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.