I have had the same nightmare (with few variations) for over a week now:
Apparently, time has escaped me, and I find myself at my school on the first day, unprepared. I always start off in some conference room having a pow-wow with the principals and other teachers. They encourage me and tell me that I am going to do fine. Then, we all walk to our classrooms as a group. The students are already in the classroom when I arrive, and I am surprised to see that my 7th graders are 16 year olds!
I begin to become very nervous because I have not prepared adequately for the day. I don’t have the seating chart posted, I don’t have the syllabus prepared, and I don’t have the policies and procedures in place yet. I can feel my heart pounding my chest, and my voice is cracking from my fear. The students know that I am inexperienced and scared out of my mind, and they laugh at me.
Finally, I attempt to get the students in their assigned seats, but they are uncooperative. They won’t tell me their names, and all they seem to want to do is talk with their friends. By now, I am frustrated beyond reason. I am still standing in front of the class, trying to establish so order, but the students are now out of their (unassigned) seats and goofing off.
It is at about this time that either my AP or principal (depending on the day) come into my classroom to check in on me. They are horrified to learn that I cannot manage the students by myself. They get the students under control and hand the class off to me again, but not before they request a meeting that afternoon to discuss my qualifications.
By this time, I usually wake up covered in sweat, relieved the dream is over.
