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www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver, Friday February 22, 2008 - 27 DVD educates on the effects of poverty on student learning Halton's public elementary schools will soon receive copies of a free DVD designed to educate teachers and senior administrators about the effects of poverty on student learning. The DVD, produced by the Elementary Teachers' Federation of Ontario (ETFO), is intended to provide poverty awareness in every elementary public school in Ontario, including the 76 in Halton. "Considering that education offers a way out of poverty, teachers can benefit from a greater understanding of how poverty can affect their students and the ways they learn," stated a news release issued by the ETFO. The ETFO-produced DVD, entitled One in Six, is meant to be a tool to generate discussion and awareness of childhood poverty among Ontario educators. Its title refers to figures quoted by the ETFO, that one out of six Ontario children under the age of 18 -- more than 478,000 children -- live below the poverty line. "Our members see the consequences of poverty on a daily basis," ETFO President David Clegg said in the press release. "They know how hard it is for children to learn when they are hungry or left behind because their parents cannot afford (school) fees, materials or proper clothing." The ETFO says the DVD features six individuals who represent some of the groups most affected by poverty -- immigrants, people with disabilities, single women and Aboriginal peoples. Interwoven through their stories are scenes from the award-winning play Danny, King of the Basement, which has toured elementary schools across Ontario as part of the ETFO's Education and Poverty Project. Development of the DVD was financially supported by the Literacy and Numeracy Secretariat of the Ministry of Education. ETFO will distribute copies of the DVD to all Ontario public elementary schools this spring. The ETFO represents 73,000 elementary public school teachers and education workers across Ontario and is the largest teachers federation in Canada.