Wednesday Wisdom Spotlight: Dr. Cathy McKay

Each week, American College of Education is sharing #WednesdayWisdom from the sages on our staff, faculty, student and alumni rolls. This week’s wisdom comes courtesy of Dr. Cathy McKay, the professional educational chair here at ACE.

A champion of K-12 education, Dr. Cathy McKay taught in public, private, and virtual classrooms for more than 15 years before transitioning to higher education. Hence, she is intimately aware of the barriers instructors face in continuing their education–she juggled three teaching positions and drove back and forth between her son’s swim meets while pursuing her doctorate. As an educator, wife, and mother, Cathy maintains that, in many cases, online learning can help today’s teachers clear some of the hurdles in their paths.   

“A lot of times, as a K-12 teacher, you just don’t go to work from 7:30-3:30,” Cathy says. “You have parent-teacher conferences, you have school choir, you have holiday programs. Sometimes everything goes to heck in a handbasket. Those are things that happen in a normal school and if you have to go to a class, you’re going to miss it.”

“I knew I couldn’t say, ‘I’m going to be available Tuesdays from 5-9,'” she continues. “By having an online education, you have the opportunity to do it when it’s convenient to you.”