Students, parents, and educators alike are working out a new normal when it comes to education during a pandemic. While some schools have returned in-person with some safety measures, other school districts are doing distanced learning until things improve.
Cathy Cluck, an AP U.S. history teacher in Austin, Texas took a different approach for this school year. She asked herself "What can I do now that I wouldn't be able to do in a normal year?" And what she came up with was a plan to travel the country and teach from the locations where American history actually happened.
Cluck took a 15-day road trip to visit some of the historical sites that she discusses with her students. She visited places like Gettysburg, the Lincoln memorial, Jamestown, and the site of the famous Alexander Hamilton-Aaron Burr duel. She used technology to her advantage and went live from the locations to show her students a closer look at history in real life.
Her students' response has been nothing but positive, and it's even made students "...more excited to learn."
Cluck has since returned to Austin and is now preparing to return to her classroom for the students that select to learn in person. She says, however, if they end up going back to virtual learning she may do another trip through the south.
"If we ended up going remote again, I would love to do a trip through the South, spend some more time on civil rights things," Cluck says. "So if I get the opportunity to do it again, I would certainly love to."