What I'm really thinking: The teacher

I have to be strict when the naughty kids talk back to me but, secretly, they're my favourites. There's one boy in my class who draws amazing pictures across his notebooks when he's bored. I should get cross, but ­really I'm usually thinking, "That's a great picture" or, "I'm getting boring now – time to move on." I appreciate having a kid like that in my class, to let me know when I've lost them. I teach English at an inner-city comprehensive, and every year you get a new class of year sevens, with one or two keen to show off how clever they are. But that doesn't work with most teachers: we usually prefer the cheeky ones. You might be saying, "Don't talk to me like that!" or telling them off for giving you a terrible ­excuse, but you're thinking, "That's an impressive one!" There's one boy who comes up with excuses that are so surreal, you want to award him a prize. The teachers swap his latest ones in the staff room. We tell the children that we never discuss them, but nine times out of 10, that's what we're talking about. There are children you can't help but dislike and usually, when their parents come in for parents' evening, you find out why. I have a girl in my tutor group who talks nonstop, and when you ask her to be quiet, she talks over you. Then I met her mum and she talked over me, too. You think, I don't stand a chance here. Another girl really cares about her appearance and pretends to be stupid to attract boys. As a feminist, it frustrates me, but her mum is the same. • Tell us what you're thinking at [email protected]