• Teacher: Nicole Cruz
    Room: 205 
    Telephone: (480) 279-8500 ext.24205 
    Email: nicole.cruz@husd.org
    Teacher Page: http://www.husd.org/Domain/4074/

     

    My Philosophy:

    My philosophy is to always learn about my individual students first, before teaching the curriculum. This enables me to engage students and continue to tailor activities to bring out their growth potential. In short, I believe "The more you know, the more you grow!" Education is power and knowledge gained can never be taken away from an individual. Developing your mind changes your perspective on life, opens up opportunities, and makes each person a stronger more secure individual. I want my students to develop this same sense of passion for knowledge, learning, and education.

    My Journey:

    I graduated from Arizona State University in 2004 with a B.A. in Psychology and a focus on learning and child development. After college life happened. I started a family, got married, took some time off and worked in management/trainer role for an international company, but something was missing. I decided I needed a change!

    I decided to pursue my passion to teach and helping children develop their cognitive abilities in order for them to cope, reason, and understand the world around them. I began working for Phoenix Children’s Hospital. After a few years and another son, I wanted more normative interactions with children and decided take a position at Sossaman. I fell in love with the students, staff, and atmosphere at Sossaman Middle School. This is my 5th year at Sossaman.

    Why Social Studies?

    I believe I bring a different perspective to Social Studies. I have grown up in this country knowing that the American way of life is a privilege. I am proud to empower my students with lessons from U.S. History and Government, Civics, Social Movements, Human Rights ( including Genocide and Terrorism), and Economics.

    History is all about people interacting with their circumstances and interpreting how they tried to overcome those circumstances. U.S. History is all about our “collective past." Learning from our past will let us avoid making the same mistakes in our “collective futures.” I am here to teach students how to understand the human element throughout our history, learn how to relate to others, and develop their own sense of self-worth within the civics community on an individual, local, national, and global scale.

    I look forward to this year, exploring ideas, events, and the personalities that changed our way of life!

    -Mrs. Nicole Cruz