Wheelchair Teacher's Happiness Class

For nearly 3 years now, in the rural area of ​​Dai Phu village, Bac Dong Hung commune, Hung Yen, a special English class called 'Happiness' has appeared. The founder of the class is a disabled man named Nguyen Duc Dien.

The teacher has not finished first grade.

Visiting Mr. Dien’s class on a Sunday morning, I felt warm and admired the wheelchair-bound teacher’s determination to overcome. Despite not having any formal training, Mr. Dien tried to study by himself to teach his students. For him, the most precious reward is when his students call him teacher and see his students improve day by day.

Anh Dien (in a wheelchair) has opened the free Happiness English class for nearly 3 years.

PHOTO: NVCC

Anh Dien was born in 1981 in a poor farming family, his father died early. His fate was ironic when he suffered from polio when he was young, leaving him unable to stand on his legs. Due to his health problems, Anh Dien only finished first grade, and did not even know Vietnamese, let alone English.

Growing up, Mr. Dien decided to learn tailoring because he found this profession suitable for his health condition. Life became less turbulent when he got married and got a job at a garment company, with a salary of 7 million VND/month. However, when he started to enter his forties, his health deteriorated significantly, forcing him to quit his job at the company. The education of his four young children had to depend entirely on his hard-working wife.

During his time at home, Mr. Dien participated in an online learning and startup project organized by the Association of People with Disabilities of Thai Binh Province (formerly known as Thai Binh Province). Although he had no capital, he decided to borrow money to establish the Happy English Club and use his home space as a classroom. "At that time, my family only had 1 million VND, but I borrowed more to buy online English learning software for 2.6 million VND. At first, I learned English by myself, then I taught my children and grandchildren. Gradually, I saw the effectiveness, so I decided to open a free class for any child who came to attend the class," said Mr. Dien.

Anh Dien is happy to see children learning English better every day.

PHOTO: NVCC

Happiness Class in the countryside

With sincerity and prestige, Mr. Dien mobilized the community to support the classroom with tables, chairs, televisions, and laptops. In addition, to gradually improve the class's expertise, Mr. Dien and his wife invited their daughter's English teacher to join the class. That is Mr. Nguyen Cao Cuong, an English teacher at Phuong Cuong Xa Secondary School, Bac Dong Hung Commune.

Teacher Nguyen Cao Cuong shared: "The Happiness Class model organized by Mr. Dien and I has been around for 4 years with the aim of supporting children in rural areas to use English well in their studies and future lives. In my hometown, children do not have enough conditions to be exposed to English much, so my brother and I are very concerned. I agreed to accompany Mr. Dien partly because I admire his determination to rise up and contribute to society."

And, from May 2022, the Happy English class began to make its first sounds in a rural area where students' access to English was limited. The initial classroom was only 9 ^m2 wide, and on September 2, 2023, it was expanded to 40 ^m2 . Despite their limited economic life, Mr. Dien and his wife decided to waive tuition fees for the children. Previously, the children stayed to have lunch with him and his wife. If anyone wanted to leave their children because they were busy working, Mr. Dien would take care of them. "I think I am a disabled person but can still contribute a little to society. Therefore, even though my family is not rich, I do not charge tuition fees for the children, I just hope that they will improve every day," Mr. Dien confided.

Pham Khanh Long, a student at Dong Phuong Secondary School, said: "I really like participating in Mr. Dien and Mr. Cuong's Happiness English class. I used to be afraid of learning English, but now I really love English. Coming to class, I not only get to learn English for free, but also get to meet new friends, read books, and listen to interesting life stories that Mr. Dien tells. I hope to achieve many good results in my studies and in the future be able to communicate well with foreigners."

Ms. Le Thi Thuy, a parent of a student in Dong Phuong commune, shared: "Since I let my child attend Mr. Dien's class, I have seen his clear progress, so I no longer let him take extra classes at the center. In addition to learning English for free, my child also sees Mr. Dien's example of perseverance in life, which will certainly help him try harder in the future."

Children read books during recess.

PHOTO: NVCC

In particular, with the support of Mr. Do Ha Cu - Head of the Hope Club (old Thai Binh City), Mr. Dien opened the Happiness Reading Space in March 2024, sowing the love of reading for rural children. "Books are the crystallization of knowledge, so I want to bring books to the children, taking advantage of their breaks to read books and stories. Currently, my Happiness bookshelf has nearly 800 books," said Mr. Dien.

However, during the teaching process, Mr. Dien also encountered some difficulties such as the children were not used to online learning so they lost concentration, forcing him to be persistent and have appropriate pedagogical skills to teach them. Due to the increasingly crowded class, Mr. Dien has recently been assisted by 3 young people as teaching assistants.

Dang Thi Hue , a teaching assistant, shared: "At first, when I joined the class as a teaching assistant, I was very nervous and self-conscious because it was the first time I had to teach a class with such a large number of students. However, after a few sessions, I got used to it and integrated into the new job. The children were happy to learn and make progress, which was the motivation for me to stay with the class for a long time."

Currently, the class is maintaining both in-class and online learning. For online learning for students aged 4-13, Mr. Dien lets them study 2-3 sessions/week in the evening. In the summer, Mr. Dien organizes summer classes 3 sessions a week; when the new school year begins, Mr. Dien checks homework once a week on Sunday. Mr. Dien's class can now accommodate about 40 students studying at the same time. "I have also just invited Ms. Nguyen Thi Duyen, an English teacher in Ho Chi Minh City, to join the class in online teaching," Mr. Dien said.

"I really want to join hands with the disabled community to develop and expand classes, not only in English but also in other languages. Although I am disabled, I always want to contribute to society. Seeing the children smile happily is already paying off for me," Mr. Dien expressed.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/lop-hoc-hanh-phuc-cua-thay-giao-xe-lan-185251027143137096.htm