Presence, presence, presence....

My second week of proper teaching, and I am still being told that I lack 'presence'. I have asked the drama teacher for some acting lessons! I have tried to emulated what the 'real' teachers do, but it doesn't always work for me. Another problem is that I have spent twenty years of work talking entirely to adults, and I'm struggling to adjust the way I address the kids. Having said that, some of the teachers here talk to me as if I was one of their pupils...I was insulted at first, but they seem to address the other student in the same way. Please don't let me ever get like that!

I am also struggling a bit with my first-years, who are...hmmm....'challenging'. One of the little darlings (face of an angel, soul of Satan) said to me yesterday "Is your teacher coming today?". When I said that no, he was coming next week, she said "Mrs B said he was coming today". "What else did Mrs B say?", I asked, "Did she tell you to behave yourselves?". "Yes," she answered, "But we weren't going to".

I believe her.