Naked Teacher Dreams

(Photo by Pierre Omidyar)

Yah, this post is a shameless experiment to see if a provocative title gets more readers, but it also isn't what you think. It is about naked teachers but I'm not talking about the fodder of adolescent boys' dreams. I'm talking about the dreams that teachers have (and it's a common one) where they are standing in front of a class, notice the class's strange reaction, suddenly look down and find that they have forgotten to put on clothes (usually pants). It's a classic and one that, as a teacher, I have often had before.

What does it mean? The image of being naked in a dream often means that you are fearing self exposure in real life situations. This can happen in any job situation, but the profession of teaching entails being vulnerable to the judgements of administration, students and parents on a daily basis. Suddenly finding yourself naked in a dream could also mean you feel guilty about something. You feel the need to "cover it up".

Usually these dreams happen during times of anxiety that could relate to teaching but also to any other areas of life where you are worried about failure or rejection. However, if your dream audience doesn't seems bothered by your nakedness you shouldn't fear being emotionally open in waking life. Jung saw nakedness in dreams as a desire for spiritual awakening. Apparently Freud's favourite dreams were about being naked in a crowd of people. Dude must have had a lot of self-confidence.


There are many other kinds of teacher dreams. Being naked is just one but it is classic. Ask any teacher.