Anyone who is or has ever been a teacher, student, and/or parent will enjoy this collection of stories about the joys, challenges, details, and complexities of teaching. Ljung spent 30 years teaching English in high schools and middle schools in Wisconsin, Connecticut, and Illinois.

She weaves together vignettes about plagiarism, Gay/Straight Alliance, Real Audiences, Problem-Based Learning, and more on her quest to be a better teacher and learn from her students.

This warm collection works equally well as an inspiring memoir and as an intellectual case study. From the early days of navigating the bureaucracy of schools and the dated expectations of its leaders to a more established position of understanding, Ljung details her own development, striving to serve her students, and herself, better. Tales Told Out of School raises important questions for teachers, administrators and those who care for them about the nature of teaching, the challenges of work in schools, particularly as a woman, and what it takes to truly master an incredibly demanding profession. Varied, reflective, and interesting, these stories capture the complicated realities teachers face throughout the lifecycle of their careers