Retired teacher runs free classes for disadvantaged children over decades in Vietnam

Located in the provincial city of Tay Ninh, a small classroom tucked inside the 72-year-old retired teacher’s home has quietly changed the lives of dozens of disadvantaged children.

Each morning at 7:30, as Xuan opens the door to the 20-square-meter room, parents arrive with children of various ages—some as young as 10, others in their twenties still learning elementary-level lessons.

As a former elementary school educator, Xuan tailors each day’s lesson based on how her students feel—no lesson plans, no homework.

“My goal is helping them integrate into life. If I push too hard, they’ll be scared to come back,” she said.

The students are divided into three groups: spelling, doing math, and handwriting.

Xuan uses different sections of the chalkboard to teach each group simultaneously.

Unlike typical classrooms, students here often respond with shy smiles or silent gestures.

"Some can only spell two or three words a session," Xuan said.

She underlined the importance of patience and love when teaching these students, who often learn at a slower pace compared to their healthy peers.

For safety, she keeps the doors locked to prevent students from running outside, as many of them are hyperactive and unaware of dangers.

She often wipes their faces or comforts them between lessons.

One child, she recalled, regularly experienced seizures and had to sit separately in an armchair while Xuan stayed close by to intervene if necessary.

Xuan elaborated that the students call her ‘mom,’ instead of ‘teacher.'

At the end of each session around 11:00 am, parents pick up their children one by one.

Among her students, 12-year-old Tran Thi Thu recently learned to spell ‘mom.'

Her mother, Kim Ngan, 35, embraced Thu and burst into tears when hearing her daughter utter the word for the first time.

“Just last year she couldn’t speak, only cried. Now she smiles more and seems sharper,” Ngan said.

Over the past two decades, many former students have gone on to live more independent lives, such as Quoc Khanh, who now works as a delivery driver to assist his family’s business.

Once unable to speak or do math, Khanh studied with Xuan for five years and managed to improve his basic literacy and communication skills a lot.

“Now he comes to visit me on every Vietnamese Teachers’ Day [November 20],” she beamed.

Pointing to hand-made paper flowers from her students, Xuan smiled.

“They’re the most precious gifts to me. When my students learn to greet their parents or say thank you, that’s what keeps me going,” she said.

To fund the class, she has tapped her monthly pension of just over VND7 million (US$270) to buy every pen, book, and other teaching materials.

Many community groups and local schools also offer Xuan some support, including the donation of used books.

Before moving to Tay Ninh in 1982, Xuan served in the communication unit of Division 581 under Military Zone 3 in former Ha Nam Ninh Province, northern Vietnam.

While in Tay Ninh, she became a school administrator and then teacher at Kim Dong Elementary School.

During her retirement, she is known locally for her dedication to social work and charitable outreach.