, I will do well just like them.
Po-hung Wang: The teaching promotion in class 512 was great. The speakers spoke fluently and did well. They prepared very sufficiently by taking many notes and having very quick on-the-spot reactions. They covered each other when one made mistakes, didn’t have stage fright, did not make funny mistakes, and did not interrupt each other. If I have the chance I would like to use what I learned from them.
Pin-yu Wu: Shun-wei and Kuan-ting’s promotion in class 512 was very detailed and clear. They talked seriously on stage and the content they explained was very interesting. Even though I did not work with them, I understood their feelings. They were very nervous but I think that they still presented very smoothly. After watching them talk, I wanted more opportunities to be on stage.

 

The second promotion was in class 519. Our teaching procedure was about the same, but we did not perform as well as the last time. Here are our teaching reviews:
Shun-wei Huang: Today, we went to class 519 to watch the Shenjiang presentation. They were outstanding and had a good start. I saw Ming-hsien Hsu try her best to explain. I could feel their serious attitude. Something to learn was that they explained the main points of the Shenjiang culture. Even though they were great, some parts still needed to be improved such as word choice and stage manners. Overall, they were pretty good.
Kuan-ting He: In the third class this afternoon, Shun-wei and I went to class 519 to watch Ming-hsien Hsu, Po-hung Wang, and Yuang-ting Tseng present “The Rhythm of Dance Steps, the Hallmark of Blessings, the Shenjiang Culture of Luzhou”. They were ok. After all, this was their first time presenting in front of a whole class, so stage fright could not have been avoided. I should not have played cards during the speech and disrupt the presentation. They were nervous today, so they did not do very well, but that was fine because this was their first time on stage. They will do better next time.
Pin-yu Wu: In class 519, I saw Ming-hsien Hsu, Po-hung Wang, and Yuang-ting writing the content they were going present on the blackboard. Then they started to present the content they prepared. The content was not rich, but I could tell that they worked hard. They included most of the content the instructor taught us, but everyone makes mistakes. We should focus on their good parts, and not the bad parts. We are a team, so we should all try hard to do our best to earn the highest honor for our team.
Ming-hsien Hsu: We should do these following points so that our next presentation will be better: 1) Review the teaching procedure; 2) Practice the speech with partners during recess; 3) Memorize the speech; 4) Discuss everything before going on stage; 5) Stand still when nervous, because moving around doesn’t look modest; 6) Don’t speak too quickly so that the students can understand what we are saying; 7) Take good notes so that we can memorize the points that need to be presented 8) Do not bore the class, so that we will not feel rushed. To make our next presentation better, I will use these points.
Po-hung Wang: We did not discuss and practice enough before the presentation. I will improve by discussing and rehearsing the speech more with my partners. These were the problems I had: 1) My voice was not clear, so students could not understand me; 2) I acted too arrogantly; 3) I had stage fright; 4) My brain was empty.

To improve I will: 1) Speak clearly; 2) Work as a team with others; 3) Train myself to be able to speak on stage; 4) Discuss the speech with my partners. I hope that I will recover these little problems in my next presentation, so that I will be able to speak in front of people confidently and clearly.


Yuang-ting Tseng: After the class promotion yesterday, I went through all the faults in the presentation. I would like to list out these problems so that I can improve them: 1) We did not practice and coordinate so our speech was messy and confusing to the students; 2) We were too nervous to remember lines. We didn’t prepare notes like our instructor had said, so we passed the microphone back and forth on stage; 3) Our stage manner was not good, we kept walking around on stage, so the students’ impression of us was bad. Here are my ways of improving these faults: 1) Work more with my teammates; 2) Prepare notes before the speech to avoid forgetting my lines; 3) Practice the speech more with my teammates; 4) Prepare the speech draft and coordination with my teammates; 5) Speak slower. We should be patient and repeat the explanation if students have questions, so that they will learn. I think that our team did not do very well during this class promotion, because we did not remember our speech, did not show good manners on stage, and continued to walk around on stage because we were nervous. We did not do well this time, but I hope we will have another chance to teach so that I can improve myself.

This is our first time telling stories about Shenjiang in front of other students.