Nurturing love of national culture in Gen Z
(Baonghean.vn) - There is a special school that is considered a second home for many ethnic minority students. Under that beloved roof, young people of the Gen Z generation have carried out many meaningful activities to contribute to preserving and spreading the traditional cultural beauty of their homeland.
The passion of a young teacher
For those who love cultural and artistic programs, it is impossible to forget the special performances of the Nghe An delegation participating in the Cultural Festival of Ethnic Groups in the Vietnam - Laos border area held in Dien Bien province in 2023.
At the festival, the troupe won the Gold Medal with recognition and high appreciation from the organizers and the audience. Few people know that, along with the professional actors from the Provincial Cultural Center, there were 8 excellent actors performing in the troupe who were students from Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School.
Accompanying the students throughout the practice and performance process was teacher, Secretary of the School Youth Union Tran Dinh Huy (born in 1993). He was also the one who founded and strived to maintain the effective operation of the school's Traditional Arts Club. From here, he nurtured and fueled the passion for art in many generations of students right from their school days.
Recalling the early days of nurturing the idea of establishing that special club, teacher Tran Dinh Huy said: "I was born and raised in Tuong Duong. My father used to be a teacher in the mountainous communes of the district and he really loved the people, the landscape and the unique culture of the people in the lands he passed through. My father spoke Thai very well, thanks to that, he delved into the local customs and practices to better understand his students. That love of my father gradually grew in my heart through the days I followed him to remote villages, listening to him tell touching stories about the process of bonding with the people during the time he was in the village."
After finishing 9th grade, Tran Dinh Huy passed the entrance exam to the Provincial Boarding Ethnic High School with high scores. During his studies, Huy was elected to the Executive Committee of the School Youth Union. After graduating from university and working in several positions, in 2020, Tran Dinh Huy returned to work at the Administrative - Student Management Department, Provincial Boarding Ethnic High School.
Returning to his old school and working with students from ethnic minority areas, the young teacher cherished the thought of doing something to help them not lose their ethnic cultural identity, even though they were studying in a prosperous city.
More than anyone else, Mr. Huy understands the need to create a healthy living environment for students after school hours to ease their homesickness. With that passion, he consulted with the school's Board of Directors to establish the National Arts Club.
On the first day of establishment, the club had 45 members who were children of Thai, O Du, Tho, Mong ethnic groups... These were typical factors in the learning movement and had a passion for the school's cultural and artistic activities. Joining the club, depending on their own talents and strengths, students will be divided into 6 groups and be in charge of the contents from musical instruments, singing, dancing, drama, MC, communication, painting.
In addition, the club also regularly invites excellent artisans to teach the children techniques of bamboo dancing, gong playing, carving, playing musical instruments, panpipes, etc. Thanks to that, the children can maximize their talents and are guided to better understand traditional national values; thereby nurturing their passion and awareness of preserving and promoting the cultural beauty of their homeland.
Spreading traditional cultural resources
Since its establishment, the club has continuously achieved remarkable achievements, such as First Prize in the "Vinh City Student Singing Festival 2021"; Second Prize in the "Vinh City Art Clubs Festival 2023"; Third Prize in the "Nghe An Province Talent Search" Contest 2023.
In particular, in 2022, students in the club actively supported the performances with the art troupe of Nghe An Provincial Cultural Center to attend the Cultural Festival of Ethnic Groups in the Truong Son - Tay Nguyen region held in Kon Tum province. The group achieved excellent results, winning A, B prizes for the group and individuals.
The club is also a place where many students can fulfill their dreams of entering university. Teachers and friends still remember the female student of the O Du ethnic group, Lo Thi Phuong (born in 2004). From her hometown of Tuong Duong, Phuong passed the entrance exam to the provincial boarding high school for ethnic minorities and dreamed of entering the Central University of Art Education. To hone her talent, she registered to become a member of the dance team of the Ethnic Arts Club.
And then, under the guidance of the club president and the artists, she achieved a very high score in the aptitude test when applying to the university of her dreams. Now, as a second-year student at the school, a future teacher, Lo Thi Phuong still silently thanks the days of studying at Nghe An Ethnic Boarding High School as well as the meaningful activities at the club.
As for Thai female student - Mac Luong Ha Anh (born 2006), currently a member of the Ethnic Arts Club, she also excellently won the Gold Medal at the WICO World Invention Olympiad for Science and Technology Invention Competition, school year 2022-2023.
Entering the 2023-2024 school year, she has won many school-level and city-level art awards and the second prize in provincial literature, and is a typical example of being recognized by the Provincial Youth Union as an "Outstanding Youth Following Uncle Ho's Teachings" in 2024. According to Ha Anh, becoming a member of the club has helped her have a solid spiritual support, achieving a balance between studying and healthy cultural activities.
Besides Lo Thi Phuong and Mac Luong Ha Anh, many members of the club have become excellent students of colleges and art schools in and outside the province. In particular, thanks to their talents being honed in that environment, after entering university, they all became excellent Youth Union and Association officials.
Now, the club has more than 100 members registered to participate in activities. Witnessing the positive progress of the students in the club, more than anyone, Mr. Tran Dinh Huy is the happiest person. Recently, his project "Improving the effectiveness of educational activities on "Preserving and promoting national cultural identity" for students of the Ethnic Boarding High School" has also been recognized as a provincial-level experience initiative.
That is the motivation for the young teacher to continue to try to preserve and spread the cultural characteristics of ethnic groups and thereby contribute to preserving, conserving and effectively promoting the traditional culture and folk arts of ethnic minorities in the province in modern life.
