The world of the teacher as a subject is substantiated by examining a range of fantasies that hover in the educational imaginary. Drawing on film, policy, and anecdotes, the authors explore the fantasies of being ‘born to teach’, ‘making a difference’, being ‘subject specialists’ or intellectuals, and educating in a sadistic mode ‘by any means necessary’. The fantasies are then depicted as an enactment in the classroom through a phenomenology of the mundane teacher. Recognising their own fantasies, the authors recount personal histories of their paths into teaching and beyond, with a concluding section that analyses the sort of subjects they imagined themselves to be as teachers.