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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Alex, Student from Global Learning Collaborative
7:07:22
ยท
137 sec
Alex, an eleventh-grade student from Global Learning Collaborative, testifies about the negative impacts of large class sizes resulting from budget cuts. She emphasizes the importance of individualized attention from teachers and advocates for increased funding to reduce class sizes and improve the quality of education.
- Alex participated in the Generation Citizen program, which led to his opportunity to testify.
- She highlights how overcrowded classrooms hinder learning and make it difficult for teachers to provide individualized attention.
- Alex calls on the council to prioritize school funding to ensure smaller class sizes, restore resources, and invest in the future of education.
Alex
7:07:22
Good afternoon.
7:07:23
My name is Alex and I appreciate this chance to testify at the hearing today.
7:07:27
I'm an eleventh grader at the Global Learning Collaborative and thanks to the generation citizen program, I have had the opportunity to testify before you today.
7:07:35
An issue that greatly speaks to me is the effects of classes on the learning ability of the students.
7:07:40
My class examined issues that affect us in our community and came to a consensus on one item to address together.
7:07:47
After much deliberation, we decided to focus on the consequences of budget cuts on merging classes, notably large class sizes, and established a goal of advocating for more resources to ensure a quality education for all children and sufficient accommodation for all teachers.
7:08:03
Maintaining the school budget is essential to reaching our goal because cram classrooms hinder learning and make it hard for teachers to give each student individualized attention.
7:08:13
Attention directed to our students is extremely beneficial since it makes us feel seen.
7:08:17
It helps the students connect with our teachers and feel secure enough to ask the proper questions without leaving us embarrassed.
7:08:24
Teacher attention has a huge impact on our learning, helping us understand the concept, our motivation, behavior and our overall well-being.
7:08:31
Individualized attention promotes academic performance, increases engagement, encourages our positive conduct and builds our self esteem.
7:08:38
The fact is large class sizes are harmful for education.
7:08:42
As a student who has attended classes that could easily be broken into two, this has had a significant impact on my ability to concentrate and feel at ease in the classroom.
7:08:50
A big student body forces the teacher's attention to shift away from aiding the students who need it and towards the students who are creating a distraction.
7:08:58
In a smaller class, this problem could have been much easier to resolve.
7:09:01
Finally, I expect you to prioritize funding for our schools so that every student has access to a decent education.
7:09:09
Budget cuts have resulted in overcrowded classrooms, fewer resources, and insufficient support, all of which have had negative influence on learning.
7:09:17
Students deserve to thrive in an atmosphere with teachers who have availability to support them and the resources they require to achieve.
7:09:24
I ask that you protect and enhance our school funding in order to lower class sizes, restore critical resources, and invest in our education's future.
7:09:32
Our success is dependent on your actions and we hope you will join with students in making education a priority.
7:09:38
Thank you for your time and attention.