A litle background about me:
My name is Mr. De La Cruz, and I will be your World History and High School Learning Strategies instructor for the year. I came to this country from the Dominican Republic when I was 12 years old with my mom and older sister. I did not know any English. However, I learned to speak solid English in two years. I’ve been running half of my life, and I still run. I was a middle-distance runner here at Memorial and ran for four years at Ramapo College. Unfortunately, I couldn't finish running the last season senior year due to the COVID-19 Virus.
Moreover, I was a full-time student-athlete at Ramapo College, where I graduated with two degrees in History and Spanish study. In addition, I graduated with my master’s in secondary education with a concentration in humanities from Grand Canyon University, which allowed me to become a humanity educator. I am a long-term learner, and I am still working on it. Some of my hobbies are reading, running, studying, drinking coffee, and walking my dog. I’ve been into anime and manga since I was a kiddo. My research interests are in psychology in secondary education and technology use in the classroom. These themes are vital in today's era since technology keeps changing every year, so students must learn and develop proper identities to use technology.
Course overview:
World History:
World History is the first history course that all students must pass to graduate and pass the school year. The course teaches students to learn from The Great Awakening period to World War II. The course is developed to ensure the students learn and develop the essential skills to think critically and shape their academic writing and tone. Students will explore and analyze primary and secondary sources in the course. This course requires a lot of reading and writing; students will need to spend 10 to 12 hours in the week to ensure they can become successful learners in the class. Students will read academic articles and write in the course to shape and improve their academic literacy skills in all domains.
“The real question is not whether machines think but whether men do. The mystery which surrounds a thinking machine already surrounds a thinking man.”
― B.F. Skinner
HSLS
This course is the study and application of strategic approaches to learning and building healthy habits to be successful as high school students. The goal of the course is to maximize learning in high school. The course count for graduation requirements is 2.5 credits. This course provides huge, rich lists of skills, strategies, behaviors, and feedback to become a gritty student early at the high school level. Plus, all the class’s work will be available in the Google Classroom. This course will use Google Classroom for summiting homework, do now questions, and other crucial class elements. In short, check the Google Classroom page regularly for any updates. Everyone must respect their peers in the class and digital class. Any comments or questions posted on Google Classroom stay there for about seven years, so please act with integrity and respect. All the class materials will be available on Google Classroom.
Class grades:
Homework and participation (classwork) 20%
Quizzes 10%
Exams 20%
Projects 50 %