How a young teacher reignites the music dreams of his aged students in China

Recently, a video showing elderly students doing breathing exercises during a singing lesson has gone viral on China's social media platforms, as the way these aged students followed their young teacher's instructions reminded many netizens of their own days at school.

Dong Fushun, the young teacher in the video, has taught over 1,000 elderly students since 2017, when he became a substitute teacher at the University for Senior Citizens in Lianxi District of Jiujiang, east China's Jiangxi Province. The students enrolled in Dong's vocal music class range in age from their 50s to 80s, akin to the age of his parents or grandparents.

The seniors may doze off when Dong explains music theories, but all of them practice carefully during the class and rarely ask for leave.

"Some of them had to give up their dreams or hobbies when they were young because they were busy taking care of the family," the 32-year-old told China Media Group, adding that he's glad that now he could help reignite their dreams of singing through his expertise.

Yan Wen, a student of Dong, said she dares to sing in front of others while singing karaoke after taking a few lessons from Dong.

"I didn't know how to sing before," said Yan. "It is Dong who gave me the courage."

Dong and his students often meet once a week, so he records his lessons so that his students can practice at home or "show off" what they learned during a singing lesson. He uploaded some clips on video-sharing platform Douyin, which attracted comments not only from his students' family members but also from curious netizens.

Wang Changlin, whose mother is a student of Dong, said she "checked on" her mother's performance through these videos, just like she kept an eye on her children at school.

"I did not pay attention to how my mother spent her spare time. After seeing these videos, I felt that my mother had fulfilled her dream of learning vocal music," said Wang.

"If people began to care about their parents or grandparents' later lives because of my videos, it's really good," said Dong.

China's population is aging, with the number of people aged 60 or above expected to exceed 300 million by 2025. In recent years, heading to universities has become trendy among senior citizens, which helps keep them socially engaged and provides an opportunity to let them continue education or pursue their childhood dreams.

To cope with the huge demand, the State Council has set a goal of establishing at least one university for the elderly in every county-level region by 2025.

As of April 2023, China has established over 76,000 universities or schools for senior citizens across the country, with more than 20 million students registered, according to data from the China Association of the Universities for the Aged.

About 300 courses are available, from nutrition, wellness, piano, singing, painting and calligraphy to more challenging offerings like saxophone lessons and computer classes.

The costs of most courses for a whole semester vary across the country, ranging from 200 yuan ($28) in low-income regions to 1,000 yuan ($140) in developed cities. Still, they are much more affordable than private classes.

Universities for the aged have not been very profitable since most of them rely heavily on government funding. In Dong's case, he only gets a monthly subsidy of about 600 yuan from the university for teaching four singing lessons. Meanwhile, more young teachers are needed in some courses that are comparatively new to the elderly, such as using computers and smart phones.

In spite of the low pay, more young people choose to teach at these universities, usually as part-time teachers, because they can fully enjoy the fun of teaching without the pressure of scoring high during exams.