The "fairy tale writer" of education

This quote was written by a student who, upon entering university, wrote about teacher and writer Bui Thi Bien Linh, a former teacher at Phuoc Binh High School (Phuoc Long ward, Dong Nai province). The post, published on the university's news page where the student was studying, received thousands of likes.

Teacher Bien Linh in the arms of her former students. Photo: Linh Tam

It's not just that young man, but in the eyes of many, in the perception of parents regarding the progress of their children under the guidance of teacher Bui Thi Bien Linh, teacher Bui Thi Bien Linh is not only a person who spreads love but also a very dedicated person who has made many contributions to the cause of educating people.

Spread love

Living a simple life, teacher and writer Bui Thi Bien Linh spreads love not only through her kind heart, compassion, and sharing spirit, but also through practical and persistent actions. For over 30 years, she has been preparing students for university entrance exams in the former Phuoc Long town area, waiving or reducing tuition fees for students from disadvantaged backgrounds and dedicating herself to teaching. As a homeroom teacher, Ms. Bien Linh often compiles lists of students by area to visit their homes, understand each student's circumstances, and provide appropriate support.

For many years, teacher Bien Linh has connected with former students and colleagues to support the former Binh Phuoc Provincial Student Association and provide Tet gifts for the poor, including the family of Ms. Ngo Thi Uyen in Phu Rieng commune. Ms. Uyen suffers from a serious illness, is bedridden, and lives with her grandson, Ngo Van Thuan. Even more tragically, Thuan has no father, and his mother suffers from mental illness. Due to their extremely difficult circumstances, Thuan had to drop out of school in the middle of the 4th grade. Understanding his plight, teacher Bien Linh connected with several philanthropists and used her own salary to support Thuan and his grandmother, providing everything from rice and medicine to repairing their dilapidated house. Thanks to the encouragement and support, both material and spiritual, from teacher Bien Linh, Thuan not only continued his studies but later learned a trade and became an auto mechanic, starting a family and earning a stable income.

As a writer, Ms. Bien Linh mobilized artists, retired officials, young people, and intellectuals to participate in social work trips to visit and donate books to schools and libraries. In 2022, she and other artists in the province mobilized and traveled hundreds of kilometers to visit and donate gifts to officers and soldiers at the Dak No and Dak Bo border guard posts – the most difficult and remote border guard posts in the former Binh Phuoc province. For Ms. Bien Linh, love is about quietly giving.

Nurturing literary and artistic talents

Ms. Bien Linh is an ordinary teacher, but many generations of students from the schools where she taught have created a "Ms. Bien Linh Fan Page" on social media. They collect her writings, articles about her, her work, and their own writings to regularly post on the page. Many of her more troubled students, whom she loved and helped to reform, still remember her decades after graduation on Teachers' Day.
Vietnam.

In 2022, while participating in the Literary Writing Camp in Tam Dao, she was assigned by the Organizing Committee to present a paper at the seminar "From Children's Literature to Vietnamese Language Textbooks - Current Situation and Recommendations." She presented her work based on the experiences of a capable and dedicated teacher, and the insightful perspective and feelings of a writer with many excellent works for children. Her paper was widely shared and received the support of many colleagues across the country.

Teacher Bui Thi Bien Linh's contributions to education are not only evident in her creative and inspiring literature lessons, but also in the fact that many of her works have been selected by the education sector and included in the local literature and history curriculum at the high school level. Her poem "The Mountain of Love" has been set to music by three renowned composers and has been repeatedly reinterpreted in theatrical performances by generations of students at Phuoc Binh High School, making literature and history lessons incredibly engaging. Furthermore, her novel "Eastern Soldier," selected by the Ministry of National Defense for inclusion in a book commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South and National Reunification, prompted Phuoc Binh High School to collaborate with the author to organize a book launch and meet-and-greets with the novel's characters.

On the day teacher Bien Linh bid farewell to the teachers and students of Phuoc Binh High School to retire, the affection and affection of her colleagues and students were expressed through bouquets of flowers and simple gifts. Many students, with teary eyes, came to say goodbye to her, because from now on they would no longer be able to learn and have fun in her engaging lessons.

Over the years, she has quietly worked with her fellow writers to discover and nurture literary and artistic talents among students. Many of their works have been highly praised and performed or introduced at provincial literary and artistic events. With the support of her fellow writers and the backing of the Dong Nai Provincial Association of Literature and Arts, the "Buds on the Branch" group – comprised of young talents in literary and artistic creation – was established in the 2024-2025 school year. Ms. Bien Linh and her students not only create poems and literary works with profound humanistic values ​​but also organize exchanges with students from other schools in the province to spread their love of literature and art.

Touched by the affection, praise, and encouragement from generations of students, teacher and writer Bien Linh simply expressed: "The happiness of a teacher is when students always look forward to their lessons. The happiness of a writer is when their work is always well-received and spread. My work, my actions, are to repay this land, to repay the generations who fell to protect this sacred land."

Linh Tam

Source: https://baodongnai.com.vn/xa-hoi/giao-duc/202511/nguoi-viet-co-tich-ve-giao-duc-277014a/