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Excellence is the unlimited ability to improve the quality of what you have to offer.

quote by Rick Pitino
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A Poet Part (3)

Unlimited
Unlimited Unlimited
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A poet is unlimited.

Unlimited

poem by Nyein Way
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The quality of mercy (conditions apply)

The quality of mercy,
Portia declared,

the quality of mercy is
suspended during the present conflict

the quality of mercy is
not the business of a Minister of Justice

the quality of mercy is
not a matter of individual conscience

the quality of mercy is
too subtle for public discussion
or law

the quality of mercy is
only for Shakespeare and stuff

the quality of mercy is
less stimulating than revenge

the quality of mercy is
no business of yours

the quality of mercy is
no concern of religious authorities
who should stay silent

the quality of mercy is
an outdated concept

the quality of mercy is
nothing to do with forgiveness
or circumstantial evidence
or the remission of sins

the quality of mercy is
no longer a matter of pride

the quality of mercy is
no longer a mark of humanity

the quality of mercy
would be OK if Obama said so

the quality of mercy
is one hell of a hot potato
cooked in oil

[...] Read more

poem by Michael Shepherd
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Continuous Is The Flowing

So vast is a Universe.
Where flights of fancy are condoned.
And taken undisturbed...
Unlimited and free of boundaries.

Free of words spoken,
To utter descriptions of what is seen...
That may come to hinder one's voyage,
With a seeking of definitions...
One will never find on lips to depict the unknown.

Only sights are observed within this majesticness.
Manifesting a peaceful and pleasing birth of a journey.
Continuous is the flowing that grows.
Only sights are observed within this majesticness.
And manifesting without a need for validation,
Is this creativity which is never at rest.
Nor is there a time capable enough...
To give to it to satisfy its completion.

Only sights are observed within this majesticness.
Manifesting a peaceful and pleasing birth of a journey.
Continuous is the flowing that grows.
Only sights are observed within this majesticness.
And manifesting without a need for validation,
Is this creativity which is never at rest.
Nor is there a time capable enough...
To give to it to satisfy its completion.

So vast is a Universe.
Where flights of fancy are condoned.
And taken undisturbed...
Unlimited and free of boundaries.

Continuous is the flowing...
Unlimited and free of boundaries.
Continuous is the flowing...
Unlimited and free of boundaries.
Continuous is the flowing...
Unlimited and free of boundaries.
Unlimited and free of boundaries.
Unlimited and free of boundaries.

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Quality Street

Ive seen, so many lovers cry
Lost love, makes me wonder why
Ive found a love, a once in a lifetime love
Angel on high, from heaven so high above
So I thank God for sending me you
I have heard of playing around with numbers
But one is all I need
She cant be beat, she makes me complete
On quality street
I have heard of playing around with numbers
But one is all I need
She cant be beat, she makes me complete
On quality street
I have lived alone, until you came along
And you gave me love
And my dream came true
And God gave me you
I see, the end of the rainbow now
True love, has blessed me somehow
Blessing of love, a once in a lifetime love
Angel on high, from heaven so high above
So I thank God for sending me you
I have heard of playing around with numbers
But one is all I need
She cant be beat, she makes me complete
On quality street
Quality street
On quality street
Quality, quality, quality, quality street
Quality street
On quality street.

song performed by Van Morrison
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Unlimited Capacity For Love

The ends not in sight, its gone way too far,
This could turn our another unwinning war,
It wasnt inherited, certainly not a joke,
So many human hearts, hanging in hope,
Unlimited capacity for love,
Unlimited capacity for love.
And now I must add another to love in my life,
Its one thing to say, to do is another,
If Im capable of adapting without pressured expense,
In a schizoid society in a classic moral sense,
Unlimited capacity for love,
Umlimited capacity for love.
How young I am now, stop counting the weeks,
Were safe from the vois, where theyre still counting sheep,
Put the phone to the floor, youll hear my heart beat,
Some people get married, but Ill never chat,
Unlimited capacity for love,
Unlimited capacity for love.
The ends not in sight, its gone way too far,
This could turn our another unwinning war,
It wasnt inherited, certainly not a joke,
So many human hearts, hanging in hope,
Unlimited capacity for love. (repeat, fade)

song performed by Grace Jones
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Get to Stepping and Adventure Your Life

Travel on!
My brothers.
Travel on...
My sisters, fathers, mothers.
And others who recover,
From disturbance they discover.

Travel on...
All you people under steeples,
Who can not get off your knees.
As your backs are burden with such guilt,
To plead forgiveness endlessly.

Travel on...
To see your life as it should be.
Unlimited with happiness!
Believe it and receive.

Travel on...
Get to stepping and adventure your life!

Move it like you knew it!

Travel on!
My brothers
Travel on...
My sisters, fathers, mothers.
And others who recover.

Travel on...
Get to stepping and adventure your life!

To see your life as it should be.
Unlimited with happiness...
Believe it and receive.

Travel on...
Get to stepping and adventure your life!

To see your life as it should be.
Unlimited with happiness...
Believe it and receive.

Travel on...
Get to stepping and adventure your life!

My sisters, fathers, mothers.
And others who recover,
From disturbance they discover.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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No One That Is Living Has A Quality Owed

No one that is living,
Has a quality owed.
No one that is giving,
Has a quality owed.
No one who is wishing,
Has a quality owed...
With nothing less,
Than solid gold.
With expectations,
Another holds...
Delivered and quick to give.

No one is living,
To demand and get.
No one is living,
Just to benefit.
No one is living...
Just to sit!
And to get.

No one that is living,
Has a quality owed.
No one that is giving,
Has a quality owed.
No one who is wishing,
Has a quality owed...
With nothing less,
Than solid gold.
With expectations,
Another holds...
Delivered and quick to give.

No one is living,
To demand and to get.
No one is living,
Just to benefit.
No one is living,
Just to sit and sit.
No matter what it is...
To receive without a risk.
And if they don't,
They throw a fit.

No one is living,
To demand and to get.
No one is living,
Just to benefit.
No one is living,
Just to sit and sit.
No matter what it is...

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Climbing From Ruts

Not 'who' is he?
But 'what' is he?
To know.
Before the showing?
To have that showing...
Grow.
To be known.

Not 'who' is she?
But 'what' is she?
To know.
Before the showing?
To have that showing...
Grow.
To be known.

They are the ones,
Unstung.
And freed,
From under a thumb.

They are the ones,
Unstung.
And freed,
From under a thumb.

Climbing from ruts.
Undone.
And looking up.
Undone.
And taking risks,
Unlimited...
Others may sit and resist.

Climbing from ruts.
Undone.
And looking up.
Undone.
And taking risks,
Unlimited...
Others may sit and resist.

They are the ones,
Unstung.
And freed,
From under a thumb.

Not 'who' is he?
But 'what' is he?
To know.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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We Can Create A Modern International Community

And I wonder when Congress will allow public nationwide schools...
in the United States to set aside time for children again to pray?
To pray for, or quietly reflect on behalf of, their once great Nation!

To pray for their nation during this proclaimed danger time...
of struggle against the forces of evil dark international terrorism!
But in the White House lurks a dark soul of 100% fetus murder!

Barack against murder international terrorism with Pro-Abortion Record!
Like Pharaoh in the time of the birth of Moses, like King Harold at the birth of Jesus, killing innocent children based on state law is ok in America today!

Why? How can this be? On 9th of March 2008 Barack proclaimed “We were once were, we are no longer a Christian nation, at least not just....”
No Ten Commandments, No God’s law displayed in government buildings!

15th April 2009 Barack proclaimed “We can create a modern international community that is respectful that is secure that is prosperous....
(in an aside to himself) and like Baal Worshippers we will support propagate

State Policies funding killing innocent children against the will of the majority of Americans and I Barack will use tax payer dollars to kill innocent unborn! We will fill White House high office with Pro Abortion all! Yes We Can!

Darth Vader will create a universal New World Order!

And in the on going baby killing sweepstakes infant killer Obama selects: -

Pro-Abortion Sen. Joe Biden as Obama’s vice-presidential running mate. Pro-Abortion Rep. Rahm Emanuel as Obama’s White House Chief of Staff.
Pro-Abortion former Sen. Tom Daschle as Obama’s Health and Human Services Secretary.

Former NARAL legal director Dawn Johnsen to serve as a member of Obama’s Department of Justice Review Team. Next appointed Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Legal Counsel.

Betta check Obama’s rap sheet Pro-Abortion Record, for the rest of his all star elite baby killing machine selections.

'President Barack Obama's Pro-Abortion Record: A Pro-Life Compilation

Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) - The following is a compilation of bill signings, speeches, appointments and other actions that President Barack Obama has engaged in that have promoted abortion before and during his presidency. While Obama has promised to reduce abortions and some of his supporters believe that will happen, this long list proves his only agenda is promoting more abortions.

During the presidential election, Obama selected pro-abortion Sen. Joe Biden as his vice-presidential running mate.

Post-Election / Pre-Inauguration
November 5,2008 - Obama selects pro-abortion Rep. Rahm Emanuel as his White House Chief of Staff. Emanuel has a 0% pro-life voting record according to National Right to Life.

November 19,2008 - Obama picks pro-abortion former Sen. Tom Daschle as his Health and Human Services Secretary. Daschle has a long pro-abortion voting record according to National Right to Life.

November 20,2008 - Obama chooses former NARAL legal director Dawn Johnsen to serve as a member of his Department of Justice Review Team. Later, he finalizes her appointment as the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of the Legal Counsel in the Obama administration.

November 24,2008 - Obama appoints Ellen Moran, the former director of the pro-abortion group Emily's List as his White House communications director. Emily's List only supports candidates who favored taxpayer funded abortions and opposed a partial-birth abortion ban.

November 24,2008 - Obama puts former Emily's List board member Melody Barnes in place as his director of the Domestic Policy Council.

November 30,2008 - Obama named pro-abortion Sen. Hillary Clinton as the Secretary of State. Clinton has an unblemished pro-abortion voting record and has supported making unlimited abortions an international right.

December 10,2008 - Obama selects pro-abortion former Clinton administration official Jeanne Lambrew to become the deputy director of the White House Office of Health Reform. Planned Parenthood is 'excited' about the selection.

[...] Read more

poem by Terence George Craddock
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Offering

I offer you my forests and my street-cries
With hands of double-patience under the clock,
The antiseptic arguments and lies
Uttered before the flood, the submerged rock.
The sack of meal pierced by the handsome fencer,
The flowers dying for a great adventure.

I offer you the mysterious parable,
The mount of reason, the hero's glassy hymn,
The disquieting uproar of the obvious
Hate in the taproom, murder in the barn
The long experienced finger of the Gulf Stream,
The flying sense of glory in a failure's dream.

I offer you the bubble of free will,
The rarefied agony of forgotten places,
The green cadaver stirring to the moon's pull,
The cheerful butchery of raw amateur faces
Which, like the half-blind nags shipped off for food
Die, doubtless serving some higher good.

I offer you the Egyptian miracle,
The acrobat doing handsprings in the rain,
A touched up photograph in sepia
Of the future teasing the fibres of the brain
I offer you the seven league army boots he wears
Striding down the black funnel of the years.

I offer you a coral growth of cells,
A flash of lightning anchored in a carafe
The withered arm of the last century
Cannot provoke a demon to anger us,
The strap-hanging skeleton of what has been
Is out of date forever like the crinoline.

I offer you clouds of nuisance, fleur de lis,
The opening lips of summer where pigeons rest
The exploding office of the vast nebula
The heraldic device under the left breast,
The taut string and the scribbler's Roman tread
Impinging on the slow shores of the dead.

I offer you the tithes of discontent,
The deck-games played with shadows on a cruise
Beyond the islands, marked on the ancient maps
With the broken altars, markets in disuse
To some "unspoilt" and blessed hemisphere
Where comfort twists the lucid strands of air.

I would offer you so much more if you would turn

[...] Read more

poem by Kenneth Allott
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You have the right to feel, you are successful

Success, sweet success
Success, it is waiting for you
To own and hold on to it

Success of any kind
Has easy access
If you are after it restlessly

Success is not indeed the end
It is the beginning of a
New chain of successes

Simple it is to be successful
So simple, you wonder how many of us are not at it

It all depends on what you feel
Success means to you
You may school your thoughts
And train your emotions
To feel successful on everything
That happens around you

Your retention of all your
Physical, mental and social abilities
Is indeed your success

Your ability to make friends
And help them out in times of need
Is indeed your success

Your ability to keep your cool
In emotionally competing events
And situations
Is indeed your success

Your ability to make your ends meet
Come over challenges, emotional or otherwise
At the right time and in a rightful manner
Is indeed a success

Your ability to stand up
And hold on to your values
Is indeed a success

Your ability to be able to
Discharge your assigned responsibilities
Is indeed your success

Your ability to objectively assess
People and events

[...] Read more

poem by Bashyam Narayanan
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Exhuming Mccarthy

Youre beautiful more beautiful than me
Youre honorable more honorable than me
Loyal to the bank of america
Its a sign of the times
Its a sign of the times
Youre sharpening stones, walking on coals
To improve your business acumen.
Sharpening stones, walking on coals,
To improve your business acumen.
Vested interest united ties, landed gentry rationalize
Look who bought the myth, by jingo, buy america
Its a sign of the times
Its a sign of the times
Youre sharpening stones, walking on coals
To improve your business acumen.
Sharpening stones, walking on coals,
To improve your business acumen.
Enemy sighted, enemy met, Im addressing the realpolitik
Look who bought the myth, by jingo, buy america
let us not assassinate this man further senator,
Youve done enough. have you no sense of decency, sir?
At long last, have you left no sense of decency?
Youre sharpening stones, walking on coals
To improve your business acumen.
Sharpening stones, walking on coals,
To improve your business acumen.
Enemy sighted, enemy met, Im addressing the realpolitik
Youve seen start and youve seen quit
(Im addressing the table of content)
I always thought of you as quick
Exhuming mccarthy
(meet me at the book burning)
Exhuming mccarthy
(meet me at the book burning)

song performed by REM
Added by Lucian Velea
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It's Cool

It's cool,
If there's no content...
In what you say or do.
It's cool,
If no one comprehends,
With a meaning that's approved.

No one carries a single thought
To improve a life so screwed.

It's cool,
If there's no content...
In what you say or do.
It's cool,
If no one comprehends,
With a meaning that's approved.

No one carries a single thought
No one carries a single thought
No one carries a single thought
To improve a life so screwed.

It's cool,
If there's no content...
In what you say or do.
It's cool,
If no one comprehends,
With a meaning that's approved.

No one carries a single thought
No one carries a single thought
No one carries a single thought
To improve a life so screwed.

No one carries a single thought
No one carries a single thought
No one carries a single thought
To improve a life so screwed.

It's cool
No one has a single thought
It's cool
No one has a single thought
It's cool
No one has a single thought
To improve a life so screwed.

It's cool,
If there's no content...
In what you say or do.

[...] Read more

poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar
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Picture Perfect

Picture perfect a life that you saw in a magazine
Or maybe a travelling book
Wanted to get on that plane and fly away
cause you are a rock star deep down inside
You walk with a swagger, got nothin' to hide
Cigarette in your mouth, a cuff on your jeans
Your sideburns are perfect, you're a perfect and lean
So you made an oil painting to inmortalize
All of the hope and vision in your eyes
In your leisure coat and cowboy hat
North American records and so much to bat for
Please bring me along
Please bring me along
Because I want to see everything you have to offer me
Get a job lifting cement
Oh it's so dry when it rains it gets wet
And the village was great, now it's a suburb
You left behind half of all that you had learnt
Relearn a couple things along the way
The thrift shop so clean all for half what you'd pay
So you try everything on, on for size
Drop top your Camaro and go for a ride
Please bring me along
Please bring me along
Because I want to see everything you have to offer me
And I don't mind to sit here and waste my time
Oh but this world is not mine to define
And I want to shine
Please bring me along
Please take me away
I don't want to stay
And I want to see everything you have to offer me
And I want to see everything you have to offer me
And I want to see everything you have to offer me
I want to see everything the world has to offer me
I want to see everything the world has to offer me
I want to show everything I have to offer it
I want to show everything I have to offer it now

song performed by Nelly Furtado
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Quality

Teen idol
The way you move
Its got quality
Come on baby, lets go downtown
Little girl, you sure look good to me
The way you move
Its got quality
Come on baby now dont be shy
Step in the light so I can see
The way you move
Its got quality
Girls
I want to know
Are you my beautiful young boy
Or just another love
Passing through my life
I need to know
Will you be my sorrow and my joy
And maybe one day soon
Will I be your wife.
Teen idol
Come on baby,
Lets rock some more
I want to spend my salary
The way you move
Its got quality
Sal
Everytime they see me walk down the street
They say co? o that boy is fine
The way he moves
Got quality
Girls
I want to know
Are you my beautiful young boy,
Or just another love
Passing through my life,
I need to know
Will you be my sorrow and my joy
And maybe one day soon
Will I be your wife
Quiero saber
Quiero saber
Nadie nunca sabe
En la vida
Teen idol
The way you move
Its got quality
The way you move
Its got quality
Lead vocal-paul simon

[...] Read more

song performed by Paul Simon
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Get Ready For This

R- ray a- anita
Yall ready for this?
R: get down with the style, house on the ground
Freeze when I squeeze, pump to your knees
You must of bet, Im in here to stay
Ready to take you around the way
So get ready for this, mind your own biz
cause I bad, yeah the microphone wiz
No need to sit, cause were 2 unlimited
Ready, ready, ready for this!
R: feel the base, you just get closer
Be impressed by the words I chose of
Once again kickin it live
Doin everything yo just to survive above the law, I take our stand
Being on stage with a mic in my hand
Bustin it live to the crowd
The age is 20, Im from the south
A: be a part, break my heart
Get ready for this, mind your own biz
People in the front, show me what you want
And I wont give it in... get ready for this!
Were 2 unlimited, so people wont you sing?
Movin up and down, livin on the ground
Feelin kinda free; security
House is style that moves you from the ground.
R: house on the ground, bass in your face
Racin the place, no time to waste
Being hypnotised, I can see it in your eyes
Feelin kinda better, put on your sweater
Feelin like a white, I think it doesnt matter
Super, dope, def, and even outrageous
If I was an animal, theydve kept me in cages
So get ready for this!
Yall ready for this?
A: be a part, break my heart
Get ready for this, mind your own biz
People in the front, show me what you want
And I wont give it in... get ready for this!
Were 2 unlimited, so people wont you sing?
Movin up and down, livin on the ground
Feelin kinda free; security
House is style that moves you from the ground.
(rap on the rap mix of 1994 edit)
R: step back, relax, dont you wanna come in?
When I start rappin the girlies wanna come in
Into my house, into my room
Thats the part where it goes boom! boom!
Name here is ray, the group is 2 unlimited, weve got a lot to say...
To you, ah yeah and your other crew, if it is a dream, boom see boom!

song performed by 2 Unlimited
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Group Four

3d
A flask I drink of sober tea
While relay cameras monitor me
And the buzz surrounds, it does
Buzz surrounds, buzz surrounds
Liz fraser
Closed eyed sky wide open
Unlimited girl unlimited sigh
Elsewhere
Indefinitely far away
Magnifies and deepens
Ready to sing
My sixth sense peacefully place on my breath
And listening
3d
Keys swing from my hand
Liz fraser
My ears know that my eyes are closed
3d
Perish thoughts like contraband
I train myself in martial arts
As advertised
I reinforce my softened parts
As advertised
Liz fraser
Seen through me little glazed lane
A world in myself
Ready to sing
My sixth sense peacefully place on my breath
3d
Flickering I roam
Liz fraser
And listening
My ears know that my eyes are closed
Ready to sing
My sixth sense peacefully place on my breath
3d
Flickering I roam
Liz fraser
And listening
My ears know that my eyes are closed
3d
I see to bolts, put keys to locks
No boats are rocked, Im free to roam
Among dummy screens and magazines
Liz fraser
Closed eyed sky wide open
Unlimited girl unlimited sigh
3d
To think I lay next to you

[...] Read more

song performed by Massive Attack
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Ceiling Unlimited

It's not the heat
It's the inhumanity
Plugged into the sweat of a summer street
Machine gun images pass
Like malice through a looking glass
The slackjaw gaze
Of true profanity
Feels more like surrender than defeat
If culture is the curse of the thinking class
If culture is the curse of the thinking class
Ceiling unlimited
World so wide
Turn and turn again
Feeling unlimited
Still unsatisfied
Changes never end
The vacant smile
Of true insanity
Dressed up in the mask of Tragedy
Programmed for the guts and glands
Of idle minds and idle hands
I rest my case -
Or at least my vanity
Dressed up in the mask of Comedy
If laughter is a straw for a drowning man
If laughter is a straw for a drowning man
Ceiling unlimited
Windows open wide
Look and look again
Feeling unlimited
Eyes on the prize
Changes never end
Winding like an ancient river
The time is now again
Hope is like an ancient river
The time is now again

song performed by Rush
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Hudibras: Part 3 - Canto I

THE ARGUMENT

The Knight and Squire resolve, at once,
The one the other to renounce.
They both approach the Lady's Bower;
The Squire t'inform, the Knight to woo her.
She treats them with a Masquerade,
By Furies and Hobgoblins made;
From which the Squire conveys the Knight,
And steals him from himself, by Night.

'Tis true, no lover has that pow'r
T' enforce a desperate amour,
As he that has two strings t' his bow,
And burns for love and money too;
For then he's brave and resolute,
Disdains to render in his suit,
Has all his flames and raptures double,
And hangs or drowns with half the trouble,
While those who sillily pursue,
The simple, downright way, and true,
Make as unlucky applications,
And steer against the stream their passions.
Some forge their mistresses of stars,
And when the ladies prove averse,
And more untoward to be won
Than by CALIGULA the Moon,
Cry out upon the stars, for doing
Ill offices to cross their wooing;
When only by themselves they're hindred,
For trusting those they made her kindred;
And still, the harsher and hide-bounder
The damsels prove, become the fonder.
For what mad lover ever dy'd
To gain a soft and gentle bride?
Or for a lady tender-hearted,
In purling streams or hemp departed?
Leap'd headlong int' Elysium,
Through th' windows of a dazzling room?
But for some cross, ill-natur'd dame,
The am'rous fly burnt in his flame.
This to the Knight could be no news,
With all mankind so much in use;
Who therefore took the wiser course,
To make the most of his amours,
Resolv'd to try all sorts of ways,
As follows in due time and place

No sooner was the bloody fight,
Between the Wizard, and the Knight,

[...] Read more

poem by Samuel Butler
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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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