I love the pages of my homeland's history even more.

(Baonghean)It feels like being here, I'm touching history, and suddenly I realize that History is no longer a dry subject with boring numbers. History is always with each of us, every moment of today...

"Today is a truly memorable day for me. I never imagined that the place just a short distance from my house, the place my mother and I often pass by, which I visited with my teachers and classmates during our field trip, would hold so many traces of a revolutionary era that shook the earth. I felt like those bygone years were right before my eyes."

Who would have thought that the small booth still displaying the match schedule of the Song Lam Football Team was once a harsh prison where countless revolutionary fighters were imprisoned and tortured? It feels like coming here, I'm touching history, and suddenly I find that History is no longer dry and boring with its numbers. History is always with each of us, every moment today…” (Excerpt from notes by Nguyen Pham Van Trinh, a 9th-grade student at Le Mao Secondary School, February 22, 2017).

Students listen as a tour guide introduces the historical artifacts at the XVNT Museum. Photo: XVNT Museum.

Many such emotions, expressed after field trips and extracurricular activities at the Soviet-Nghe Tinh Museum, were written in the museum's guestbook, in written reports, or even in the clumsy diary entries of schoolchildren.

For the most part, the students considered those to be their "most memorable learning hours," not only because of the lectures, textbooks, and "unbelievable stories from the distant past," but also because those were the moments when they "touched history," living with the past of their homeland and its people.

For the past 10 years, starting from the 2006-2007 school year, when the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, in coordination with the Department of Education and Training of Nghe An province, initiated the inclusion of Soviet Nghe Tinh (XVNT) history education in schools, nearly 10,000 high school students from across the province have visited the Soviet Nghe Tinh Museum annually for educational purposes. Many schools have maintained this as a regular and well-established extracurricular activity.

This collaboration between the two departments also aims to further promote the traditions of Nghe An province, strengthen the education of historical and revolutionary traditions of Nghe An among high school students, and contribute to improving the overall quality of education.

The students seemed very excited to visit the XVNT Museum during their field trip. Photo: XVNT Museum

In addition to extracurricular activities and field trips, the Department of Education and Training also collaborated with the Nghe Tinh Soviet Museum to compile extracurricular lectures on Nghe Tinh for 9th-grade and 12th-grade high school students; and produced an educational film titled "Nghe Tinh Soviet in 1930-1931". All documents and educational films were copied and promptly provided to high schools throughout the province.

Conduct exchange activities, learning sessions, traditional talks, mobile exhibitions, quizzes, marches to historical sites, collect artifacts and documents about XVNT… to help students better understand the figures and events of the 1930-1931 revolutionary movement and XVNT, and compile a list of ranked XVNT historical sites for schools to voluntarily register to care for.

And indeed, with many practical and persistent activities over the past 10 years, the impact of XVNT on the hearts of students is significant. “In many schools and classes, initially, learning about XVNT history, or even visiting the museum, was merely a formality. But after a short field trip, the teachers and students have a different perspective.”

"I felt that clearly in the written notes, impressions, and conversations, in the sincere thank-yous they expressed to us – the museum staff – that they truly appreciated the explanations, the dedication of the museum staff, and even the artifacts that seemed to be silently buried under the dust of time, but here they encountered them speaking with powerful, vibrant voices," shared Mr. Nguyen Van Bich, Head of the Collection, Inventory and Preservation Department of the XVNT Museum.

Mr. Bich graduated from the History Department of the University of Hanoi and had worked in various places before joining the XVNT Museum. He said that this journey has brought him fulfillment, not only because he is working in his field of expertise in his hometown, but also because he feels that each of his colleagues here is enthusiastic and passionate.

He is proud because he knows that any visitor who walks into the museum and asks anything about the XVNT movement can be answered clearly by any staff member. More importantly, every day he is able to inspire and share his love for his homeland's history with many people, especially the younger generation – a generation that "is easily distracted by games, Facebook, and a thousand other attractive things."

The museum's guides and their storytelling also contribute to the attraction, drawing students of all ages to visit and learn here. Photo: XVNT Museum

Mr. Bich is also one of the three administrators of the museum's fanpage – a page that has thousands of likes and positive reviews. He said he feels happy that more and more people, especially students from schools, after visiting the museum or after lessons about XVNT, are coming to this page to interact and ask questions.

As for Ms. Tran Thi Hong Nhung - Deputy Director of the Museum (Ms. Nhung is very young, born in 1984), she shared: When she started working at the Museum, it was also the first year that the two departments coordinated the education of the XVNT traditions for high school students in the province.

She started her career as a tour guide and, even now as a manager, she remains connected to that initial profession. She says she was deeply moved to see the wide-eyed wonder and the tears rolling down the innocent faces of the children when they came to this place and listened to her stories.

“When I mentioned each event, when I pointed to each artifact to tell the children about the mothers in Nghe An who sheltered communist soldiers, about the methods of printing and hiding Party documents, about the resourcefulness and courage of the Viet Minh soldiers, about the tortures that revolutionaries endured in Vinh prison… I encountered empathy, admiration, surprise, and sorrow… from the children. Then I witnessed the essays they wrote right under the trees in the museum courtyard, essays full of freshness, with the heartbeat of love and pride in their hearts. I was overwhelmed with happiness and loved my sacred work as a ‘bridge’ even more. A bridge connecting the past with the present, connecting the old days with the new.”

Every year, many student groups visit and are introduced to historical stories and artifacts by guides at the Soviet-Nghe Tinh Museum. Photo: PV

Discussing plans for the coming years to further promote the traditional values ​​of XVNT (a historical and cultural heritage site) among the general public, especially students, Mr. Cao Van Xich - Director of the Museum - said: The XVNT Museum will revise the exhibition content to suit the age group of the children and innovate the presentation methods to make them more engaging.

Annually, we develop and create thematic exhibitions; reorganize and upgrade the exhibition hall's interior; collaborate with schools to develop a plan for coordinating the "Junior Tour Guide" exchange program; work with schools' "History Clubs" to improve the quality of cultural exchange activities and history quizzes; and expand our partnerships and collaborations with collaborators to gather more research materials on XVNT.

Disseminating the content of the XVNT (Nghe An - Nghe An) tradition through mass media is more widespread. This is also a way to continue promoting the XVNT tradition, strengthening the education of historical and revolutionary traditions of Nghe An province among high school students, and contributing to improving the overall quality of education.

These are the impressions written by Nguyen Thi Tuyet in the museum's guestbook. Photo: XVNT Museum.

Let me conclude this article with the heartfelt sentiments of the students and teachers: “Now, we understand that we have a beautiful, peaceful, and happy life thanks to the heroes who fought without fear of sacrifice and hardship” (Nguyen Thi Tuyet, student at Ngo Tri Hoa High School (Dien Chau)).

“The glorious revolutionary tradition of our homeland will be the motivation for us to continue our studies and carry on the heroic legacy of our ancestors” (Luong Quang Dung, student of Huynh Thuc Khang High School (Vinh City)), “Visiting this place is not only a valuable practical experience but also a profound lesson about dedication and gratitude” (Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Huong - Teacher at Dang Thai Mai Secondary School).

TV