In her memoir My Homecoming Dance: Reflections on  Teaching in Wisconsin, Sue Leamy Kies returns to her alma mater to teach high school English. What’s changed  in the twenty years since graduation? What hasn’t? Her  recollection of former classmates, students, mentors, peers,  and lessons taught and learned provide a humorous,  behind-the-scenes look at secondary public education. 

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This work embodies small town  Middle America, its customs, attitudes, and people. Over the course of her nearly thirty-year career, Sue deals  with homecoming pranks, hormonal teens, disgruntled  parents, demonstrative administrators, and ever-changing  technology. The drama of three bomb threats in one year,  mandatory shooter drills, book banning, and ramifications of Act 10 distract from teaching and put a damper on the  joy of the job. But, through it all, Sue finds hope for the  profession in her ever-inquisitive students, those priceless  teachable moments, and her dedicated supportive peers. 

Compassion and empathy present powerful lessons as Sue  experiences the deaths of students, her beloved mentor, and  her own son. Sue’s story will inform and entertain anyone  who has entered the doors of an American high school. 

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You are cordially invited to My Homecoming Dance. Unlike in the author’s day, no date is required. 

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