Do you have bizarre teaching nightmares?

As the first day back draws closer, I'm finding myself having recurring teaching nightmares! There are some where I just CANNOT get control of my classroom starting on day one, but the one that I have more often than not is one where I'm chewing this massive piece of gum that keeps getting stuck in my teeth.

I go to speak to the class or with my boss and the chewing gum constantly gets in the way--so I keep dragging it out with my fingers, and it's just SO gross and SO uncouth, and yet I can never actually get it out--so I keep attempting to communicate, and it just doesn't work!

Does anyone else have strange teaching dreams or nightmares? I'd love to hear them!

 

I have them a lot!

 

YES.

They usually involve not being able to control the class or not having done any lesson plans - basically like I just go in there and have no idea what to do and am totally unprepared.

I can't think of the specifics right now because it's been a couple weeks since I had one....I'm sure I'll have one soon and I'll get back to you. :lol:

 

Yes.

Mine usually involve me frantically running around the school, unable to find the room I'm supposed to be in. With a new building this year, though, my dreams may be a reality (but at least no one else will be able to find where they are supposed to be either :lol!

 

Yes! I recently had one where all of my kids just ran out of the classroom while I was teaching and trampled over me when I was trying to stop them!

 

I had a nightmare that I stayed late and when I tried to leave everything was locked - windows wouldn't open. I was trapped in the building !

 

When I was student teaching, I literally dreamed about my lesson plans many nights! I swear I taught first graders to count money in my dreams. I haven't had any since I started teaching that I remember.

 

You're not alone! I once dreamed my class revolted against me and turned over all the desks and chairs. The most well behaved student was the one who started it all!

 

I had one last night. My class was 15 of the most big-mouthed annoying kids from my whole career in one room. They wouldn't listen. I couldn't find my plans. Nothing worked.

Kids returned today, so I think I was just anxious.

 

Yes, I do a lot. Mostly about kids' behavior.

 

Yes, I always do! I am usually teaching a class that's out of control. I have had two nightmares this year. In one, I was back at the elementary school I attended, teaching a class without any desks in the room. In the other one, I was sitting in a meeting with the other subject area directors, and one of them was getting hostile toward everyone.

 

This doesn't really qualify as a nightmare, but my building is under construction and it doesn't look like my room will be ready on time...I dreamed that I was moved lock, stock, and barrel to the savannah at Animal Kingdom...it actually was quite nice to be among the giraffes and rhinos!

 

Yes! I recently had one where I couldn't find the crayons. it was vitally important that I have crayons. The kids got restless. I yanked everything out of the cabinets. No crayons.

I don't actually use or have crayons in my classroom. Love the back-to-school dreams!

 

I have the exact same dream! It's so strange...and then I'm always mad at myself in the dream for putting so much gum in my mouth!

I have others too. I'm pretty much the queen of anxiety dreams. My typical ones are:

1. I've forgotten to wear pants.
2. I've forgotten to change out of my pajamas before going to school.
3. The entire class just won't listen to a word I say no matter how many consequences I give. ALL of them just keep talking/shouting/throwing things, etc. In the dream I get especially frustrated when specific well behaved students start acting crazy! Once, I dreamed the fire alarm went off and they all refused to listen and leave the building, and then in real life the next day we had a fire drill!
4. I'm being observed and I haven't planned anything/can't get out words right/don't have correct materials/am generally making a fool of myself.
5. I'm a student and I can't find my classes/locker, don't remember what classes I'm in, etc.

The one that takes the cake I only had once, but it was amusing. It was during my first couple of weeks as a first year teacher. I had the typical being observed and doing a terrible job dream, but then it went further. My mentor teacher drove me to the mall and told me that I should apply for jobs there because teaching clearly wasn't for me!

 

Can I join you on the savannah, swansong? I drove by our new building today and it's hard to imagine how it will be ready for us in 4 weeks.

 

Mine usually involve not having control of the classes. They feel so real!

 

I'm so happy to know that I'm not alone. I've had two teaching "nightmares" over the past month!

 

I have them all the time, and they are always the same. My class is going crazy, and I can't figure out how to get them under control.

 

Yes! In the one I have the most, I'm at my "teacher" (kidney) table, which is somehow fitted around my bed, and I have about a hundred kids around the outside of the table reaching & grabbing for me and yelling "Mrs. Whatley! Mrs. Whatley!"

 

Me too! Exact same situation with wondering how the building can actually be ready. Glad to know I'm not alone. At least having class on the savannah should be fun! :lol:

 

I always have the dream where I can't control my class the night before kids arrive. Last year though, I dreamt that I was with my students in the bleachers of the baseball fields and one particular student kept making this horrible croaking sound. I would talk, he would croak. No matter how many consequences I gave he kept on croaking. I woke up suddenly to find my husband snoring loudly right by my ear. It took everything I had not to sock him. I ended up the rest of the night on the couch and had to do my best not to take the dream out on that kid in class the next day.

 

Ours is supposed to be ready next Mon. They haven't even installed the windows. Feel free to join me!

 

My first year, I had a dream that I showed up and my classroom was actually built in a cave!

I'm actually getting a little worried because I HAVEN'T had my annual back-to-school nightmare yet. I'm not sure what is up with that...

 

We don't have windows yet either--that is, the frames are there, but the glass isn't yet. Apparently, it's not a big deal, as the interior work is able to continue (there is plastic over the windows).

 

Sometimes I have nightmares, but I'm wide awake and it's while I'm at work - LOL.

 

For sure, the most recent is that I decide I've had enough and decide to leave when I take my kids to recess. I call my principal when I'm home and tell her to get my kids from recess.

 

My nightmare has come true already. It involved having to switch classrooms for options with the teacher next door to me. Let's just say that she loves doing prep work when she should be teaching...and I hate my students having 45 min. of fluff (iPads, computer games and youtube videos) every day. I talked to her yesterday and this is what she wants and since she is the principal's pet, I'm sure it is going to happen.

 

I've had a dream 3 nights in a row that I get fired on the first day before first period even begins.

 

I haven't had any dreams (at least not yet), but even when I'm awake I feel terrified that the first day is going to come and I will be completely unprepared (first year) :help:

 

Yeah, I've had a doozie! It's one when I'm stuck in bottom-feeder school districts for 22 years, I don't get a classroom, and have to push a cart loaded with 35-40 English anthologies from room-to-room for every class.

When I finally get to my classes, they're loaded with 30-35 kids in each class, culled from the lowest achievers in the school who have lengthy disciplinary and arrest records, as well as multiple failures. I start my class by writing the day's warm-up assignment on the board and the kids just stare toward me and say "Just try and make us do it!" with regard to the assignment. I next pick up the phone and start contacting parents. Each and everyone of them tell me not to bother them about their son or daughter regarding things like this ever again. It's MY responsibility because I'm the teacher, they say.

And then.................oh wait........my mistake.......that's not a nightmare. It's "business as usual" at our school.

 

SOME of our windows have glass...most don't...lol...

 

I always have back to school nightmares where I am completely naked. No one but me realizes that I'm naked though so I have to pretend that I don't know I have no clothes on!!

I'm in a new position this year so I'm wondering what kind of nightmares I'll have regarding this...

 

I had a dream a couple of weeks ago where they decided to start school three weeks early and I had 25 kids (self contained special ed...severe behaviors) and we were all in one room and I had nothing planned. I was grasping for ideas and teaching on the fly and eventually I put on a movie (gasp) and other teachers/ admin kept stopping by the room, I could tell they were judging and I was so embarrassed. To top it off, I was wearing a low cut, backless evening gown. Great. Appropriate.

I then woke up to a text message from my principal asking me to call the school when I had a chance!

 

Yes! Always at this time of year. I had one a few weeks ago while we were on vacation. I dreamed I went into my classroom and all the parents and kids were already there waiting for me. I had no idea it was the first day of school. I wasn't dressed for it, my room wasn't ready and nothing was set up. Hate those kind of dreams, but glad I'm not alone!

 

I had them when I subbed. Showing up at wrong school or being late...

 

My FDoS nightmares have started, it's usually me yelling in front of a room full of rowdy 8th graders. I don't yell, nor do I teach Big Kids in real life I also have dreams I'm not the least bit prepared - no plans, desks not arranged, nothing to do all day.

 

Last night I had a dream that it was the first day of school. I was trying to get all of my grade ones to sit in a circle on the carpet and one student refused. I told him he could go sit at his desk then, and he said the 'f-word' all the way back to his desk! Then I was trying to get them organized for the end of the day but hadn't received bus lists so I was frantically trying to sort out who was on which bus while leaving the rest of the students unsupervised.

 

I had an interesting one last night!

Our building was finally built, and all the teachers were clamouring to see our rooms. The primary teachers all found that their rooms weren't much bigger than closets--no bigger than 10'x10'. Those of us with older students were worried. With great anticipation I opened the door to my room--it was huge!!! However, there was one big problem. Instead of desks, the entire centre of the room was taken up with lecture-hall style seating--so much for group work and collaboration! The washrooms were the most interesting thing--there must have been 300 stalls in each one!

 

Yeap mine has started officially. So far I have had 3.

1. I was on a field trip with my kids and we all got split up. I had a group and I remember the group was rowdy but even sadder my assistant was brand new and was struggling with handling the class.
2. I recently transferred and I dreamed I was stuck back at my old school. That was truly terrifying.

 

In my bizarre, recurring teacher dream, I'm sitting in one of my own classes as a student, among my own students, but I'm still my adult self somehow. Someone else is doing the teaching. I have had this dream now and then throughout my career, but the classroom and students have always changed to reflect those that I have at that time in real life.


It's extra weird now, since I currently work in an all girls school and I am male.:lol: