Bringing Cheo singing to schools, students are excited

Lively, attractive

During the mid-class physical education class at Duy Tan Secondary School, there was a bustling sound of music and cheo singing: “Kinh Mon, oh, by the winding river/Water flows in two streams, rolling waves heavy with silt/Who has crossed the May Bridge/Thai Bridge connects the passionate rhythm of Kim Thanh…”. Nearly 500 students holding fans, gently and leisurely swaying to the rhythm of the cheo tune, followed by the teacher’s instructions.

That is just one of many integrated lessons to bring the art of Cheo into teaching and learning at school. The school has also established the "I love folk songs" Club, consisting of 50 core students selected from different grades and classes; meeting once a week on various topics. There are sessions where students discuss an issue of ancient Cheo; compose and write lyrics for a Cheo song based on an existing melody. Groups do singing exercises, record a product for competitions and give gifts... The club members are also the main force participating in exchanges and folk song competitions with Cheo melodies on occasions of celebrating Vietnamese Teachers' Day on November 20, National Day on September 2, celebrating the Party, celebrating spring... at school and in the locality.

Duy Tan Secondary School also regularly organizes extracurricular activities, inviting members of the Kinh Mon town's rowing team to attend, introduce, exchange and teach ancient rowing tunes to the students.

In particular, in local education, music, civic education classes, etc., the school introduces the traditional art of Cheo with diverse topics such as protecting the Fatherland, singing folk songs, and protecting cultural heritage. The youth radio program during the weekly flag-raising ceremony also includes popularizing knowledge about Cheo.

Pass on the love of rowing

Mr. Pham Van Bang, Principal of Duy Tan Secondary School, said that the school flexibly applies the education of local traditions in general and the art of Cheo in particular, and integrates it into extracurricular activities, creating excitement for students.

The person who had the idea and contributed to bringing the art of Cheo into the school's educational program is teacher Nguyen Thi Thuy, who has worked at the school for 23 years. With her love and passion for ancient Cheo melodies, teacher Thuy researched and brought this art into the school's local educational program.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Hang, one of the members of Duy Tan Ward Cheo Club, is often invited to the school to exchange and teach knowledge about ancient Cheo to students. She shared: "Integrating Cheo teaching in schools is a meaningful humane activity, helping students to cultivate their souls and have good cultural background," Ms. Hang shared.

Inspired by the passion, students of Duy Tan Secondary School are all excited about the art of Cheo. “Before each class or activity that incorporates Cheo, I am very excited and nervous,” said Pham Viet Duc, class 8A.

As for Le Quynh Anh, class 8A, one of the two students who, together with teacher Thuy, conducted the research topic "Cheo - a unique traditional art form that needs to be preserved and promoted in Kinh Mon Secondary School, Hai Duong Province", she affirmed that Cheo is a unique art form, meaningful in each verse, praising the homeland, the country, and the qualities of the Vietnamese people. "Learning Cheo is an opportunity for us to promote tradition, absorb the good qualities of our ancestors, and cultivate our personality", Quynh Anh said.

Recently, the project of Ms. Thuy and her students won second prize in the Town-level Science and Technology Competition for the 2023-2024 school year. The project is being further developed to compete in the Provincial Science and Technology Competition.

“I hope that on bigger stages such as festivals and local cultural exchanges, the school's students will confidently stand there to perform Cheo singing,” Ms. Thuy said about her simple wish.

Not only did she build her own YouTube channel to promote ancient Cheo melodies and the school's teaching and learning activities in Vietnamese, Ms. Thuy and her students also continued to record ancient Cheo melodies in English with the desire to introduce Cheo further.