Poverty hard on B.C. students and teachers, educator says

Secondary school teacher Annie Ohanacan't just leave her work in the classroom.

The high school French and social studies teachersays she's concerned about the growing number of students from low-incomefamilies that struggle through their public education, something that is also taking a toll on her.

"Youinvestso much emotionally into your student," she told stand-in host Gloria Macarenko on CBC'sOn the Coast."You want to see them succeed.You want to see them happy. [But] whenthey'restruggling just to maintain a sense of happiness, let alone academic success ...you take that home with you."

Recent statistics show that one in five children in B.C. live in poverty. And Ohana says those numbers aren't just disastrous for studentsbut for teachers as well.

• B.C. child poverty rate higher than national average, says report

A battle for students

The current child poverty rate in B.C. is above the national average. And Ohana says the adverse effect poverty has on education takes place long before students embark on expensive post-secondary educations.

"The reality is when you're hungry, when you're anxious about money ...you're not getting the best education you can. You're not making use of your full potential," she said.

Ohana says the issue isn't limited to B.C.'s inner cities. In fact,child poverty rates soar in many rural school districts, including the Central Coast,Alberni-Clayoquot, and Mount Waddingtondistricts.

In the Lower Mainland, she says somestudents from middle class families are also adversely affected by rising costs of living.

"It's not just the abject poor thosethat arelivingunder the poverty line but even middle class families where, eventhoughthere's one full timeworkingparent, it's very hard for them to make ends meet. And money issues seem to dominate the learning process."

A toll on teachers

For teachers like Ohana, seeing a student's lack of progress can be troubling. She worries that it's pushing some workers out of the profession.

"Mental health and wellness is a serious issue. We see it as a very high turnover rate in teachingand the stress levels can be intense."

Ohanasays many teachers at her school pay out of pocket to buy children snacks or school supplies. They also dedicate a lot of their extra time to running charitable events to alleviate some of the poverty in the community.

"We know that our own students use the food banks, and that middle class families are accessing the Surrey Food Bank.We just see that atevery turn.We're having to step in and fill the gaps," she said.

B.C. is currently the only province in Canada without a poverty reduction plan. Ohana says as unaffordability mounts, the onus falls on teachers to invest their time in students in hopes that they will be able to succeed, once they finish their education.

"People are very muchoverworked ... and that absolutely gets downloaded onto the teacher, and administrationand other people on the school site to try to helpthosestudents."

With files from CBC's On the Coast