Dr. Michael McCabe

Dr. McCabe teaches Geometry and FADA (Functions, Algebra, and Data Analysis).  Upon returning to Sterling after 16 years in Maine, he substituted in Sterling schools beginning in the fall of 2016.  Dr. McCabe began teaching full time at Park View in 2018.

The son of a U.S. Army officer, Dr. McCabe also served in the U.S. Army, as well as in the U.S. Department of State as a Foreign Service Officer.  He has lived outside the United States, either as a child or as an adult, in England, Germany, Italy, India, Japan, and The Philippines.  The multicultural experiences Dr. McCabe and his family have enjoyed, both overseas and in Northern Virginia (1981, 1993-2000, 2016-Present), help make his teaching here at Park View, with its multicultural student body, a natural fit.

Dr. McCabe strongly believes that math competency is a very important skill students should have upon graduation from high school, second only to English language competency.  He views math as "building blocks" and "relationships".  Visualizing math as "building blocks" helps illustrate how each math subject builds on what went before - block by block by block - into a solid structure of personal mathematical knowledge.  It also shows how weaknesses early in one's internal math structure, such as not having multiplication tables memorized; not being able to transition quickly between fractions, decimals, and percents; or not being able to solve equations, makes one's experiences later in math, such as in Geometry and FADA, more difficult. 

Visualizing math as "relationships" helps one to build an internal math structure more solidly and more quickly.  The number 4, for example, is not only 1/5 of 20, it also is the square root of 16, one side of a 3-4-5 right triangle, and the product of 1/2 x 8.  There are an infinite number of equations one can make that equal 4, and all of these equations show relationships between numbers.  Understanding such relationships makes understanding math easier.  In his Geometry and FADA classes, Dr. McCabe will focus periodically on math building blocks and relationships to help students build strong internal math structures.

Besides math, Dr. McCabe also is interested in history.  Dr. McCabe has done genealogical work and descends from European immigrants to Virginia in the 1600s.  He is a member of the Sons of the American Revolution (SAR) through Revolutionary War patriot ancestors who lived here in Loudoun County. 

Dr. McCabe's personal interests include logic, chess, personal fitness, humor, and learning about people and personalities.  He has three children and six grandchildren.