I once heard Screenwriter Trinh Thanh Vu, Chairman of the Literature and Arts Association of Ca Mau province, respectfully mention the young teacher, when in recent years, this voice and this podium have softened literary knowledge and made a beautiful mark in the province'seducation ...

Screenwriter Trinh Thanh Vu, Chairman of the Literature and Arts Association of Ca Mau province, presented a souvenir to teacher Huynh Son Ca during a writing field trip to Vo Thi Hong High School. (Photo: Hoang Phuc)

Screenwriter Trinh Thanh Vu, Chairman of the Literature and Arts Association of Ca Mau province, presented a souvenir to teacher Huynh Son Ca during a writing field trip to Vo Thi Hong High School. (Photo: Hoang Phuc)

Peaceful memory

“Ho, xu, cong, xang, xe...”, the memories are as peaceful as the zither tune that my father occasionally plays to remember the years when musician Huynh Truong Han passionately played the keys on the stage of the Liberation Art Troupe. Then, the burden of making a living made his passion temporarily put aside, the musician returned to wear a farmer’s uniform, enjoying the rice fields and coconut trees. When he was ten, he played the zither again, and the children sitting around him had the opportunity to join in the memories. The youngest daughter Huynh Son Ca also followed her father in her childhood and was gradually taught to sing short songs. The pentatonic melody and the attractive colored lights that nurtured my father’s youth every year skillfully made the dreams of those seven and eight years old even sweeter.

By a beautiful coincidence, the province once mobilized a force of amateurs to prepare to participate in the Don ca tai tu festival of the three provinces of Bac Lieu - Soc Trang - Ca Mau. Someone mentioned: "Mr. Truong Han has a young daughter who sings very well!". Needless to say, little Son Ca received a lot of support and encouragement to join the competition team right after that. Remembering the train trips with her father from Khanh Hung to Ca Mau City to practice, they had packed many lessons about life and art. The two of them lived together, practiced together with everyone, sometimes for a whole month before the competition. Son Ca's artistic capital from Nam, Bac, Oan, Ha to her pronunciation and vibrato were also equipped accordingly. On her first stage, the twelve-year-old girl boldly sang the song "Sang mai niem tin" to the tune of Lien Nam (author Huynh Khanh) and was lucky to win the individual B prize. The following year, with 20 verses, Nam Xuan (author Tran Ngoc Thach) continued to bring home a B prize. Time flies in the blink of an eye, but the father's smile in the moment he saw his little daughter go up on stage to receive the prize remains strong.

Lesson plan page "ho, xu, cong, xang, xe" package

Since entering high school, Son Ca's footsteps have been absent from the stage, giving way to a bigger dream of becoming a Literature teacher. However, the musical instrument and singing voice have skillfully kept the talented person when in 2009, at the "Can Tho University Student Singing Festival", performing the vọng cổ song "Viễn Đài Liệt Sĩ Hòn Khoai" (author Huynh Hong), Son Ca's name was once again called out, with a proud Gold Medal.

Working at Vo Thi Hong High School since 2012, the young teacher is always full of enthusiasm and a desire for creativity. In the teaching process, in addition to traditional educational methods, she tries to incorporate new methods: storytelling, letting students draw pictures, acting... Occasionally, when she comes across a literary work that has been adapted into Cai Luong or Vong Co, or Tai Tu songs, she will definitely skillfully connect and sing them for the whole class to enjoy.

Through special lessons, teacher Huynh Son Ca contributes to the development of local culture, arousing passion, igniting love and pride among young people for the genre of amateur music. Photo: SAM LEE

Through special lessons, teacher Huynh Son Ca contributes to the development of local culture, arousing passion, igniting love and pride among young people for the genre of amateur music. Photo: SAM LEE

In 2020, during a lesson on "The Tale of Kieu", in the extended section, when teaching about the tragic and difficult fate of Kieu, the teacher sang the entire poem "Hoan Thu catches Thuy Kieu". The whole class listened attentively, then because they were so fascinated, a student secretly used his phone to record it. The short clip was posted on social media and received a series of positive comments and shares from the online community. Almost everyone encouraged and praised the innovative way of teaching. The next morning, many journalists contacted her to interview her about the unique lesson, she was both surprised and happy. That year, she was honored to receive a certificate of merit from the Chairman of the People's Committee of Ca Mau province for "Having a creative spirit, innovating teaching and learning methods, contributing to improving the quality of education".

If before, the interweaving of folk songs, amateur and reformed opera was simply considered a technique to evoke the classroom atmosphere, then from this beautiful turning point, she confidently raised it to a method. The lesson plan, thanks to the addition of pentatonic melodies, is softer and more flexible...

The podium is the stage, the teacher becomes... the artist

Up to now, after many years of considering art as a companion on the podium, Ms. Son Ca still struggles to choose the right time and students so that each time the singing and lyrics are sung, they will bring the highest efficiency. The efficiency of Literature lessons is one thing, but more precious, she also hopes that in that moment she can contribute to the development of local culture; arouse passion, kindle love, and pride of young people in the art form of Don Ca Tai Tu.

Art is inherently free from constraints and stereotypes, but is always flexible and soft. When music and lyrics are played, the podium suddenly becomes a stage and the teacher also becomes an artist in the eyes of her students. Once she asked: "When I sing for so long, do you get bored or sleepy?" The answer was innocent but sincere: "No, when I sing, I'm afraid it will all end!"

From that artistic bridge, students are more passionate about Literature, easily remembering lessons in class. Besides, it also encourages them to explore, expand their knowledge, and be interested in literary works outside the curriculum. Many students, after listening to the teacher sing a reformed opera passage in the Tale of Kieu, then read all 3,254 verses of Kieu.

Le Kim Xuyen, Class 12X1, confided: “In every lesson, the class always hopes to hear her sing folk songs because it is so interesting. Although the subject of Literature is theoretical, her impressive teaching style has created an attractive and easy-to-understand atmosphere. From her enthusiasm and admiration for her, the passion for this subject is ignited...”.

Learning about the preparation before class of the “artist teacher”, the story is enriched accordingly. Every day, after fulfilling her duty to her small family, the working room will be kept completely silent. There, the lesson plan page opens, Son Ca naturally lets herself go into her own world. Closing her eyes and pondering the lesson through the stages: warm-up, knowledge formation, practice, application... Each part stops, imagines the hypothetical situation and then how to solve the situation; how the students will answer, if the answer is wrong, what will the teacher say so that the atmosphere in the class does not become loose.

According to her, on the podium, teachers not only use beautiful words and language but also have to apply many non-verbal factors. Sometimes just a glance or a slight smile can change students' thoughts and behaviors. Therefore, for a long time, the teaching profession has been defined by her as a profession that requires creativity and constant creativity. There is no distance or conservatism, but must show students, especially Gen Z, that the two generations are in harmony.

This season is sometimes rainy, sometimes sunny, but the farewells are always warm and gentle. In the promise to see you again, there is a whisper from teacher Son Ca, hoping to receive new compositions soon, so that tomorrow the singing on the podium will be more imbued with love for the land and people.

Mr. Ly Tien Phong, Vice Principal of Vo Thi Hong High School, said: "The research and integration of the art of Don Ca Tai Tu and Cai Luong into Ms. Huynh Son Ca's lectures is like a breath of fresh air, bringing excitement and receiving enthusiastic responses from students. These special lessons help stimulate students to love Literature more, then focus, memorize and apply creatively to achieve high results in their studies."

Minh Hoang Phuc

Source: https://baocamau.vn/co-giao-tai-tu--a36105.html