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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Martin Gloster, Social Studies/History Teacher at Global Learning Collaborative
7:02:11
ยท
126 sec
Martin Gloster, a social studies teacher at Global Learning Collaborative, testifies about the urgent need for mental health services in schools. He emphasizes the growing mental health crisis among youth, largely stemming from the COVID pandemic and social media use, and urges the city council not to cut funding for mental health services.
- Gloster describes schools as being at a "breaking point" due to high rates of anxiety and depression among students.
- He shares his personal experience of struggling to teach content while primarily acting as a therapist for his students.
- The teacher calls for maintaining and expanding mental health services for youth as a priority in the budget to protect children and the future of New York City.
Martin Gloster
7:02:11
Good afternoon council members and thank you for the opportunity to speak here today.
7:02:16
My name is Martin Gloster.
7:02:18
I teach a variety of social studies classes at the Global Learning Collaborative.
7:02:21
It's a small public high school on the Brandeis campus on in Manhattan's Upper West Side.
7:02:27
So I'm here in partnership with the fantastic generation citizen community based civics program and as a very proud teacher to support these five incredible students to my right who are gonna testify before you.
7:02:40
So I'm also here as a deeply concerned educator to implore this council not to cut funding for mental health services on our city's budget.
7:02:51
The mental health crisis among our youth, it's real, it is growing, and it is much more urgent than I think that has been reported.
7:02:58
And I think we know that this crisis largely stems from the COVID pandemic, which is in my opinion crushed a generation of kids and the subsequent effects of their addictive cell phone and social media use.
7:03:12
So presently our schools, they're at a breaking point because the past several years have really left an indelible mark on the mental well-being of all young people.
7:03:20
I'm seeing anxiety, depression, rates that are at all time highs.
7:03:25
I see these effects every day in the classroom quite quite frankly.
7:03:28
I'm overwhelmed as a teacher and I often struggle to do my job on a daily basis, which is to teach content, to teach social studies and skills because I'm primarily playing the role of a therapist for the majority of my my teaching periods.
7:03:42
And as a result, I feel like I'm teaching largely in a triage like situation and the effects of that are not sustainable for anyone.
7:03:50
Thus, I'm asking for the city council to not cut funding for mental health services, but rather increase them.
7:03:56
In closing our city that cannot afford to abandon its children, we claim to care about education and the future of New York then we must act accordingly.
7:04:05
Maintaining and expanding mental health services for youth must be a priority in this budget.
7:04:10
So I'm urging the council to protect mental health funding, protect our children, protect our future, thank you for the time.