Fostering love of national culture in students

Along with inviting the đàn tính artisan to the school to perform and talk about traditional musical instruments, the Board of Directors of Cha Nua Primary Boarding School in Cha Nua Commune, Nam Po Border District (Dien Bien Province) also made folk games the main activity during recess for students. Thereby, gradually fostering love for national culture; at the same time guiding students to useful recreational activities...

Artisan Thung Van Doi introduces parts of the Tinh lute of the Thai ethnic group to students of Cha Nua Primary Boarding School.

On the way to the house of the folk musician Thung Van Doi in Na In village, Cha Nua commune, teacher Tran Dang Khoa, Principal of Cha Nua Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities, explained more clearly the "reason" that made him ponder and then decided to invite folk musician Thung Van Doi to the school to perform and teach the culture of the White Thai ethnic group to the students. Teacher Khoa said: The school is located in a mountainous commune, most of whom are ethnic minorities. Out of 284 students in the whole school, 96.5% of the students are children of the Thai, H'Mong, Tay, and Muong ethnic groups. There are only 10 Kinh ethnic students, who are children of teachers at all levels in the commune. Like many other places and schools, the students of the school do not like and do not even understand ethnic culture. During recess, the students often gather in groups to watch social networks; when singing and dancing, they choose pop songs, modern music...! Witnessing that scene every day made me extremely worried. Many nights I tossed and turned with the thought, “Where will the customs, culture, and traditional musical instruments of these children go in the future?”

Then, Mr. Khoa and the Board of Directors discussed and decided to add the content of learning about ethnic minority culture to the first weekly meeting of each month. From October 2024 to now, the activities to learn about ethnic culture have been maintained regularly; the content of the activities is selected according to specific topics... with the person who communicates, exchanges, and talks about ethnic culture with students being artisan Thung Van Doi - a person who understands Thai ethnic culture, a person who is passionate about the Tinh instrument of the ethnic group.

Mentioning the names of students who are passionate about learning to play and making the đàn tính such as: Khoang Bao Ngoc, Thung Gia Khanh, Ca Viet Ha, Tao Minh Phuong, Thung Thi Huong Dao... artisan Thung Van Doi's eyes sparkle with joy. Because he himself did not think that, through his performance and talking about the đàn tính and its sound with the Thai people in Cha Nua with the students, he would have such power to arouse the passion for ethnic culture in the youth. After only three sessions of talking with the students about the story of the đàn tính and its connection with the Thai people, 21 students in grades 3, 4 and 5 from Na In, Pa Co, Cau, Na Cang villages asked to learn to play and make đàn tính from artisan Thung Van Doi.

So that learning the instrument does not affect the students' studies at school and in class, artisan Thung Van Doi sets aside every Saturday to instruct the students in two groups, one group in the morning, one group in the afternoon. If any student wants to learn more, artisan Thung Van Doi is always willing to guide. Thanks to his dedicated teaching and passion for learning and practicing, after a short time, many students can play and sing by themselves; their love for national culture also follows each melody, the sound of the Tinh Tau gradually grows in the minds and emotions of the students.

As one of the 21 students passionate about learning the đàn tính, Khoang Bao Ngoc, a student of class 4A2, confided: Thanks to the artist's guidance and instruction, I have understood the significance of the đàn tính in the cultural life of the White Thai people in Cha Nua in particular and the White Thai people in the Northwest in general. Through the sound of the đàn tính, I understand and love the ethnic culture more.

As for Lo Dang Khoa, who lives in Pa Co village, learning the Tinh lute over time has made him love Thai ethnic culture even more, and that love has inspired the 4th grader to be passionate about making instruments. For Khoa, in the Thai language, Tinh means instrument, and Tau means gourd; combined together they form Tinh Tau, also known as the Tinh lute. “Studying with Mr. Doi and being guided by him, I have understood the process and materials to make the Tinh lute. Currently, I cannot do it myself, but I believe that in the future I will be able to make the Tinh lute for myself and give it to people who love the Tinh lute like me and my friends,” Khoa added.

From November 2024, Cha Nua Primary Boarding School also selected four folk games of ethnic minorities including: Nem con, to ma le, nem pao, and dance bamboo to be included in the collective activities during recess for all students in the school. All students in the school will be divided into groups with common interests so that during the break between classes, they will play games in groups. To guide and maintain group activities, Ms. Nong Thi Vui, the Team Leader, will assign tasks to the group leaders, deputy group leaders, and manage the game. All members of the group play together and manage their friends, not allowing any student to leave the group to go out to do their own work.

Appreciating the way of teaching and arousing the love of national culture for students who are children of ethnic minorities in the locality, Mr. Khoang Van Van, Secretary of the Party Committee of Cha Nua Commune, Nam Po District affirmed: Integrating folk games into the teaching process at Cha Nua Primary Boarding School for Ethnic Minorities has created a lively and interesting learning environment for students. When participating in and learning about folk games and national culture, students become a bridge to maintain and develop traditional cultural values; at the same time spreading these cultural beauties to the next generation.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/boi-dap-tinh-yeu-van-hoa-dan-toc-cho-hoc-sinh-post862889.html