The Director did voice concerns about my "youthful" appearance and reserved/soft spoken manner (Which was all true). At the time (year before last), I was a 21-year old college student, but she commented that I look much younger and stated that in the past, very young and soft-spoken teachers have had trouble commanding respect from the older students in this age group. She made me aware of the challenges in the school-age classroom. " How would I handle disrespect from students or deal with school-age children that did not respect me as an adult? Or be able to manage my classroom and keep their attention without yelling?" Many of the students were in fact, my height and size.
