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You all had something to do with keeping me employed.

quote by Karl Rove
Added by Lucian Velea
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Keeping The Peace Leaves Me Desperate

Keeping the peace leaves me desperate..
When thinking my peace,
Might cease to be.
Yes...
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Yes...
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.

I don't want thoughts of an enemy,
Taking my peace away from me.
No...
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.

Keeping the peace leaves me desperate..
When thinking my peace,
Might cease to be.
Yes...
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Yes...
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.

I don't want thoughts of an enemy,
Taking my peace away from me.
No...
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.

I don't want thoughts of an enemy,
Taking my peace away from me.

Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.

Keeping the peace leaves me desperate..
When thinking my peace,
Might cease to be.

Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.
Keeping the peace leaves me desperate.

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Keeping My Distance

(jimmy davis/tommy burroughs/don smith)
Im keeping my calandar open
Even if it takes me years
til you figure out what your plan is
You figure out all of your fears
I dont wanna know anything about her
Or what you feel like you have to defend
But Ive seen your situation
And the world she keeps you in
Im keeping my distance
Im keeping my distance
And Ill wait until my time is here
Im keeping my distance
Im keeping my distance
And Ill wait until you make it clear
If you dont want to rush it baby
Well then by all means dont
But Im gonna wait for the day when
When you see that its me you want
I can see, I can tell that you need me
You know that I need you too
So why on earth cant you ever let her go
Will you ever try anything new
Im keeping my distance
Im keeping my distance
And Ill wait until my time is here
Im keeping my distance
Im keeping my distance
And Ill wait until you make it clear
Where will you find the strength
I cant hold you against your will
You keep me at arms length
Im reaching out to hold you still, yeah, yeah, yeah
I can see that you need me
You know that I need you too
So why on earth cant you ever let her go
Will you ever try anything new
Im keeping my distance
Im keeping my distance
And Ill wait until my time is here
Im keeping my distance
Im keeping my distance

song performed by Martina Mcbride
Added by Lucian Velea
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I Love My Man

verse 1:
See I finally found me a good man
matter of fact he might be my future husband
yeah he really knows how to love me
and he can't get enough of me
oh yeah he's got class and good looks
by the way he's number one in my book
I prayed for a love and he appeared
no girl got a man like this here
chorus:
So I ain't gonna nag and I ain't gonna trip
I ain't gonna do any arguing
cause I love my man
and I plan on keeping him
so I'm not gonna accuse my man of lust
and I'm gonna trust him let me tell you why
cause I love my man
and I plan on keeping him
verse 2:
No the other guys just don't compare
to my man's good love honey i swear
he's got my back in the time of need
it's good to know that he's there for me
let me say all that he knows my heart
and it means it was love
at the very start when i saw him
with my girlfriends
so I knew I was keeping him
chorus:
So I ain't gonna nag and I ain't gonna trip
I ain't gonna do any arguing
cause I love my man
and I plan on keeping him
so I'm not gonna accuse my man of lust
and I'm gonna trust him let me tell you why
cause I love my man
and I plan on keeping him
So I ain't gonna nag and I ain't gonna trip
I ain't gonna do any arguing
cause I love my man
and I plan on keeping him
so I'm not gonna accuse my man of lust
and I'm gonna trust him let me tell you why
cause I love my man
and I plan on keeping him
bridge:
I know that he loves me and his love is pure
so I don't have a reason to be insecure
ooh, I, love my baby, baby
ooh, I, love my baby

[...] Read more

song performed by Nivea
Added by Lucian Velea
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Stranded At The Moonbase

A long way up in light-years,
Just a pinpoint in space,
In a century of planetary storms,
Stranded at the moonbase,
The air is getting low.
The air is getting low.
Looking out at the roof-window,
I've seen many strange things,
From shooting stars to Stars 'n' Stripes
Thought I'd caught a glimpse of golden wings.
The air is getting low,
The air is getting low,
The air is getting low,
The air is getting low.
I got the vision of a big white dove.
I've heard the creaking of the pearly gates above.
I'm wond'ring why the big white dove
Is keeping me waiting, keeping me waiting,
Keeping me waiting, keeping me waiting,
Keeping me waiting, keeping me waiting.
Looking way down below me,
The worlds are all awhirl-whirly.
Won't you come along beside?
This place waits for company.
The air is getting low.
The air is getting low.
I leave my limbs behind me.
As I'm being lifted
Out into the, into the
Spiritual boom-boom abyss.
The air is getting low.
The air is getting low.
The air is getting low.
The air is getting low.
I got the vision of a big white dove.
I've heard the creaking of the pearly gates above.
I'm wond'ring why the big white dove
Is keeping me waiting, keeping me waiting,
Keeping me waiting, keeping me waiting,
Keeping me waiting, keeping me waiting.

song performed by Kate Bush
Added by Lucian Velea
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Keeping An Agenda Makes A Difference

Hoping I'd awaken next to someone who had thrilled,
Is a heartache I had dumped.
Wishing for someone to come to undo all my ills,
Is a heartached I had dumped.
Keeping faith and praying I would find somebody real,
Is a heartache I had dumped.

And I believe...
Keeping an agenda makes a difference.

Yes I believe...
Priorities kept in sight,
Eventually makes things turn out right...
If a patience isn't hit by a car,
Or struck by lightening.

Yes I believe...
Keeping an agenda makes a difference.

Hoping I'd awaken next to someone who had thrilled,
Is a heartache I had dumped.

And I believe...
Keeping an agenda makes a difference.

Wishing for someone to come to undo all my ills,
Is a heartached I had dumped.

And I believe...
Keeping an agenda makes a difference.

Keeping faith and praying I would find somebody real,
Is a heartache I had dumped.

Yes I believe...
Priorities kept in sight,
Eventually makes things turn out right...
If a patience isn't hit by a car,
Or struck by lightening.

And I believe...
Keeping an agenda makes a difference.
With eyes opened wide.

And I believe...
Keeping an agenda makes a difference.
With eyes opened wide.

And I believe...
Keeping an agenda makes a difference.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Got To Let It Go

All my life-time plans,
I got em in my hands.
Balancing my fate upon a wire.
Got to let it go.
Everywhere I turn I see
Theres nowhere left to go.
All my dreams are far,
Too much for me to hold.
Still I hate to drop them,
Werent they from you?
What did I do?
You are the one that can see,
Into the heart of me.
Am I really giving up tomorrow?
Got, got, got to let it go.
This is gonna hurt a little,
Still its right I know.
Got to let it --
Even though I fear
Too much of me might show,
I cant wait any longer for it,
Ive had enough!
Ill give it up!
Lord, heres my heart,
Ive been keeping it from you,
And I got to let it go.
Holding on just breaks me, worry,
Got to let it go,
Come and take it from me, hurry,
Got to let it go.
Go to let it -- got to let it go.
Got to give up all of my control!
Holding on too tight,
Where do I lose sight?
Wheres the lamb that seems to bring frustration,
Go to let it go.
The best of dreams can turn to nightmares,
When my heart takes hold.
How long must I learn?
This lessons getting old,
Ive got to catch a clearer vision,
Im in your hands!
Youre in command!
Lord, heres my heart (heres my heart, heres my heart)
Ive been keeping it (keeping it, keeping it) from you!
And I got to let it go.
Holding on just breaks me, worry,
Got to let it go.
Come and take it from me, hurry,
Got to let it go.

[...] Read more

song performed by Amy Grant
Added by Lucian Velea
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Love Aint For Keeping

Layin on my back
Layin on my back
In the newly mown grass
In the newly mown grass
Rain is coming down
Rain is coming down
But I know the clouds will pass
But I know the clouds will pass
You bring me tea
You bring me tea
Say the babes a-sleepin
Say the babes a-sleepin
Lay down beside me
Lay down beside me
Love aint for keeping
Love aint for keeping
Black ash from the foundry
Black ash from the foundry
Hangs like a hood
Hangs like a hood
But the air is perfumed
But the air is perfumed
By the burning firewood
By the burning firewood
The seeds are bursting
The seeds are bursting
The spring is seeping
The spring is seeping
Lay down beside me
Lay down beside me
Love aint for keeping
Love aint for keeping
Lay down beside me
Lay down beside me
Love aint for keeping
Love aint for keeping
Lay down beside me
Lay down beside me
Love aint for keeping
Love aint for keeping
Lay down my darling
Lay down my darling
Love aint for keeping
Love aint for keeping

song performed by Who
Added by Lucian Velea
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Old Dirt Road

Aint no people on old dirt road,
No more weather on the old dirt road.
Its better than a mudslide, mama, when the dry spell come, yeah,
Oh, oh, oh, oh, old dirt road.
Aint no diffrence on old dirt road,
Tarred and feathered on the old dirt road.
Trying to shovel smoke with a pitchfork in the wind, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Breezing thru the deadwood on a hot summer day,
I saw a lazybonin out in the hay.
I said, ah, hey, mister human, can ya rainmaker too?
He said, I guess its okay, you know the only thing we need is water,
Cool, clear water , (water) water, (water).
Aint no people on old dirt road,
No more weather on the old dirt road.
Its better than a mudslide, mama, when the morning come, yeah,
Oh - oh - oh - oh - old dirt road.
Ah!
Mm, good night.
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
So long,
So long,
Bye, bye,
Bye,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on keeping on,
Keep on, keep on, keep on, keep on,
Keep on, keep on, keep on.

song performed by Yoko Ono
Added by Lucian Velea
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Finder Keepers, Losers Weepers

Finders, keepers, losers, weepers
I won't weep and I won't moan
'Cause I found you and your love so true
And I'm keeping you for my own
Heads I win or tails I lose
I bet my heart to win your love
The day you kissed me, good luck was with me
And I thank my lucky stars above
I'm not the kind to play for fun
I only play for keeps and I'm keeping all the love I won
Finders, keepers, losers, weepers
The loser has to pay the score
He lost you and I found you
And I'm keeping you for ever more
I'm not the kind to play for fun
I only play for keeps and I'm keeping all the love I won
Finders, keepers, losers, weepers
The loser has to pay the score
He lost you and I found you
And I'm keeping you for ever more
He lost you and I found you
And I'm keeping you for ever more
Yeah he lost you and I found you
And I'm keeping you for ever more
He lost you and I found you
And I'm keeping you for ever more

song performed by Elvis Presley
Added by Lucian Velea
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Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers

(words & music by d. jones - o. jones)
Finders, keepers, losers, weepers
I wont weep and I wont moan
cause I found you and your love so true
And Im keeping you for my own
Heads I win or tails I lose
I bet my heart to win your love
The day you kissed me, good luck was with me
And I thank my lucky stars above
Im not the kind to play for fun
I only play for keeps and Im keeping all the love I won
Finders, keepers, losers, weepers
The loser has to pay the score
He lost you and I found you
And Im keeping you for ever more
Im not the kind to play for fun
I only play for keeps and Im keeping all the love I won
Finders, keepers, losers, weepers
The loser has to pay the score
He lost you and I found you
And Im keeping you for ever more
He lost you and I found you
And Im keeping you for ever more
Yeah he lost you and I found you
And Im keeping you for ever more
He lost you and I found you
And Im keeping you for ever more

song performed by Elvis Presley
Added by Lucian Velea
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My Old Man

My old man
Hes a singer in the park
Hes a walker in the rain
Hes a dancer in the dark
We dont need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man
Keeping away my blues
Hes my sunshine in the morning
Hes my fireworks at the end of the day
Hes the warmest chord I ever heard
Play that warm chord, play and stay baby
We dont need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
My old man
Keeping away my blues
But when hes gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The beds too big
The frying pans too wide
Then he comes home
And he takes me in his loving arms
And he tells me all his troubles
And he tells me all my charms
We dont need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
No, my old man
Keeping away my blues
But when hes gone
Me and them lonesome blues collide
The beds too big
The frying pans too wide
My old man
Hes a singer in the park
Hes a walker in the rain
Hes a dancer in the dark
We dont need no piece of paper
From the city hall
Keeping us tied and true
No, my old man
Keeping away my lonesome blues

song performed by Joni Mitchell
Added by Lucian Velea
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Hes All Over Me

Chorus:
Hes all over me
And hes keeping me alive
Hes all over me
And hes keeping me alive
Hes all over me
And hes keeping me alive
I know he is keeping me alive
Hes keeping me aliveverse 1
Hes in my hands, hes in my feet
I can hardly keep my seat
Hes in my sprit, in my soul
I will never grow old
Hes in my heart, hes in my mind
Im glad that hes mine
Hes all over me, and hes keeping me alive
I know he is keeping me alive
Hes keeping me alive
Verse 2
Like the hebrew boys, thrown in the fiery furnace
Everybody thought it was over for them
But the lord brought them out on time
Hes the firm foundation
The God of all creation
Theres nothing that he wont do for you
If you trust him hell see you through
Chorus
Repeat verse 2
Chorus
Repeat verse 1
Hes on my right, hes on my left
Hes in my front and back
Hes over me and hes even by my side
Chorus

song performed by Whitney Houston
Added by Lucian Velea
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For The Keeping

You can have my heart
It's yours for the keeping

You broke my heart once before
But I'll give it to you again
So you can fix and patch it up

You can have my heart
It's your for the keeping

I was always in love with you
And I think you knew that
You are mine and I am yours

You can have my heart
It's yours for the keeping

It's brusied and scared
It is very fragile
So please don't break it

You can have my heart
It's your for the keeping

It's not much of anything
But you can have it
Cause it's all I have to give

You can have my heart
It's yours for the keeping

Just be careful not to hurt it
Cause it has gone through hell
And it needs to heal

You can have my heart
It's yours for the keeping

Just be careful not to lose it
Cause it has lost you once
And it almost killed it

You can have my heart
It's yours for the keeping

If you don't want it
Then please be gentle and put it down softly
And please don't break it

You can have my heart

[...] Read more

poem by Brandi Young
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Why Can't You Keep It Celebrated?

What's keeping you from being grateful for your blessings?
And...
What's keeping you from knowing that and to confess?
And...
What's keeping you from trusting God with all your faith?
That faith...
You say you have!
That faith...
You state is strong!
That faith...
That keeps you glad.
That faith...
You say is never wrong.

What's keeping you from being grateful for your blessings?
And...
What's keeping you from knowing that and to confess?
And...
What's keeping you from trusting God with all your faith?
That faith...
You say you have!
That faith...
You state is strong!
That faith...
That keeps you glad.
That faith...
You say is never wrong.

That faith...
Is it faked?
And,
That faith...
Why can't you keep it celebrated?

That faith...
Is it faked?
And,
That faith...
Why can't you keep it celebrated?

What's keeping you from being grateful for your blessings?
And...
What's keeping you from knowing that and to confess?
And...
That faith,
You say you have!
That faith...
You state is strong!
That faith...
That keeps you glad.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Wth>You

Come on
I woke up in a dream today
To the cold of the static
And put my cold feet on the floor
Forgot all about yesterday
Remembering I'm pretending to be where I'm not anymore
A little taste of hypocrisy
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake
Slow to react
Even though you're so close to me
You're still so distant, and I can't bring you back
It's true, the way I feel
Was promised by your face
The sound of your voice
Painted on my memories
Even if you're not with me
I'm with you
You, now I see, keeping everything inside
With you
You, now I see, even when I close my eyes
With you
You, now I see, keeping everything inside
With you
You, now I see, even when I close my eyes
With you
I hit you and you hit me back
And we fall to the floor
The rest of the day stands still
Fine line between this and that
But when things go wrong, I pretend the past isn't real
Now I'm trapped in this memory
And I'm left in the wake of the mistake
Slow to react
Even though you're close to me
You're still so distant, and I can't bring you back
It's true, the way I feel
Was promised by your face
The sound of your voice
Painted on my memories
Even if you're not with me
I'm with you
You, now I see, keeping everything inside
With you
You, now I see, even when I close my eyes
With you
You, now I see, keeping everything inside
With you
You, now I see, even when I close my eyes
No
I wont let you control my fate while Im holding the weight of the world on my conscience

[...] Read more

song performed by Linkin Park
Added by Lucian Velea
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Those Kept On The Bottom Relate

Those kept on the bottom keep keeping on.
Those kept on the bottom keep keeping on.
Those kept on the bottom keep keeping on.
Those kept on the bottom,
Relate.

Keeping patience for them,
Has a message to send.
'Cause,
People feel more pinned in.
'Cause,
Struggles for them don't end.
'Cause,
Promises don't pay the rent.
Or decisions not to eat,
Because they wish to look thin.

Those kept on the bottom relate.
Those kept on the bottom relate.
Those kept on the bottom relate.
Those kept on the bottom,
Relate.

Those kept on the bottom keep keeping on.
Those kept on the bottom keep keeping on.
Those kept on the bottom keep keeping on.
Those kept on the bottom,
Relate.

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
Added by Poetry Lover
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Decoys

You'll see over there,
Decoys.
But none to keep.
Or use as toys.

Realize they are bait to feed.
And a process to minimize,
Those who try...
To annoy with alibis.

We apply them to attract,
Those easy to tease.
And seeking a life of greed,
To please and disregard others in need.

Decoys,
Are easy to create and rid.
Decoys,
Used to fool...
And,
Derail those offtrack people.
We need decoys,
To trick...
Those who abuse.

Decoys,
Employed to trap.

Decoys,
Those greedy already fat.

Decoys,
To sidetrack those rat packers...
Who enjoy holding others back.

Decoys,
Employed to trap.

Decoys,
Those greedy already fat.

Decoys,
To sidetrack those rat packers...
Who enjoy holding others back.

Those decoys.
To school those up and coming...
Looking for money to get,
Without sweat to create...
A mess for the rest.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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The Impact Of Poverty On Education

THE IMPACT OF POVERTY ON EDUCATION.

INTRODUCTION

There are so many different tools that have been thought relevant in people’s developmental projects both at individual and societal levels. Education is one of such practical tools. Importantly to note, there are also various meanings that denote the broad term ‘education’. In this essay, however, we are mainly interested in defining formal education since our discussion will dwell much on it. According to Nwomonoh (1998) , formal education is the process of gaining knowledge, attitudes, information and skills during the course of life especially at school.

Though education is said to be so instrumental in human development but also in the revamping of world economies, it is very unfortunate that education systems, world wide, are being held to ransom all because of poverty at both governmental and household levels. According to Thibault (2009) , poverty means the shortage of common things such as food, clothing, shelter and safe drinking water, all of which determine our quality of life. It may also include lack of access to opportunities like education and employment which aid the escape of poverty.

Problems in our society are interconnected in one way or the other, just like poverty and personal family problems affect a student’s capability to learn. Improving education entails improving the living conditions of students. Having in mind that education is basically responsible for the development of many countries including Malawi, as the back ground suggests, we cannot afford to bypass such a vital element without a mention. Considering also the fact that poverty is one of the forces that come in the way; blocking the success of education, we feel it rational to look at how the two realities, education and poverty, affect each other both positively and negatively. That is also why we are convinced that this topic is worth studying. Our awareness of this source, poverty, and its impact on education will enable us devise some proper measures of intervention with the hope of minimizing the negative impact of poverty on education. This point, in short, explains the purpose of our investigation and why we are so passionate in getting into this research. During the whole discussion we are being guided by two questions thus, ‘does poverty really affect education? And if it does, what points do we have on the positive and negative impacts of poverty on education? ’

METHODOLOGY

The study was basically qualitative in approach because of the nature of the issue that was being addressed. This was the case because the issue of how poverty affects education, both positively and negatively is particularly very difficult to predict the conclusions without penetrating into the core of the issue. For instance, one may unreasonably rush into concluding that poverty affects education negatively only and we cannot even dare to speak of poverty affecting education positively. The study was conducted in three schools namely; Mulunguzi, Masongola and Chirunga Private Secondary schools in Zomba district between 24th April and 3rd May. In this research we used both government and private funded schools to have a more balanced result on how poverty affects formal education in these different institutions. The information required for the study was collected through group interviews of form three students and individual interviews with teachers using semi-structured interview schedules. We opted to use these interviews in the first place because we felt books are more theoretical whereas a field research is practical and it involves real life experiences. Nevertheless, we still used desk research as a supplementary source of information and for clarity in some areas.

RESULTS

Positive impacts of poverty on education
To begin with, poverty encourages one to get educated and of course work hard in class. This is because the problems faced due to poverty are very serious and therefore students who are from poverty stricken families strive to end the problems and one of the best solutions is through education. That is to say, if a person, for instance, due to poverty, is taking just a meal in a day instead of three meals, and again if he/she is sometimes sleeping on an empty stomach, he/she will resort to education bearing in mind that if he/she gets educated they will secure formal employment and eventually be able to make ends meet for themselves as well as fending for their families.

Not only does poverty encourage one to get educated, but also it helped in the introduction of free primary education. In Malawi, for instance, when Bakili Muluzi became president, he introduced free primary education and he had eliminated the requirements for school uniform forthwith (Kadzamira & Rose,2001) . This had increased the access to education dramatically as those pupils who were coming from less privileged families were also given access to this free primary education. It should also be noted that the free primary education system was not only implemented to fulfill an electoral pledge but also bearing in mind that some families were not able to send their children to school due to poverty. Free primary education was there to deal with illiteracy by reducing families’ direct costs of education. Again due to the influx in the number of pupils in primary schools; there was a lack of teachers. Sonani (2002) , testifies that the Ministry of Education re-employed all retired teachers below the age of 65. This also meant that the once retired teachers got back to their source of income which helped them support their families as well as hauling the economy of the country. The implementation of free primary education system in Malawi forced the government to provide infrastructures so as to accommodate the large number of pupils in these schools. Simply put, poverty had led to the introduction of free primary education which means that more children are going to school, and again more teachers are being trained and getting employed and finally the construction of school blocks culminating into infrastructural development, all these branching from poverty.

We may also look at poverty from a positive angle bearing in mind that when a country is poor more funds and donations come into it. These funds and donations are also given to the education sector to build new infrastructures and in the maintenance of already existing ones in the sector. These privileged countries also provide learning materials to schools that are poor as a result students in these less privileged schools perform well in accordance with the amount and quality of the learning materials that they have been provided with. For instance, a United States based non governmental organization known as “Water for People” handed over 44 water toilets they built to Chimwankhunda primary school. The school toilet facilities had been vandalized 11 years ago but because of poverty the school could not renovate them (Gausi,2007) .

In addition, these funds and donations help more people to get educated. This is so because people can use funds as school fees, pocket money and buy stationery. The donations may include library books, chairs and writing materials. These can make a conducive environment for one to learn since there will be enough facilities at the school. For instance, with funding from the “United States Agency for International Development” (USAID) ,3,300 needy Malawian primary school girls are being funded. They are being provided with food, clothing, school supplies and hygienic products like soap and body lotion (Muhaliwa,2005) . Likewise,500 pupils at Katoto primary school in Mzuzu no longer sit on the floors during lessons courtesy of Southern Bottlers Limited and Lions Club of Limbe. Before these funds and donations, pupils used to sit on the floor due to scarcity of desks. These donations improved the pupils’ school attendance in such a way that pupils have started going to school regularly.

In the same line, a needy student can be given a scholarship to go further with his/her education. In this case the scholarship is given to the person just because he/she cannot manage to pay school fees on her own. This in turn benefits the needy person and the community at large. In this situation poverty has assisted in the development of education in an area by beckoning funds and donations from rich countries and organisations.

Further more; in most cases poverty facilitates one’s ambitions to attain formal education. It becomes easier for a poor child to put much of his concentration on education as compared to a rich child. This is because a poverty stricken student will have less destructive materials for entertainment. He/she will also have less or no money to indulge him/herself in activities that require spending a lot of money for instance, drinking beer. Sometimes even if the child can find money he/she can buy basic needs and not just spending it anyhow. Contrast to this a rich child may obtain things like ipods, mp3s, games for entertainment. These things in most cases destruct the concentration of students in their studies. As a result, one’s class performance is negatively affected since most of his/her time is being spent on entertainment.

Negative impacts of poverty on education

Just as a coin has got two sides, a head and a tail, poverty also, apart from having positive impacts on education, it does have negative impacts on the same. We have talked much about the positive face of poverty on education. We shall surely do ourselves injustice if we do not look at the negative part. In spite of the fact that poverty has an impact on education that is worth complimenting, we cannot afford in this discussion to overlook the point that so many students have been forced to leave the corridors of learning institutions due to the same poverty. One of the reasons that force some students leave the learning institutions prematurely is pregnancy, which in most cases, come because of poverty. It is almost common knowledge that a good number of students who come from poor families wish they could be sailing in the same boat with those who come from well to do families as far as luxurious life is concerned. The poor students constantly feel that there is something missing at the core psychologically. With this feeling in their minds, they tend to regard themselves as incomplete and not accepted socially. Consequently, they envy the rich students and squarely want to posses the things that are associated with the rich students. Very unfortunate that the poor students’ parents cannot afford to fulfill their children’s desires like what the rich parents would provide. Because the pull towards recognition is too strong for the poor students to resist, they end up in indulging themselves into prostitution in their search for money. Pity indeed that instead of recreating, as anticipated, their promiscuous behavior sees most of them getting pregnant and for some very unfortunate ones get even HIV and other STIs. From this discussion, commonsense convinces us that this school dropp out due to pregnancy is one of the negative impacts of poverty on education.

Adding more flesh to this discussion, we can also appreciate that hunger has been so instrumental in bringing down the standards of education world wide, in general, and Malawi, in particular. Frankly speaking, there are very few students if not none, who concentrate on their studies on empty stomachs. Food is one of the basic needs that every person is obliged to have if he/she is to survive. It is not surprising, therefore, to see some students performing miserably in class simply because they have not taken enough food or they have taken none altogether. The question of hunger finds its way into the education system because the government has failed to provide adequate food in most of its boarding schools. This is poverty at governmental level. There are also some students who are not boarders but still endure the hostile reality of hunger right in their homes. This is due to poverty at household level. It is sad that poverty, both at governmental and household level, has helped in engineering the deteriorating of education standards in Malawi.

Bearing in mind that it is only the eagle that can tell us the real whisper of a cloud, we visited Masongola Secondary school with the hope of getting first hand information from the students and their teachers since they are the ones who mostly benefit or get destructed by poverty. The Masongola secondary school students and their teacher, Mr. Enock Abraham, testified to us during an interview that government’s inability to provide extra food, apart from the usual beans that the institution offers, has seen many students developing ulcers. It would sound bizarre to reason that one can attend classes whilst he/she is on a hospital bed battling with ulcers. The Masongola students further testified that most poor students who have ulcers just bow down out of the race of learning because they cannot afford to buy extra food whenever the institution is serving the students beans.

This pitiful development goes beyond the boundaries of Masongola secondary school. Mulunguzi secondary school as Mr……the head teacher at the institution testifies, has not been spared from the scourge of school dropp outs simply because the school has not been able to provide extra or adequate food to students who cannot take what their friends take on health grounds. Needless to say this leaves the education standards in Malawi vacillating. It is a pity that though we have wrestled with this question of poverty a dozen times, we have not been successful in the battle. At one point in time, the government attempted to minimize the chances of school dropout in primary schools through its provision of porridge to pupils in the junior section. This attempt was in itself a good gesture but the government has failed to implement the initiative further in other schools that up to now have not benefited from the program.

It may not sound an exaggeration if we may say poverty has also forced a good number of students to give up their hopes of getting educated simply because they find it so difficult traveling to and from their respective schools. Lack of transport means, in short, has pushed them well towards the blink of despair as far as attaining formal education is concerned. This point speaks for itself how poverty can sometimes work on the education’s disadvantage.

As we go further with this discussion, we also appreciate the fact that the problem that mostly hinders a student’s success is inadequate resources that include; few teachers and learning materials. It must be highlighted that these problems are not only in developing countries but they may also find their way in reasonably developed countries like South Africa. In a developing country like Malawi, the education system encounters these problems because of the government’s failure to look into problems of infrastructure, capacity and availability of teaching and learning materials (Nkawike,2005) . The Muluzi government did a little if any; in as far as infrastructure is concerned. Lack of school blocks facilitated by a large number of pupils due to the introduction of the free primary education in 1994, forced pupils to have lessons under trees. In 2003, for example, lack of school blocks resulted in a tragedy at Nkomachi in Lilongwe when a tree fell onto an outdoor class, resulting in injury and deaths of pupils (Mvula & Chanika,2004) . This problem of learning materials continues till date, in all levels of the education system. According to Abraham (2009) , the school has always had shortage of learning blocks to an extent that the Physical Science and Biology laboratories are used as classrooms. There is also great shortage of books in all departments, and some departments like the technical department needs new equipment and current books which are very expensive. With this unfortunate situation we cannot anticipate good performance from Masongola secondary school.

In order to deal with these issues, the Muluzi government thought it wise to disregard the provision of learning materials in schools. Instead the Malawi School Certificate of Education (MSCE) pass mark was reduced to ensure the success of students in their examinations. Even the director of Basic Education, Nelson Kaperemera admitted that funds intended for learning materials were servicing the debts of government at the expense of improving quality education. Instead of reducing the pass mark, the government and other stake holders should strive to improve quality of education, improve teacher salaries, and provide adequate materials and train teachers properly (Malawi News,2006) .

In developing countries like Malawi, the schools are understaffed (teaching personnel) and they tend to be handling a large number of students for long hours. Furthermore, the teachers are subjected to meager salaries, which are even made late. The government does not seem to have the welfare of teachers at heart, for instance the education Manager for Phalombe, Enoch Ali says the district is facing a dire shortage of teachers, a situation that is contributing to low education standards. The teacher pupil ratio in Phalombe is 1: 120, whilst the recommended ratio is 1: 60 (The Nation,2006) . Due to low pay teachers resort to organizing part time classes, which demand an extra amount of money on top of the normal fees. These changes clearly affect those students who come from very poor families, as they do not receive adequate studies because of lack of money.
This does not only occur in secondary schools, but it also happens in universities. As the academic staff of the Universities go on strike because of the government’s reluctance to increase their salaries. One considers how this is supposed to retain staff in the University. As a result lecturers spend more time doing consultancies; instead of preparing lectures and doing University mandated research. If we are serious about fighting poverty, formal education is the hub of ideas to fight these problems by improving its standards (Kapasula,2008) .
Child labour is one of the major problems that contribute to school dropp out. The majority of child labour victims are children who are living in poverty. This is so because they lack basic needs, for this reason they are forced even against their will to do any kind of work in order to gain financial wealth. This, therefore, affects school attendance. Evidence of school dropp out due to child labour is found in central region where most children are being employed in estates. This region has high tobacco production. Since this crop demands a lot of work, children are at high demand because they do not claim high wages compared to adults. Research, therefore, showed that the percentage of children attending schools is lower compared to that of northern and southern region (Nyirongo,2004) . We have the case of two brothers aged between 12 and 15 who were forced to work at a tobacco farm at Mpherembe in Kasungu district, where they were receiving 150 kwacha a day due to poverty (Namangale,2005) . We can see that child labour has a great impact on education because through it, a lot of children are being deprived of their right to education as they spend most of their time working.

In addition to that, Chirwa (2003) found out that child labour is also taking place in people’s houses. In this case children are forced to dropp out of school either by parents or on their own, to work in neighbouring homes. Here one of the victims is a 12 year old girl Elizabeth Chalimba, who left school when she was in standard six to work as a nanny in order to support her siblings. Children from low income families are at risk because though school is their only hope for a better future, they dropp out because their parents are failing to provide them with basic needs. Apart from child labour, psychological problems due to poverty is also another cause of school dropp outs. Research shows that the impact of poverty is greater on children as opposed to adults. Firstly, the problem arises due to the environment in which these children are raised. These environments being impoverished, they are intellectually unstimulating, and lack of stimulation results in impaired intellectual development of a child. This in turn contributes to failure in class which can later on lead to school dropp out.

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poem by Innocent Masina Nkhonyo
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The Pillage Hangman - Parody LONGFELLOW - The Village Blacksmith

Under a spreading chestnut tree
The village smithy stands;
The Smith, a mighty man is he,
With large and sinewy hands;
And the muscles of his brawny arms
Are strong as iron bands.

His hair is crisp, and black, and long,
His face is like the tan;
His brow is wet with honest sweat,
He earns whate'er he can
And looks the whole world in the face
For he owes not any man.

Week in, week out, from morn till night,
You can hear his bellows blow;
You can hear him swing his heavy sledge,
With measured beat and slow,
Like a sexton ringing the village bell,
When the evening sun is low.

And children coming home from school
Look in at the open door;
They love to see the flaming furge,
And hear the bellows roar,
And catch the burning sparks that fly
Like chaff from a threshing floor.

He goes on Sunday to the church
and sits among his boys;
He hears the parson pray and preach.
He hears his daughter's voice
singing in the village choir,
And it makes his heart rejoice.

It sounds to him like her mother's voice,
Singing in Paradise!
He needs must think of her once more,
How in the grave she lies;
And with his hard, rough hand he wipes
A tear out of his eyes.

Toiling, -rejoicing, -sorrowing,
Onward through life he goes;
Each morning sees some task begin,
Each evening sees it close;
Something attempted, something done,
Has earned a night's repose.

Thanks, thanks to thee, my worthy friend

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poem by Jonathan Robin
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The Interpretation of Nature and

I.

MAN, being the servant and interpreter of Nature, can do and understand so much and so much only as he has observed in fact or in thought of the course of nature: beyond this he neither knows anything nor can do anything.


II.

Neither the naked hand nor the understanding left to itself can effect much. It is by instruments and helps that the work is done, which are as much wanted for the understanding as for the hand. And as the instruments of the hand either give motion or guide it, so the instruments of the mind supply either suggestions for the understanding or cautions.

III.

Human knowledge and human power meet in one; for where the cause is not known the effect cannot be produced. Nature to be commanded must be obeyed; and that which in contemplation is as the cause is in operation as the rule.

IV.

Towards the effecting of works, all that man can do is to put together or put asunder natural bodies. The rest is done by nature working within.

V.

The study of nature with a view to works is engaged in by the mechanic, the mathematician, the physician, the alchemist, and the magician; but by all (as things now are) with slight endeavour and scanty success.

VI.

It would be an unsound fancy and self-contradictory to expect that things which have never yet been done can be done except by means which have never yet been tried.

VII.

The productions of the mind and hand seem very numerous in books and manufactures. But all this variety lies in an exquisite subtlety and derivations from a few things already known; not in the number of axioms.

VIII.

Moreover the works already known are due to chance and experiment rather than to sciences; for the sciences we now possess are merely systems for the nice ordering and setting forth of things already invented; not methods of invention or directions for new works.

IX.

The cause and root of nearly all evils in the sciences is this -- that while we falsely admire and extol the powers of the human mind we neglect to seek for its true helps.

X.

The subtlety of nature is greater many times over than the subtlety of the senses and understanding; so that all those specious meditations, speculations, and glosses in which men indulge are quite from the purpose, only there is no one by to observe it.

XI.

As the sciences which we now have do not help us in finding out new works, so neither does the logic which we now have help us in finding out new sciences.

XII.

The logic now in use serves rather to fix and give stability to the errors which have their foundation in commonly received notions than to help the search after truth. So it does more harm than good.

XIII.

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poem by Sir Francis Bacon
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