History Main / SternTeacher

While cold and aloof at first glance, a stern teacher [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold truly loves and cares for their students deep beneath]] and genuinely wants them to succeed in the best way possible at life.

Teachers of this type are firm believers of YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre, but, befitting their just-yet-harsh nature, they will always use the [[DontSaySuchStupidThings more firm version]] of the aforementioned trope.

They'll often be on good terms with the CoolTeacher. The opposing teacher types will usually butt heads over their vastly differing philosophies (whomever is proven right depends on the work, if there's a right answer at all) but there's often a mutual appreciation between the two in understanding that the other cares deeply for their students.

* ''LightNovel/AscendanceOfABookworm'': Benno and Ferdinand, Myne's mentors for the merchant trade and priesthood respectively, are very strict to her. This is because she will otherwise get eaten up alive by merchants trying to get the most out of her for a minimal cost to themselves. In the priesthood, meanwhile, the higher rungs are made out of the youngest and bastard children of DecadentCourt style nobles and the lower rungs of orphans who depend on what resources the higher rungs are willing to spare them to survive, resulting in a quite strict pecking order.

* Subverted in ''WesternAnimation/{{Recess}}'', as Miss Finster is a stern playground monitor/administrative assistant, most notably supervising the kids out at recess, frequently enforcing the rules and calling them "hooligans." She's even somewhat of a SadistTeacher in this position in the first season. But in the GrandFinale movie ''WesternAnimation/RecessTakingTheFifthGrade'', Miss Finster actually becomes the main kids' fifth grade teacher (after the teacher they were supposed to have suddenly transfers out), and thus plays this trope straight, assigning the kids lots of tests and homework. Understandably, a random boy in the class bursts into tears at the thought of having Miss Finster as a teacher for the whole school year.

[[folder:Film]]
%%* Mr. Hand from ''Film/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh''
%%* ''Good Morning Miss Dove''.
* John Kimble in ''Film/KindergartenCop'', who after his [[FishOutOfWater first total failure with the children his partner should be taking care of]], decides to put them through [[spoiler:a mild version of]] DrillSergeantNasty style training. He finally wins their respect and begins to appreciate them more. On one occasion, he beats the shit out of one of his student's abusive father, and didn't continue it ''since the children are watching them.''
* ''Film/LegallyBlonde'': Professor Stromwell, the teacher in Elle's first class at Harvard Law, is incredibly strict and intimidating. She throws Elle out of the class after berating her for not being aware of the assigned reading. Emmett admits to Elle that when he took Stromwell's class he once cried in his room because she was so harsh on him. Despite her tough methods she's actually a JerkWithAHeartOfGold who encourages Elle not to quit and in the DistantEpilogue gives her a glowing introduction at graduation.

* Dong-ju from Korean film ''Film/{{Punch}}'', who is gruff and insulting with his students, and doesn't hesitate to use CorporalPunishment, but clearly cares about them and wants them to do well.
* Coach in ''Film/SlaughterHigh'', who punishes Marty's tormentors, but doesn't seem that sympathetic towards him.
%%* Thackeray from ''Film/{{To Sir with Love}}.''

* Betty Gore from the BasedOnATrueStory series ''Series/{{Candy}}'' is this, giving her whole class detention after a few students egged her house. She even extends this trait to her foster son Davey.

* [[OldMaster Jedi Master Vrook Lamar]] in the ''VideoGame/KnightsOfTheOldRepublic'' series, a GrumpyOldMan who's very critical of you both times you meet him. In the first game, he's very much against training the PlayerCharacter as a Jedi [[spoiler: [[AmnesiacDissonance for good reason]]]], and is quick to provide a stern lecture. In the second he knew the PlayerCharacter as a Padawan and regarded them as a "mediocre Jedi" whose [[AmbitionIsEvil ambition]] would lead them to the DarkSide, and when meeting him again in the present day he [[ComplainingAboutRescuesTheyDontLike chastises the player when they rescue him]]. Despite his abrasive nature he's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold loyal to the Light side]], and if the player helps him save Dantooine he regards them more warmly and teaches them a new technique before calling their form "sloppy" but reassuring them they'll get the hang of it in no time with practice.

** Shota Aizawa, aka "Eraser Head", one of the pro heroes teaching at UA Academy. Initially played off as a SadistTeacher who threatens under-performing students with expulsion, he is actually a very fair mentor who nonetheless will chew out any pupil who steps out of line. [[spoiler:It turns out that while he expelled the class he had before Class 1-A, he immediately re-enrolled them as a ScareEmStraight move.]]

[[folder:Newspaper Comics]]
* Clara Godfrey from ''ComicStrip/BigNate'' runs a tight ship and has zero tolerance for the title character's antics, but seems to have a good relationship with her other students. Nate sees her as a SadistTeacher, naturally.
* Miss Wormwood from ''ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes'', although from Calvin's viewpoint she's a SadistTeacher.
* Dr. Ting (Paige's biology teacher) from ''ComicStrip/FoxTrot''. Also, Peter's unnamed physics teacher.
* Mrs. Olsen from ''ComicStrip/{{Frazz}}'' is this underneath her general meanness.
[[/folder]]

* ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'':
** Glynda Goodwitch. Blunt and direct to her students and even her boss, any praise she gives you will likely be followed by some... constructive criticism.
** Bartholomew Oobleck may buzz around history like a hummingbird while drinking a cup of coffee-- but don't screw around in his class. He will not be happy.
** [[CoolBigSis Winter]] turns out to be this to Weiss. She {{Dope Slap}}s Weiss when she feels her younger sister is being silly, and in Weiss' Volume 5 trailer, she tests Weiss by throwing a horde of summoned Beowolves at her and then disarming her with a blast of ice; she only stops the training when Weiss is pinned to the floor, visibly terrified and cries out for Winter to stop, then steps in and coldly admonishes Weiss and reminds her that she won't always be around to save her; a telling contrast when compared to Yang's trailer, where she saves Ruby from a huge Grimm and lovingly tells her that she'll always be there for her little sister.

* Glynda Goodwitch from WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}. Blunt and direct to her students and even her boss, any praise she gives you will likely be followed by some... constructive criticism.

** [[CoolBigSis Winter]] turns out to be this to Weiss. She {{Dope Slap}}s Weiss whenever she feels her younger sister is being silly, and in Weiss' Volume 5 trailer, she tests Weiss by throwing a horde of summoned Beowolves at her and then disarming her with a blast of ice; she only stops the training when Weiss is pinned to the floor, visibly terrified and cries out for Winter to stop, then steps in and coldly admonishes Weiss and reminds her that she won't always be around to save her; a telling contrast when compared to Yang's trailer, where she saves Ruby from a huge Grimm and lovingly tells her that she'll always be there for her little sister.

* In the Channel 4 historical reality show ''Series/ThatllTeachEm'', all the teachers are like this, as per the 1950s/1960sa aesthetic, although Dr. Szydlo, Dr Wilde and Matron are distinctly less so.

[[folder:Fanfiction]]

* Mr. Lancer in ''WesternAnimation/DannyPhantom'', though he seemed biased towards the football team, his extra tutoring for Danny proved he did care.

* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/17545865/chapters/41346014 It Takes a Child to Teach a Village]]'', Izuku threatens gangs into stopping their brawls by saying anyone still fighting by the time he counts to five is banned from class. Whether he's teaching a poor girl in the slums or ''Tomura Shigaraki'', Izuku is very strict about making sure everyone follows his rules. However, he still does his absolute best to make sure they succeed, such as giving Shigaraki the name of a history-based videogame to play since the young man is so interested in videogames. Within half a year of first becoming a tutor, Izuku spends more time teaching his students than doing anything else other than sleeping and attending school.

* Subverted in the ''Series/KeyAndPeele'' "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dd7FixvoKBw Substitute Teacher]]" sketch. Mr. Garvey, the title character, is a veteran inner-city teacher shown taking over a class of bored, mostly white suburbanites. He reads their names off the roll as if they were {{Ghetto Name}}s (inverting that trope in the process), and gets extremely confrontational when the students gently correct him, even sending one to the principal's office, assuming that they're just giving him attitude.

[[quoteright:300:[[ComicStrip/CalvinAndHobbes https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/sternteacher1.png]]]]

* ''Anime/TheTaleOfThePrincessKaguya'': Sagami, though she admits that Kaguya performs better when not in her lessons.