Heartwarming story of a retired teacher's free classroom.

The classroom was filled with love.

Ms. Nhung organizes free classes from 6 PM every weekday afternoon. From the early days when she had to actively solicit donations, it has now become a routine; after school ends, many underprivileged children come to her small, one-story house nestled deep in a narrow alley on Trung Nu Vuong Street to meet her.

Ms. Nhung is a retired Literature teacher from Le Do Secondary School (Son Tra District, Da Nang ). After 35 years dedicated to the profession of "nurturing future generations," Ms. Nhung left the classroom and returned to participate in social activities in her local community.

"During my social work, I discovered that many underprivileged children in my locality were very studious, so I felt I needed to do something. After many sleepless nights, I went to each house to persuade parents to bring their children to me so I could teach and review with them to help them improve," Ms. Nhung confided. And so, in early 2019, the free tutoring class was born.

Retired teacher Dao Thi Nhung's free tutoring class has been running for five years now.

Currently, this free tutoring class has about 20 children enrolled. They vary in age, but the majority are elementary school students from grades 1 to 7. These are all students from disadvantaged backgrounds, including orphans.

For elementary school students, Ms. Nhung teaches all subjects, while for middle school students, she mainly teaches Literature. Despite the diverse age range in her classes, Ms. Nhung develops well-structured lesson plans to ensure that the students' learning process is not interrupted.

During her teaching, if she noticed a student was weak in a particular area, she would focus on providing extra tutoring in that area. With her love for children and pure heart, she ignited a passion for learning in the underprivileged students here.

Ms. Nhung diligently taught the children each letter and number.

For the past five years, rain or shine, the two brothers Vu Trong Binh (7th grade) and Vu Trong Khang (5th grade) have consistently attended Ms. Nhung's class without missing a single session.

Binh and Khang came from very difficult circumstances. Their parents divorced, and they lived with their elderly maternal grandparents, who were often ill. Therefore, they lacked the resources for extra tutoring and had no one to guide them, resulting in very poor academic performance at the time.

"During a survey of living conditions in a residential area, I happened to learn about the circumstances of these two children. At that time, because they had no one to supervise them, their academic performance was very poor. Feeling sorry for them, I immediately took them to my class to tutor them," Ms. Nhung shared.

The walls are covered with certificates of merit belonging to teacher Nhung.

Teacher Nhung was awarded a certificate of commendation by the Ministry of Education and Training .

Thanks to Ms. Nhung's dedicated guidance, their initially messy handwriting gradually became neater and more beautiful. From being weak students, the two brothers, Binh and Khang, have now achieved good academic results in the past school year.

"Ms. Nhung's class has helped me improve a lot. Not only does she teach for free, but she also gives my brother and me books, pens, rulers, snacks, and even rice. We are very grateful to Ms. Nhung," Binh said with a bright smile.

The teacher also doubles as a "kind mother."

Besides teaching literacy, Ms. Nhung also teaches the children politeness and good manners. Before each lesson, the children are taught to arrive early to clean the classroom, rearrange the desks and chairs, and develop habits of self-discipline, independence, and hard work.

In particular, at the beginning of each new school year, Ms. Nhung gives each student a new set of textbooks, 20 notebooks, and two sets of school uniforms. These clothes are all custom-made to fit the students' sizes, not ready-made ones from a tailor.

All the funds for purchasing tools and equipment for the children were taken from Ms. Nhung's pension and the allowances she received from her social work.

She loved her students as if they were her own children.

To create a comfortable and welcoming atmosphere in the classroom, Ms. Nhung often organizes small parties during holidays and festivals, giving out snacks and treats for the students to take home. For students who achieve high scores in mid-term and final exams, Ms. Nhung rewards them with small gifts to encourage them. Recently, she even donated two bicycles to two underprivileged students in her class so they could commute to school independently.

Ms. Nhung shared that, although the rewards "weren't worth much," seeing the children happy to receive the gifts made her feel happy too.

Ms. Nhung also regularly donates a portion of her pension to provide school supplies for the children at the free school.

For nearly 40 years, Ms. Nhung has been quietly "guiding" and offering the "sweetness" of education to the world. Sometimes, her joy is simply seeing her underprivileged students progress day by day and later become decent, loving, and useful members of society. This is also the motivation for the elderly teacher to continue maintaining this classroom filled with love.

When asked when she planned to retire from teaching, Ms. Nhung smiled kindly and said, "Teaching is the joy of my life, and I love these students as if they were my own children. Therefore, I will continue this free class until I no longer have the health to do so."

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/am-long-lop-hoc-0-dong-cua-co-giao-ve-huu-post273078.html