Sometimes you can't help but feel that the headteachers at schools are omnipotent beings keeping an eagle eye over their staff. This is certainly the case with our head. I'm scared as hell of him, which means he probably frightens the kids pretty well too.

This morning before briefing he came up to me to comment on my observation yesterday. This was frightening because it involved talking to him and it means that I must register on senior management's radar. There I was naively hoping my presence would go unnoticed, it seems that way with the kids sometimes. Fortunately his comments were positive, as were the comments from my head of department this lunchtime. Apparently some NQTs are doing really well, but some are also doing really badly. I appear to be in the middle somewhere, which isn't necessarily such a bad place to be, though I don't exactly feel a beaming sense of pride in being 'average'. The plus-side of having everyone think I was doing terribly before is that by being 'average' I look like I'm making great progress. I think I've underachieved so far, but have no intention of putting them right on this because it means I have no weight of expectation on my shoulders. Fantastic! Or maybe I mean plus-good?

'Hiya sir!' a friendly year ten shouted through my door, 'hello' I cheerfully replied. I might not have been so cheerful after she turned to her friend and said, 'I like Mr [my name here], he's so sweet.'

Sweet? Hang on, isn't that something you'd say about a geeky little boy trying his best to fit in and not get bullied by the other kids at school, not a geeky little man trying his best to fit in and not get bullied by... On the other hand perhaps you can see where she's coming from, though I'm struggling to think of someone authoritative and sweet.

Still, I suppose it's nicer than some of the graffiti I read on a desk saying 'I h8 Mr [me] 4lyf.' I've been racking my memory but I can't think of anyone in the past who has declared a lifelong vendetta against me, so congratulations to this hateful little individual for becoming the first. The most reasurring thing about this is that should the author become a tyrannical dictator of the country at least their poor literacy would stop them writing my death warrant.