Teachers Ignored Bullying, Say Tyumen Residents

Tyumen residents shared how they were bullied at school. Many still recall the bullying from other children and the hardships they endured. Our readers« stories are below.

«In the 90s, all sorts of things happened. They didn’t bother me, I didn’t bother anyone. Especially the bullies were feared, because we knew that organized crime groups (OCG) stood behind them, even though they were nothing themselves. An acquaintance was beaten unconscious in the school hallway for having a pierced ear,» a reader recounts.

«My sister and brother fought with classmates at school. A boy provoked my sister so much that she threw a desk at him, and he never bothered her again. After school, my brother fought, but later they became best friends.»

«At my school, there were children who bullied, beat, and generally protected. What helped me was only that I transferred to another school and was already old enough to stand up for myself. In the lower grades, no one helped; instead, they made me apologize in front of the class at the blackboard for being the way I was. But which way? I still don’t understand,» a Tyumen woman recalls.

«I was bullied in class. Because I didn’t attend PE due to asthma. Because I didn’t swear, didn’t drink, and didn’t smoke. My clothes were unfashionable. No one actually beat me up. They just laughed and verbally abused me. KPD. But I didn’t shoot anyone or set anyone on fire. I didn’t even complain to my parents. You couldn’t tell back then; it would have been even worse. Those were the 90s.»

«But I grew up strong. And I have my own opinion. Sometimes I remember my childhood and think how such a fragile girl was such a strong person. I have forgiven my classmates,» a Tyumen woman shares.

«I was called a mop because I was tall and thin. But not by my classmates. It was 7th–8th grade. The North. Children are cruel, but I don’t remember crying over it. If they bothered me too much, I could kick them because I had long legs. A couple of years later, I remember how my tormentors ingratiated themselves with me at a nightclub. And I looked at them with surprise, remembering how they treated me. The main thing is to fight back immediately so that no one feels you are weaker, not to be afraid.»

«My older son experienced bullying. At the same time, the school administration said he was to blame himself and suggested switching to homeschooling.»

«I was bullied and abused. It happened. I survived. In general, of course, it all comes from the homeroom teacher. They know all the goings-on, even what happens in the children’s families. If the homeroom teacher is a slacker, then bullying is inevitable. As for me, they used to tease me before, called me a thick-lipped girl. I was even ashamed of my lips, but now they get lip injections themselves.»

«I was also bullied in the early 2000s. Teachers pretended not to see anything. That’s what amazes me the most. For three years, every single day they tormented me. In 9th grade, I decided to switch to another class, and everything normalized. And all because I was a quiet child.»

«I studied from 1994 to 2005; I saw all sorts of things over the years. Times were tough, and the clothes I wore were very plain. Social classes were especially noticeable back then. I was met with sidelong glances, nitpicking, and even declared a boycott. They would throw everything out of my backpack into the hallway and tear up my notebooks in front of the whole class. That was 2nd–3rd grade. I understood one thing: if I kept silent, I wouldn’t survive. And I dealt with the most insolent girl in class, so to speak, I fought back. After that, no one bothered me.»

«In high school, I began to defend the weak because by then I had authority among my peers, and I wouldn’t let anyone be bullied, even by boys. When I had my own children—I have two, a son and a daughter—I told them how important it is to make it clear from the start that you are not weak and to have a point of view. I always tell them to defend the weak and the disabled. They follow my advice,» recalls our reader.

«We moved to the city. The homeroom teacher immediately warned me: the class is not very good, you have to stand up for yourself; if you can’t, they’ll bully you. It was 2007, 7th grade. And I was a quiet person. And yes, just as the homeroom teacher said, it happened. A classmate bullied me for a week or a little more. And I couldn’t take it anymore. I yelled at him in front of the whole class, while the teacher was away, with such obscenities that even I didn’t expect from myself. And that was it—like a grandmother’s spell. He never bothered me again.»

Earlier, we reported that a high school student from one of the city schools died. The tragedy occurred on November 28.