My Homecoming Dance

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.

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.

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

These discussion questions were provided by the author, Sue Leamy Kies.

Book club questions for My Homecoming Dance by Sue Leamy Kies

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

The author relates the disparaging comments people sometimes make about teachers and their work cycle. Were you surprised by the hours she put into her job? Do you think most teachers put in that much time?

The author describes the dreams she experiences due to the anxiety she feels when school starts in the fall. What did you think of the dreams she had? Did they seem scary to you? Which ones? What should be done about the gun violence in our schools? In society?

Did you have to give speeches in high school? Do you remember the topic and how you felt? If you had to do the author’s Song Speech assignment, what five songs would make up the soundtrack to your life?

What did you think of the author’s descriptions of homecoming? How do the author’s experiences compare to your homecoming experiences?

Why do you think the author dedicated so much of her writing to Jane? What were your impressions of Jane? Do you know anyone like her? Who was your mentor?

Did you read any of the classics in high school? Should students be required to read them? Do you think it is important for high schoolers to be assigned reading? Do you have any suggestions for English teachers to get students to read? What do you think is more honest, fiction or nonfiction? Why? Which do you prefer reading and why?

Dealing with parents is a big part of a teacher’s job. Which instances the author shared stood out to you? What should be a parent’s role when it comes to their child’s education? How can teachers better foster a partnership role?

The author relates a variety of cultural experiences that teaching provided her: interaction with foreign exchange students, taking her Fulbright Memorial Fund trip to Japan, meeting Frank McCourt, dealing with Caley and Nelda, etc. Is cultural diversity an asset in the public school system? Why or why not?

What did you think of Sadie’s opinion about sports and the other students’ reactions to it? Do we take sports too seriously in high school? In our society?

Name and discuss some ways that Wisconsin’s Act 10 affect teachers and public workers. How did the author feel about it? How do you feel about it?

The author explains that most books she read in school were by and about men. Was this the same for you? Do you think having a Women’s Literature Unit is a good idea, or is our society past the need for that? What is your favorite book by or about a woman?

The author describes the Career Unit, which included students researching a particular career of interest and writing about it. Is this a good idea? What did you think of the author’s path from being a farm wife, to fast food worker, to college student, to English teacher? What was your career path like? What advice would you give high school students about choosing a career?

The author shared two chapters about the use of technology, one about the positives, and one about the negatives. Can you relate to her examples? Discuss the pros and cons of technology in your workplace. What did you think about the author’s Fahrenheit Video Awards and her class’s video for the Oprah Show? Do students learn from this, or is the use of technology a distraction from learning?

The author discusses the deaths of her students, peers, and even her own son. How do these discussions of death add to her memoir?

In the chapter “Stepford Schools,” the author discusses the time “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings” was removed from the freshmen curriculum because a few parents objected to it. Who should decide what is taught. Have you ever experienced the banning of a book?

My Homecoming Dance Book Club Questions PDF

Click here for a printable PDF of the My Homecoming Dance discussion questions

Why teach? In Wisconsin—and nationally—interest in participating in this labor-intensive and life-changing profession has decreased dramatically. If you have ever wondered why anyone would feel called to teach, read this memoir by Sue Kies, who gives us a close look at the reality and rewards of a profession that has changed its methods but not its mission.

~Catherine Stover, educator and author of Three Ways to Write Memoir

Sue Leamy Kies’ memoir is a must read for anyone who has stepped inside a high school, whether as a student, a parent, or a faculty member. Kies writes with humor, honesty, compassion, and self-reflection about both personal and universal experiences as a teacher of teenagers she obviously cared deeply about and upon whose lives she must certainly have made an impact. I found Kies' book to be both enlightening and entertaining.

~Peggy Joque Williams, author of Courting the Sun: A Novel of Versailles