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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Braden Nguyen, Student at Bard High School Early College and Youth Advocate at Asian American Student Advocacy Project
1:43:38
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3 min
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Braden Nguyen shares his perspective on mental health in schools and the proposed legislation. He emphasizes the lack of mental health awareness and support in schools, particularly for AAPI students, and expresses concerns about the effectiveness of the proposed wellness clubs and toolkits.
- Highlights the need for culturally competent mental health services and an inclusive curriculum
- Calls for disaggregated data to better understand the diverse needs of AAPI students
- Suggests that systemic changes are needed beyond the proposed legislation to create a true culture of care in schools
Braden Nguyen
1:43:38
Okay.
1:43:38
Good morning.
1:43:39
First, I wanna thank Cherry Lee for allowing this conversation.
1:43:42
My name is Braden Nguyen, and I'm a senior at Bard High School Early College in Manhattan.
1:43:47
I'm also a youth advocate at the Asian American Student Advocacy Project Mental Health Campaign Team.
1:43:54
ASAP is CACF's citywide youth leadership program.
1:43:57
Before I joined ASAP, I had no idea what mental health meant.
1:44:00
I had no clue what a social worker was, nor did I know we had one in school.
1:44:05
I only started to understand important mental health how important mental health was when our friends started venting to me about their problems, but I still did not see how mental health connected to me.
1:44:15
At first, I was embarrassed for not knowing, but soon I realized it is because schools don't embrace mental health care.
1:44:21
Schools would have newsletters saying mental health is important, but never fully explain why.
1:44:26
And it's not only that when it comes to the importance of mental health, the actions of schools say otherwise.
1:44:33
In schools, there is a heavy emphasis on academics.
1:44:36
Teachers ask if we understand the content, guidance counselors ask what classes we want to take, and no one asks how we are feeling.
1:44:43
This makes me feel unappreciated for who I am as if my grades only matter.
1:44:48
As an AAPI student, I'm taught to keep my feelings to myself because it is personal.
1:44:53
But, after joining ASAP, I think otherwise.
1:44:55
I have feelings about many things in life, around what happens in our community.
1:45:00
My friends do too.
1:45:01
However, we don't talk we don't really talk to each other about our feelings and sometimes I'm not sure how to start the conversation around mental health wellness because schools focus so much on academics.
1:45:11
As an AAPI student, I also do not feel a sense of belonging or a community at school.
1:45:17
I want more than just cultural celebrations or cultural clubs.
1:45:20
At ASAP, we want to make sure our schools can foster an environment where students feel safe and comfortable about who they are, and where all students can feel seen and valued.
1:45:31
While I think that a wellness club and tool kit are good ideas to start, I have several concerns.
1:45:36
Without an understanding of AAPI community and history and inclusive curriculum, how can these tool kits be inclusive of all students?
1:45:43
The model minority myth portrays many AAPI students as academic machines.
1:45:48
And these stereotypes can only be resolved with systemic changes, including an inclusive curriculum.
1:45:53
Additionally, I think privacy is also a concern when it comes to wellness clubs.
1:45:57
I'm not sure if I would be able to trust others to understand my feelings and not judge them.
1:46:02
Even with mental health professional support, I'm not sure.
1:46:06
Schools, overall, do not do not have or encourage a culture of care and understanding.
1:46:11
So it feels ineffective to put that expectation only on a few club members, rather than on the school system itself.
1:46:17
The toolkits and peer to peer mental health programs put extra responsibilities on students and would only serve a small portion of the students across the city.
1:46:26
We want to see systemic changes that would result in long term impacts on the school environment.
1:46:31
The mental health team at ASAP aims to address the root causes of mental health barriers and challenges AAPI students face.
1:46:39
As of now, we want to see data on students and teacher demographics disaggregated because the AAPI community is so diverse.
1:46:45
Without disaggregated data, how can schools see the needs of students?
1:46:46
Without an inclusive data, how can schools see the needs of students?
1:46:50
Without an inclusive curriculum and an increase in school social workers, we are still not ensuring all students can see themselves and have someone in school to talk to when they want to.
1:47:00
We believe that the 3 introductions are a good start, but the city must do more.
1:47:04
Thank you.