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Proverb...

“ However much you are educated, if you are not self disciplined,
your education would be a waste”

- Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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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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Education

In a deep dark jungle long time ago
Lived a lonesome caveman
He was a solitary soul
And he spent his playtime
Chewing meat from bones.
He didnt know how to talk much
He only knew how to groan
Then he lifted up his hands and reached to the sky
Let out a yell and no one replied.
Frustration and torment tore him inside
Then he fell to the ground and he cried and he cried.
But then education saved the day.
He learned to speak and communicate
Education saved the day.
He thanked God for the friends he made.
cos everybody needs an education
Everybody needs an education.
Black skin, red skin, yellow or white,
Everybody needs to read and write
Everybody needs an education.
Thank the day when that primitive man
Learned to talk with his brothers
And live off the land.
He left his cave and he moved far away
And he lived with his friends in a house that theyd made
He learned to think and to work with his brain
And he astounded his friends with all the knowledge he gained
He wrote it down on a rock that he found
And he showed all his friends and they passed it around
And then education came that day.
The day it came was a sacred day.
Education came that day
He thanked God for the friends hed made.
Well man built a boat and he learned how to sail
And he travelled far and wide
Then he looked up above saw the stars in the sky
So he learned how to fly.
Thanks to all the mathematicians
And the inventors with their high i.q.s
And the professors in their colleges
Trying to feed me knowledge
That I know Ill never use.
Thank you sir for the millions of words
That youve handed me down and youve told me to learn
But Ive got words in my ears and my eyes
Ive got so many facts that I must memorize
Because educations doing me in
I want to stop but my heads in a swim
Education drives me insane
I cant recall all the facts on my brain.

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song performed by Kinks
Added by Lucian Velea
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Sociology Assignment

THE APPLICATION OF SOCIOLOGY OF EDUCATION IN CLASSROOM TEACHING

INTRODUCTION
Sociology of education, as defined by Pavalko (1976) , is the scientific analysis of the social processes and patterns involved in the educational system. It is concerned with educational aims, methods, and institutions in relation to social and cultural forces of the society in which they function. This assumes that education is a combination of social acts and it deals with human interaction. In the education of the individual, it concerns the influence of social life and social relationships on the development of personality. Sociology of education is very significant as it introduces a teacher to a collection of techniques that are required in classroom teaching. Such techniques include; understanding and applying interaction in the classroom, the disposition of norms to the students by the teachers, understanding teacher-student relationship and communication, provision of career guidance and finally understanding social roles of teachers and students. This essay, therefore, discusses how we, as teachers to be, can apply the above sociological techniques in classroom teaching in secondary schools.

INTERACTION
A classroom, like any other social group, requires all the members to participate and interact with each other for a common goal. A teacher as a leader in the classroom can make sure that there is interaction among his/her students by forming study groups or circles. In these study circles there is mutual influence and benefit among students since students can participate in the discussions that the group undertakes. Interaction in these groups can be cooperative and competitive among students (Ottaway,1960) .

In these groups members are in face to face interaction with each other and there are a small number of participants, this encourages the students to speak out their minds on a given topic. This is so because in a small group every student is given a chance to express himself/herself as compared to the whole class. This gives a chance to some students who can not express themselves fully when there are many people around them. This helps students to build self confidence since their views can be heard by their peers. It also builds a habit of doing things together as a result there is unity among members of the group (Ashley et. al.,1970) .

In this case, the teacher as a leader in the classroom does not dominate in the classroom activities but rather just controls the thoughts and behaviour of his pupils and sets the tone of the interaction patterns in the classroom. The teacher is also there to facilitate in the discussions. However, a teacher needs not to always be present in these groups since some students may not interact fully in the presence of their teacher than their peers. In this case, indirect control from a teacher may be more effective than direct (Ottaway,1960) .

NORMS
Sociology of education analyzes the sociological processes that have a bearing in the education system. One of such sociological processes is the disposition of norms that a teacher imparts in his/her students through interaction in class. The students’ awareness of these norms facilitates the teaching process, on the part of the teacher, and the learning process on the part of students. The impartation of norms on the students is referred to as the hidden curriculum because it is not included on the formal curriculum. Though not included on paper, the students are supposed to know these norms because the way they conduct themselves in class (morally) will affect the teaching and learning processes either positively or negatively. For instance, some students may choose not to cooperate in taking assignments. This tendency may be triggered by the students’ lack of proper direction in their behavior that departs from the values and norms that guide the society. Such students if not handled professionally by the teacher may cause havoc in class. This is where sociology of education becomes vital to classroom management in secondary schools. In sociology of education a teacher learns how to manage students, both those who are morally upright and those morally decayed.

Sociology of education also instructs teachers to be exemplary. The teaching ethics are also very clear on this point as Ashley et al. (1970) declare that teaching professional training emphasizes moral virtues and exemplary behavior on the part of teachers. They have to behave, dress and speak as role models. True to that proverb that says “action speaks louder than words”, teacher’s behavior will have a great impact on the conduct of his/her students. If the teacher is not morally upright the students are likely to be like him/her in their conduct. One other point that may help curb indiscipline in students is through the provision of enough work to keep the students busy. This is helpful because when the students are idle they tend to misbehave (Abromitis,2009) .

TEACHER-STUDENT RELATIONSHIP AND COMMUNICATION
The maintenance of a harmonious social relationship between a teacher and those undergoing socialization (students) , is one of the applications of sociology of education in a classroom. The social interaction within the classroom will help teachers understand the psychological variables that affect the social behaviour of students. For instance, a student’s performance may be affected by poverty and funeral at home among other things. This stresses that each individual is a member of a wide family and gets influenced by social and cultural factors as well. A teacher, therefore, is supposed to identify those students who are not doing well in class as expected and try to find the source of their problems and counsel them accordingly. For instance, sociology of education enables a teacher to establish the real cause of impoliteness in some students that even cause destructions during classes. A teacher does this through inquiries that he/she makes about the naughty students’ back ground that sometimes may be responsible for the students’ bad behavior.

The teacher’s awareness of such backgrounds will enable him/her to know where to start the intervention of shaping the behavior of students. When the good behavior of once ill-mannered students is restored, the teaching and learning processes go smoothly. This suggests that there should be a good communication and interaction between teachers and students. However, Zeleny (1948) as cited in Pavalko (1976) warns that the teacher should not be too friendly with the students. This is because it will be very difficult to provide counseling to them and eventually fail to induce changed behaviour when they go wrong.
CAREER GUIDANCE
A school as a social institution is expected to produce people who are reliable for continuity of a society as far as leadership and management of social institutions is concerned. In view of this, we can say it is important for teachers to include lessons in decision-making and career guidance. Though career guidance is over looked by many schools, it plays an important role. Harris (1999) says career guidance helps students to identify the work-related competences they are developing through the various school subjects and relate them to their career planning. In short, career guidance acts as an advocate for students in establishing their career ladders.

Career guidance needs enforcement because not all students are aware of the different job opportunities that are in the corporate world. For instance, asking children from rural areas about their ambitions, most of them will talk about nursing and teaching as opposed to those from urban areas who will talk of becoming, a pilot, an accountant, a lawyer and many more. This is due to parents’ or guardians’ ‘level of education and children’s exposure to media or other sources of information. Therefore, a teacher should not take it for granted that all students are aware about careers.

A teacher can impart career lessons through different ways. First of all, a teacher needs to include in his or her curriculum a special time at least 20 to 30 minutes per week for career lessons (Harris,1999) . In a classroom, a teacher may use personal approach, where he or she can ask students of their ambitions and provide information on the requirements and the institution(s) that offer(s) them. Secondly, a teacher can use interactive and experimental exercises, where he or she can put students into groups and ask them to interview different personnel on their professions and how they managed to achieve them. Afterwards students can present their findings to a class. Apart from motivating students, this method can also promote interaction between students and the community.

SOCIAL ROLES OF TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
Social role is among the five basic concepts in the sociology of education. A social role is a behavior appropriate to a particular position in a social group. A classroom as a sub-social system has actors and participants, who are teachers and students respectively. Sociology of education enables a teacher to realize his/her role and at the same time helps the students realize theirs. The teacher playing his/her role has to teach and encourage the students to learn. The role of a teacher is really a combination of sub-roles which the skillful teacher fits to produce a useful pattern of teaching. One of these sub-roles includes, being an instructor, whereby the teacher gives instructions and shows the students in a classroom how to learn and answer questions. This is the role the teacher prepares for, explicitly and directly. On the other hand, the students on their part have to listen, attend classes, submit assignments regularly and take examinations. Cooperation demands high degree of predictability of conduct and requires that individuals should make personal sacrifices in favour of societal expectations. In other words, where a teacher’s personal interests or commitments are in conflict with his or her role as a teacher, his/her personal interests have to give way to his/her teaching role (Ezewu,1983) .

There is a social and a personal aspect of every role that is significant to an individual. For instance, a person learns the expected and rewarded behaviour for each role. Students learn when to give priority to a particular role. In a classroom situation, the students learn to take the role of a pupil most of the time rather than the role of a playmate. (Havighurst et al.,1963) .

CONCLUSION
After discussing the above sociological techniques we have the audacity to conclude that Sociology of education adds to the teacher’s kit of intellectual tools. In this case, a set of sociological insights and concepts that will allow him/her to take account in his decision-making organization, cultural and interpersonal factors at work in his/her environment. Therefore, Sociology of education is essential as it equips teachers with great knowledge on how to socialize their students in a classroom situation in secondary schools.

LIST OF REFERENCES.

Abromitis, B. (2009, Feb 27) .Teachers Creating an effective learning Environment in a
monitored Classroom; Sociology of Education. www.google.com.

Ashley, J.B., Cohen, S.H., & Slatter, R.G. (1970) . An Introduction to the Sociology of
Education. Macmillan and Co Ltd: London & Basingstoke, pp.117-139

Ezewu, E.B.A. (1983) . Sociology of Education. Longman: London, pp.13-14

Harris, S. (1999) . Careers education: contesting policy and practice. Sage

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poem by Innocent Masina Nkhonyo
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Up! Education

Education is important
Right from when an infant

Education is not about college
It entails a wider range of knowledge
Supplying a market of skills shortage

Education is great
It creates and decides upon ones fate
Never leave it too late

Education makes it a priority
To provide you with opportunities

So I say
OK! Up! Education
Feed the Nations
Up! Education

Education is in abundance
A constituent of importance
As we humans advance
It offers us life’s insurance

Education is the key to set you free
From joblessness condemnation

Education is the key to flee
From endless financial frustration

Education provides you with ammunition
To tackle any country, state or nation

Education gives you immunisation
Against surviving global frustration

Education relieves you
From absurd ignorance

Education exempts you and me
From parental allowance
For most adults
It is usually a concerning disturbance

So I say
OK! Up! Education
Feed the Nations
Up! Education

I take my time to stress once more

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poem by Sylvia Chidi
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Educate Woman

To educate a woman is to educate a nation
Do not deprive the woman of education
Do let her know what she is to mention
Wherever she goes throughout the nation

Let her use skill in estimation
Let her learn what is real; not hallucination
Give her a chance to get that that salutation
Which men do get because of education

A woman that has much education
Will teach her children motivation
She’ll train them to support the nation
They’ll always have the best of intention

Knowledge is essential in every institution
The family too needs education
The woman’s own is more to mention
Educated women save the nation

When a woman excels in education
That woman can then build a mansion
A real estate not imagination
All because of worthy education

Fellow women I need your attention
Let seeking for knowledge be your aspiration
Stick to it with all devotion
Absence of knowledge causes indignation

A woman too observes the nation
She knows what goes in and out in motion
For her to be accurate in observation
A woman needs some sort of intuition

Think of knowledge with deep emotion
Illiterates know nothing but mere illusion
A strong nation is built by education
Illiteracy burns and destroys a nation

A nation in a fatal situation
Needs educated men and women in combination
Support them in their various occupations
They’ll unite and be strong and build the nation

Illiterate women are easy preys for seduction
They live in houses of corruption
Making money quickly is their desperation
A rich man’s camp is their destination

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poem by Saudatu Kabir
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The Key to Success

Education is relevant for a person to be successful.
Education empowers a person to become a leader.
Great opportunities are presented to professionals.
The future of a Person can be unpredictable if she lacks education;
an uneducated person does not have the knowledge
of what the future has to offer for her.
Education is an essential tool to make a pleasant and stable living out of a simple quotidian life.

High Education contributes to the increase of the graduate
in her social economic level.
Education is the main Factor for one to become wealthy,
Millionaire, or even
Multimillionaire.

Education offers the opportunity for a person
to become the owner of a mansion.
Education brings one the opportunity to please herself.
Perhaps, getting to travel often to interesting countries/places, or
to be the owner of the latest new brand sport car.

Education enables one to reach success.
Education makes one become influential.
Education gives one the opportunity to be
at the top with the highest wage.
Education gives one self-fulfillment.

A thief can take away money, a car, a property from a person.
but is definitely impossible to take education away from someone.
Education is worth $10,000 $50,000 $1000,000
0ne puts it value!
Education is certainly the main Element to become successful
and overall to reach one’s goals and dreams.

poem by Sofi Martinez
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Bad Education

Rewrite of Bon Jovi's Bad Medicine

No, there they ain't got a fever
Got what seems to be a permanent disease
It'll take more then the school nurse or PTA committee
To prescribe a remedy

They got loads of money
But it isn't what our kids need
Seems all they ever do anymore is get our little ones
Either shot or knocked up by some overeager teacher
Try to cover this song up
But no way am I going away or letting you silence me

I know
Today's kids got all the symptons
Count 'em 1,4,3

Deny it
But we all know
Today it's all about your greed
Not some desperate kid's need
Hiring sexy young thangs
Got our kids falling in love
Cos they're too darn young to know any better
You got the wrong ones in charge and you know it

When it comes to their learning
You only give 'em a little
Never ever enough
Leave them brainless and on their knees
Begging for a chance at a better life
But never finding none
Cause while you were busy looking the other way
Dealer's got 'em hooked on the drugs

Your teachin' ain't nothin' but bad education
Bad education ain't what today's kids need
All shook up and confused
Led astray by your bad education
Tell me
Why don't you even bother
To try and cure this disease

Nowadays our kids are forced to depend on guitar heroes and druggie needles
Just to be gettin' some attention
Just to be gettin' some thrills
They give in to the pills
Cause of your lazy butt work force
They all got a dirty low down addiction

[...] Read more

poem by Ramona Thompson
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Education Celebration

(An 'Education Week' Rap)

Education, education;
There's nothing quite like education!
It gives you hope and lets you cope
And offers great remuneration.

Education, education;
The path to many a great vacation;
A fancy car and caviar;
A life of fun and relaxation.

Education, education;
Provides a firm and strong foundation
For better lives improved by drive,
By effort and by motivation.

Education, education;
Sing aloud in exultation!
And when you pass that final class
We'll shake your hand in admiration.

Education, education;
Requires a lot of perspiration.
You can bet - a lot of sweat,
And just a pinch of inspiration.

Education, education;
Let's all sing in jubilation!
For, those who strive and have the drive
May someday own a 'corporation'!

poem by Lone Dog
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My love is lost..............

There is a pain in my heart
that brings tears in my eyes
I am sad because my love hurts me
My love, like a sky without clouds,
like a river without fishes and
like an ocean without waves
I am sad because my love left me alone
The stars are in the sky are not glittering
The moon in the sky is not sailing
The cool breeze is not touching me
I am sad because my love don't care for me
The truth always become lie
The love always become trouble
The understanding always become fail
I am sad because my love don't trust me
The thoughts in my mind become waste
The dreams in my heart cannot be fulfilled
The life in the world brings me an emptiness
I am sad because my love need me no more

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright @2004 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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A great soldier yet to be seen.....

The day when I met you
Your attitude impressed me in my mind and heart
You are known to everyone as a great yesterday
soldier for our country.
You were distinguished soldier, an officer,
a man among men.
You are the most valuable gift for our country
Your contribution to the World War II is unforgettable.
Your Knowledge on military is a precious gift for
our young soldiers.
You loved our country and you did the best for her.
Today, you are away from us, living by yourself
Your marched forward legs are stands still today.
You be the best what ever you are and where ever you are.
But the love you have shown on us will
cherish in our heart forever.
As bible says LOVE is patient and kind
and let that faith surround you.
You are a great soldier for the all time
and yet to be seen

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright ©2004 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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A poem for you...

I write a poem for you today,
to get a place in your heart for ever
A poem that could tell you my love for you
I write my poem with emotion and affection
for you to understand my deep thoughts for you
A poem to love and a poem to understand its soul
A poem to enjoy and a poem to understand its happiness
A poem to think and a poem to understand its way of life
A poem to learn and a poem to understand its content
A poem to sing and a poem to understand its melody
A poem to cry and a poem to understand its sorrow
There are poems I have written but this is specially for you
The poem could tell you how important you are for me
There are words comes out freely from my mind to write poem
but there are no words to find my love for you
Those words can not missed as I miss your love today
Let me have all those words put in to my heart and
say I love to write a love poem for you

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright ©2004 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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Because of Christmas Day...........

When the December comes
When the white snow cover our lands
My heart is filled with joy
because this is the month for Christmas
When the carols are being sung
When the Christmas trees are brighten the house
When the stockings are overflowing under the tree
When everyone's face is glowing to open the gifts
My heart is filled with joy
When the cities are decorated with lights
When the snow flakes are softly falling on my head
When my family dance and walk around streets
When our friends visit our home for dinner
My heart is filled with joy
This blessed Christmas joy within our hearts
and celebrate throughout the world
to observe the birth of Christ

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright ©2004 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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Let my heart always reminds me of you....

Let the morning bring freshness for me
Let the sun bring brightness for me
Let the gentle breeze bring softness for me
Let the nature brings beauty for me
But let my heart always reminds me of you

Let my day pass without problems
Let my work complete without errors
Let my thoughts scattered without pain
Let my wishes come true without barrier
But let my heart always reminds me of you

Let the sun disappear slowly in the sky
Let the moon appear slowly in the sky
Let the stars start twinkling in the sky
Let the night birds hover in the sky
But let my heart always reminds me of you

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright @2004 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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Lord tells you on your birthday........

I brought you into this world as a little angel
Your mother feels so happy to see you have born
and your father holds you tide with proud
I bless you my son and now this is your world
You will grow up with your faith on me my son
and your heart and soul will have my love forever
I will take care on you my son
and bring peace in your heart through my bible words
I will make your life sail smoothly in the trouble ocean
and show you the right path to travel like a light house
When you follow my foot steps
then you will not fall into enemies pray
When you being to learn my lesson of truth
then you will build your wisdom that brings you confident
My heaven will give you a shelter to stay with peace
and it will protect you from all the sins that around you
I tell you my son today is your birthday
and you are proud to be born as a human child.

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright @2006 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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Lord tells you on your wedding day.....

I will make the sun shine bright on your wedding day
and I will make your night as a beautiful and peaceful one
I will make the heaven to throw his blessings to you
and I will show you how much I love you my son

Today is your wedding day and its the most beautiful day for you
A man and a woman promise each other in front of me to live together forever
and an oath of life between both of you can not be broken till the end
Trust each other and make your journey to the greatest love

Have a faith on me then I will protect you in many ways
and I will make your life worth to live the way you want to do so
Show your availability by coming to this church for prayers
and I will show you my ability through my precepts my son

Always, have a kind word for those who needs help
Always, give your heart for those who loves me
Always, make others to understand my strength and power
Always, have a hearty appetite to follow my steps my son

Today is your wedding day and its the most happiest day for you
Let the rest of your life be the best of life with my blessings
Walk with me my son I will clear all those rough path ways
and I will make you to reach a life without falling into any sins

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright @2006 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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Loss of life.........

When the faith is lost in the heaven
Then the peace will become an enemy in our soul
When the love is lost in our heart
Then the nature of behavior become full of sins
When the knowledge is lost in the school
Then the nation's future will suffer from wisdom
When the kindness is lost in the nation
Then the people of the nation become immoral
When a home is lost its brightness of life
Then the family will suffer from mantle agony
When the nature is lost its beauty
Then the pleasant green pastures become like a dessert land
When all those prayers are kept away from God
Then the tears of life can not be cured

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka
Copyright @2009 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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My angel, I love to watch you sleep........

When the night comes then your voice calm down
When the moon begin to sail in the sky
then your eyes are closing down to sleep
You fall asleep while dim light illuminates your room
I love to watch you sleep my little girl
You sleep like a little angel within your dreams
Your hair falls both sides of your face and
your hands folded in to the blanket
Your pillows and bunnies are speard around you
You breath soft and low while your innocent heart
beat slowly to the merry tune
I love to watch you sleep my little baby
When I want to kiss you to say good night in your sleep
then you toss your head and stretch your little body
and turn around sleep again while holding your pillow
God brought you to me and given you as his gift
and today you are the greatest treasure in my life
Someone to laugh and dance and sing in my home
I love to watch you sleep my angel

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright @2004 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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My new house.......

Oh, my God, this is our new house
A house is made with love and dream
My God, let it should be a place where You can reign
and let us carry all the precious memories while we live here
My God, your love is what makes my house
where everyone can live here with serenity and peace
My God, you have shown us the foundation of life
where my house will be a testimony of what you have done
My God, your love radiates a cycle of love
where its ready to meet every soul demand
My God, bless us all your days
and always keep us and my house in your safe hands

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka
Copyright @2009 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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Oh peace, where do I find you.....

Oh peace, where do I find you
I search you everywhere in my country but I could not find you
Oh peace, our countrymen love to have you in their hearts
but now your presence is not there to have a peaceful life.
Oh peace where do you go and where can I find you
I see our mothers tears in my country more than rain has poured
I see our nation's charming beauty is lost and its taken away from many acts of hate
I see our people wandering like broken arms to recover their lost freedoms
I see our people beautiful brotherly smiles lost where anger knows no boundaries
I see our people often plant a seed of peace to grow smoothly
but often its burn like a wild fire to the ash by our leaders
We are yet to free from political terrorism and thugs in our own country
and they have trapped us behind shelter of broken promises and blatant lies
Always, life seems to be enjoyed with another man's hearts pain
Oh peace, what have we done to you for you to keep us away within reach
If our country is peaceful, it will blossom like a flower
There is nothing more precious than peace in this world
But peace without justice will not make any nation peaceful
because injustice is the enemy of peace
So, let us find peace where ever it is there within our reach in our minds and hearts

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka
Copyright @Feb/2010 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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The beautiful mountain valley...

The mountain valley is the place of nature's gift
Through out the season it shower with beautiful nature
When you stand in between the mountain valley
You feel that the heaven blesses you dearly
You feel that the greenery hug you tightly
You feel that the cool breeze touches you tenderly
You see that the water falls roll over violently
You see that the trees dance to the tune of wind smoothly
You hear that the birds sing nature choir happily
You watch that the animals walk freely
When the nature open its heart widely
It gives everyone a chance to be with nature closely.

Ravi Sathasivam / Sri Lanka

Copyright ©2004 Ravi Sathasivam

poem by Ravi Sathasivam
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