A conflict has erupted at Novosibirsk school No. 186, with parents accusing a math teacher of bullying and the teacher alleging slander. The dispute has sparked a wide range of reactions online, with many sharing their own experiences with teachers, both positive and negative.

Readers’ opinions are divided, with some siding with the parents and students, believing their accounts of the teacher’s behavior. Others support the teacher, while some recall their own school experiences. One reader said, “Strictness is not synonymous with humiliation,” highlighting the core of the disagreement about acceptable teaching methods.

Many readers shared their own stories. One parent said their child dreads school because of the math teacher, describing a situation similar to the one in the article. Another recalled a physics teacher who constantly belittled students, leading to intervention from the education department and the teacher’s eventual resignation.

Other readers spoke of teachers who showed favoritism or bias. One person said that teachers often have favorite and disliked students, sometimes unintentionally. They also remembered a time when teachers offered free optional classes to help struggling or advanced students, a system they considered superior to modern tutoring.