Cathy Cluck, an AP History teacher from Austin, Texas, brings new meaning to the words “distance learning” as conducted lessons in US history from the road on her tour of significant historical sites. (Photo credit: Photo taken by Cathy Cluck and printed by Yahoo Life) 

I am continuously amazed by the ingenuity and creativity displayed by my fellow educators. Here’s one, in particular, that deserves accolades. She is Cathy Cluck, a history teacher from Texas. Cathy is bringing new meaning to the words “distance learning.”

As part of what she calls her “Great American Road Trip,” Cathy has traveled approximately 3,000 miles all over the country to visit such historically significant sites such as Gettysburg, Jamestown, Williamsburg, and the Lincoln Memorial. From these locations she conducts lessons about the important events that occurred there. Cathy teaches AP US History and AP European History at Westlake High School in Austin, Texas.

Over a span of 15 days, the innovative teacher set up a hotspot in her SUV and uses a camera on a tripod and her phone to broadcast her history-based lessons from the road. “I’ve had class from my car, I’ve had class from rest areas,” and she confessed that once she even administered a history online while in a parking lot in Tennessee. In all, Cathy visited a total of 11 historical sites. 

“This is something I’d never be able to do in a normal school year,” Cathy remarks. “I was just trying to figure out, how can I make this school year interesting and fun for kids? I mean, I don’t know how to do [remote learning]. I wasn’t trained to be an online teacher,” she confessed, “So I figured, what if I teach history from the places where it happened? Maybe that would at least make them want to log in to find out where their teacher is every day.”

To read more about Cathy’s amazing adventure, see this link at Yahoo Life.

Congratulations to Oregon educator Jeremy Hurl. He has just been named his state’s Outstanding Teacher of American History by the DAR.

Congratulations are in order for Oregon educator Jeremy Hurl. He has just been named his state’s Outstanding Teacher of American History by the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR). Jeremy teaches at Duniway Middle School in McMinnville, Oregon.

The honor was awarded to Jeremy in a ceremony on May 20, 2020, in Wilsonville. Jeremy earned a commemorative pin, a certificate, and a check for $500. Jeremy says he plans to use the cash award to fund a summer field study trip. He’ll follow portions of the Oregon Trail, re-create parts of the Lewis and Clark journey, and explore some national parks.

The DAR bestows the annual award to a teacher currently in the classroom who fosters a spirit of patriotism and who successfully relates history to modern life and events. Jeremy earned the award in recognition for his efforts to provide active learning experiences for his students, by creative collaborative problem-solving tasks, and the re-enactments, field trips, and guest speakers he organizes.

Jeremy graduated from McMinnville High School in 1994. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in 1999. After college, he inaugurated his teaching career by accepting a position at Patton Middle School in McMinnville in 2006. He is currently teaching history, geography, civics and government at Duniway.

To read more about Jeremy, follow this link to an article about him published in the News Register.

AP US History teacher Dorothy McGirt of Grady High School in Atlanta, Georgia.

One of the most beloved educators at Henry W. Grady High School in Atlanta, Georgia, was Dorothy McGirt. She taught Advanced Placement US History. She also served her school as the Chair of the Social Studies Department.

In 1984, Dorothy tackled the Advanced Placement teaching assignment. She was a “trailblazer in terms of introducing the program at Grady,” remembers former colleague Lisa Willoughby. Willoughby’s relationship with Dorothy goes way back. “She helped mentor me as I was starting out as a student teacher, then a teacher,” explains Willoughby. “She helped me figure out how to strike a balance between providing rigor and also being supportive to students and helping them be ready to do what they were doing,” she said.

Dorothy is also fondly remembered by former student Michael Fishman, who graduated from Grady in 1987. “She was a really good teacher,” Fishman said. “Very tough, but you learned a lot from her. Out of all the history teachers I had, she was probably the most challenging to have. She didn’t give you book work or anything like that, you had good discussions in her class,” he continued. “I think she left a really good impact on us. She just let us know that the … outside world is much tougher,” he concluded.

Sadly, Dorothy passed away on April 12, 2020, from coronavirus. She was 92 years old. To read more about Dorothy, read her obituary at The Southerner Online.