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The Morning: Another Morning

Balloons flying
Children sighing
What a day to go kite flying
Breezy school
Away from school
Cowboys fighting out a duel
Time seems to stand quite still
In a childs world it always will
Fishes biting
So exciting
Lunchtime sounds so inviting
At the bill
He gets a thrill
Sitting, watching bobby quill
Time seems to stand quite still
In a childs world it always will
Yesterdays dreams
Are tomorrows sighs
Watch children playing
They seem so wise
Mary green
Todays a queen
One thousand dollies are her dream
In cotton frocks
And golden locks
Her palace is an orange box
Time seems to stand quite still
In a childs world it always will

song performed by Moody Blues
Added by Lucian Velea
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200 Balloons

Who gonna stop 200 balloons?
Nobody
Lets do it
25 policemen all in a row
Cant stop the party people - go go go
If u cant beat em join em baby say so
Its party time everybody come on lets go
Fly with me
200 balloons (lets do it)
Blowing down the city colder than ice
I think u better love me cuz Im really kind of nice
If u do me once girl u have 2 do me twice
Wave your hand if u wanna party tonight
Come on everybody
200 balloons
Everybody sing it
Fly with me (lets do it)
Come on baby fly with me (lets do it)
Fly with me (lets do it)
Come on baby fly with me
Ill buy u love if I got
200 balloons (lets do it)
Tell me that u love me and Ill buy u a fancy car
I made u a couple of times and so u made me a star
So take me 4 what Im worth, love me 4 what I are
(do, do) the partyman, I take u way far
Come on yall
200 balloons
Whos gonna stop 200 balloons?
Nobody
Lets do it lets do it
Lets do it lets do it
Its party time yall
200 balloons
(do it) dont stop me now
(do it {poet}) my life has just begun
(do it) rave, unto the joy yall (do it)
The only one dont try to stop me (do it)
Fly with me (do it)
(do it 200 do it 200 do it)
Fly with me
Come on fly with me
Its party time yall
200 balloons
(lets do it)
200 balloons
(lets do it) (fly with me)
200 balloons
Lets do it lets do it
Hey, its been good!

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song performed by Prince
Added by Lucian Velea
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Prince Hohenstiel-Schwangau, Saviour of Society

Epigraph

Υδραν φονεύσας, μυρίων τ᾽ ἄλλων πόνων
διῆλθον ἀγέλας . . .
τὸ λοίσθιον δὲ τόνδ᾽ ἔτλην τάλας πόνον,
. . . δῶμα θριγκῶσαι κακοῖς.

I slew the Hydra, and from labour pass'd
To labour — tribes of labours! Till, at last,
Attempting one more labour, in a trice,
Alack, with ills I crowned the edifice.

You have seen better days, dear? So have I —
And worse too, for they brought no such bud-mouth
As yours to lisp "You wish you knew me!" Well,
Wise men, 't is said, have sometimes wished the same,
And wished and had their trouble for their pains.
Suppose my Œdipus should lurk at last
Under a pork-pie hat and crinoline,
And, latish, pounce on Sphynx in Leicester Square?
Or likelier, what if Sphynx in wise old age,
Grown sick of snapping foolish people's heads,
And jealous for her riddle's proper rede, —
Jealous that the good trick which served the turn
Have justice rendered it, nor class one day
With friend Home's stilts and tongs and medium-ware,—
What if the once redoubted Sphynx, I say,
(Because night draws on, and the sands increase,
And desert-whispers grow a prophecy)
Tell all to Corinth of her own accord.
Bright Corinth, not dull Thebes, for Lais' sake,
Who finds me hardly grey, and likes my nose,
And thinks a man of sixty at the prime?
Good! It shall be! Revealment of myself!
But listen, for we must co-operate;
I don't drink tea: permit me the cigar!
First, how to make the matter plain, of course —
What was the law by which I lived. Let 's see:
Ay, we must take one instant of my life
Spent sitting by your side in this neat room:
Watch well the way I use it, and don't laugh!
Here's paper on the table, pen and ink:
Give me the soiled bit — not the pretty rose!
See! having sat an hour, I'm rested now,
Therefore want work: and spy no better work
For eye and hand and mind that guides them both,
During this instant, than to draw my pen
From blot One — thus — up, up to blot Two — thus —
Which I at last reach, thus, and here's my line
Five inches long and tolerably straight:

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poem by Robert Browning (1871)
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Me & Bobby Mc Gee

Demo (take 5) 20 07 1970
S130 is not on. not that i'm playin' that great but still in all i oughta be able to hear it, y'know what i mean ?
Are you hearing it now ?
No. now. it's too loud. i can't play that good. am i havin' some of that texas accent back ?
I hope so.
But i always sound like this, man, i hear myself on tape i always sound like this.
Take 5.
God! shall i start that way ? ready ?
Over to you baby.
Busted flat in baton rouge, waiting for a train
And i's feelin' nearly as faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained,
It rode us all the way in to new orleans.
I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
An' i's playin' soft while bobby sang the blues, yeah.
Windshield wipers slapping time, i was holding bobby's hand in mine,
We sang every song that driver knew.
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing don't mean nothing honey if it ain't free.
Yeah, an' feeling good was easy, lord, bobby sang the blues,
You know feeling good was good enough for me, hmm mm,
Good enough for me and my bobby mcgee.
From the kentucky coal mines to the california sun,
Bobby shared the secrets of my soul.
Through all kinds of weather, through everything that we done,
Said bobby baby, he kept me from the cold.
One day up near salinas, lord, i let him slip away,
But he was lookin' for that home and i hope he finds it.
But i'd trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday
To be holdin' bobby's body next to mine.
Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing, that's all that bobby left me, yeah.
Feelin' good was easy, lord, bobby he sang the blues,
I said feeling good was good enough for me, hmm mm,
It's good enough for me and my bobby mcgee.
La la la, la la la la, la la la, la la la la
La la la la la bobby mcgee.
La la la la la, la la la la la
La la la la la la, bobby mcgee.
La la la, la la la la la la,
La la la, la la la la la la,
Na na na na na na na na, bobby mcgee, yeah.
Na na na na na na na na, na na na na,
Na na na na na na na na, na na na na,
Hey now bobby lord, bobby mcgee, yeah.
Hell, i'm calling my lover, calling my man,
I said i'm calling my lover, i do the best i can,
I said now c'mon,bobby now, come on bobby mcgee, yeah.
Lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy lord
Hey, hey, hey, bobby mcgee, yeah!

[...] Read more

song performed by Janis Joplin
Added by Lucian Velea
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Another Morning

Balloons flying,
Children sighing,
What a day to go kite flying.
Breeze is cool, [or "Breezes cool"]
Away from school
Cowboys fighting out a duel.
Time seems to stand quite still,
In a child's world it always will.
Fish is biting, [or Fishes biting]
So exciting!
Lunchtime sounds so inviting.
At the bill [bill = a narrow promontory]
He gets a thrill
Sitting, watching bobbing quill. [quill = feather used as a fishing bait float]
Time seems to stand quite still,
In a child's world it always will.
Yesterday's dreams
Are tomorrow's sighs.
Watch children playing,
They seem so wise.
Mary Green
Today's a queen
One thousand dollies are her dream.
In cotton frocks
And golden locks,
Her palace is an orange box
Time seems to stand quite still,
In a child's world it always will.

song performed by Moody Blues
Added by Lucian Velea
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Time 2 Duel

It's Time 2 Duel
It's Time 2 Duel
It's Time 2..... Now Is the Time..... Duel.
Now is the Time
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Hey, Hey........1- 2- 3- 4
While you where bothering the ozone
I'm tryin' to get into the end-zone
You won't be anything without the
Chips, your lips are quiverin', the time has come...
Time 2 Duel
Now it gets Serious
Time 2 Duel
You're not Invincible ( yet )
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Hey, Hey
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Stalemate! And you don't even know that
I am notorious for finding
Weakness in any one too confident
I see the start of your descent ( descent )
Time 2 Duel
Now We get Serious
Time 2 Duel
Sights set on Pegasus
Time 2 Duel
You must be Delirious
Time 2 Duel
You're not Invincible ( yet )
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
(The stories are not always pleasant)
Now is the Time,
Make Your Move
Make Your Move the Time has come
Make Your Move the Time has come
Make Your Move (You're not invincible)
See It has wounded you
Has it wounded you?
Has it wounded you?
Has it wounded you?
You're not invincible.
Are you invincible?
( Okay I'm ready )
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Hey, Hey
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah
Are you invincible?

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song performed by Yu-Gi-Oh
Added by Lucian Velea
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Watching Me Watching You

I sit by the cutting on the beaconsfield line.
Hes watching me watching the trains go by.
And they move so fast --- boy, they really fly.
Hes still watching me watching you watching the
Trains go by.
And the way he stares --- feel like locking my door
And pulling my phone from the wall.
His eyes, like lights from a laser, burn
Making my hair stand --- making the goose-bumps crawl.
Hes watching me watching you watching him
Watching me
Im watching you watching him watching me
Watching stares.
At the cocktail party with a bucks fizz in my hand
I feel him watching me watching the girls go by.
And they move so smooth without even trying.
Hes still watching me watching you watching the
Trains go by.
And the crowd thins and he moves up close but he doesnt speak.
I have to look the other way.
But curiosity gets the better part of me and I peek:
Got two drinks in his hand --- see his lips move ---
What the hells he trying to say.
Hes watching me watching you watching him
Watching me.
Im watching you watching him watching me
Watching stares.
Hes watching me watching you watching him
Watching me.
Hes watching me watching you watching
The trains go by.
Hes watching me watching you watching him
Watching me.
Hes watching me watching you watching him watching me.
Hes watching me watching you watching him watching me watching him watching.

song performed by Jethro Tull
Added by Lucian Velea
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Railroad Bill

Railroad bill were gonna railroad bill
He never works and he never will
Im gonna ride on a railroad bill
Im gonna ride on a railroad bill
Railroad bill he was a mighty bad man
Kill anybody that he think he can
Gonna ride old railroad bill
Gonna ride old railroad bill
Im singin railroad bill,
Im talkin railroad bill, uh-huh-huh
He never worked and he never will
Im gonna ride on railroad bill, yeah
(cmon) Im gonna ride on railroad bill
Well old railroad bill he done stole my wife
Im gonna check him down Im gonna take his life
Gonna ride on railroad bill
Gonna ride railroad bill
Im singin railroad bill
On a railroad bill
He never worked and he never will
Im gonna ride on railroad bill
Im gonna ride on railroad bill
Railroad bill he was a mighty bad man
Kill anybody that he think he can
Gonna ride old railroad bill
Gonna ride railroad bill
Im talkin railroad bill
I love him railroad bill
Uh-huh-huh
He never worked and he never will
Gonna ride on railroad bill
Yeah, gonna ride on railroad bill
Well Im goin up the mountain
Yes Im goin out west
I got a mighty big pistol
Stickin out of my vest
Gonna ride old railroad bill
Gonna ride (alright)
Railroad bill, I love that railroad bill
Uh-huh-huh
He never works and he never will
Im gonna ride on a railroad bill
Im gonna ride on railroad bill

song performed by Van Morrison
Added by Lucian Velea
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The Night: Nights In White Satin

Balloons flying, children sighing,
What a day to go kite flying.
Breeze's cool, away from school,
Cowboys fighting out a duel.
Time seems to stand quite still,
In a child's world it always will.
Fishes biting, so exciting,
Lunchtime sounds so inviting.
Angler Bill, he gets a thrill,
Sitting, watching Bobby quill.
Time seems to stand quite still,
In a child's world it always will.
Yesterday's dreams are tomorrow's sighs,
Watch children play, they seem so wise.
Mary Green, today's a queen,
While thousand dollies are a dreaming.
Cotton frocks and golden locks,
Her palace is an orange box.
Time seems to stand quite still,
In a child's world it always will.

song performed by Moody Blues
Added by Lucian Velea
Comment! | Vote! | Copy!

Me Bobby Mc Gee

Demo (take 5) 20 07 1970
S130 is not on. not that Im playin that great but still in all I oughta be able to hear it, yknow what I mean ?
Are you hearing it now ?
No. now. its too loud. I cant play that good. am I havin some of that texas accent back ?
I hope so.
But I always sound like this, man, I hear myself on tape I always sound like this.
Take 5.
God! shall I start that way ? ready ?
Over to you baby.
Busted flat in baton rouge, waiting for a train
And is feelin nearly as faded as my jeans.
Bobby thumbed a diesel down just before it rained,
It rode us all the way in to new orleans.
I pulled my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna,
An is playin soft while bobby sang the blues, yeah.
Windshield wipers slapping time, I was holding bobbys hand in mine,
We sang every song that driver knew.
Freedom is just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing dont mean nothing honey if it aint free.
Yeah, an feeling good was easy, lord, bobby sang the blues,
You know feeling good was good enough for me, hmm mm,
Good enough for me and my bobby mcgee.
From the kentucky coal mines to the california sun,
Bobby shared the secrets of my soul.
Through all kinds of weather, through everything that we done,
Said bobby baby, he kept me from the cold.
One day up near salinas, lord, I let him slip away,
But he was lookin for that home and I hope he finds it.
But Id trade all of my tomorrows for one single yesterday
To be holdin bobbys body next to mine.
Freedoms just another word for nothing left to lose,
Nothing, thats all that bobby left me, yeah.
Feelin good was easy, lord, bobby he sang the blues,
I said feeling good was good enough for me, hmm mm,
Its good enough for me and my bobby mcgee.
La la la, la la la la, la la la, la la la la
La la la la la bobby mcgee.
La la la la la, la la la la la
La la la la la la, bobby mcgee.
La la la, la la la la la la,
La la la, la la la la la la,
Na na na na na na na na, bobby mcgee, yeah.
Na na na na na na na na, na na na na,
Na na na na na na na na, na na na na,
Hey now bobby lord, bobby mcgee, yeah.
Hell, Im calling my lover, calling my man,
I said Im calling my lover, I do the best I can,
I said now cmon,bobby now, come on bobby mcgee, yeah.
Lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy, lordy lord
Hey, hey, hey, bobby mcgee, yeah!

[...] Read more

song performed by Janis Joplin
Added by Lucian Velea
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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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Cowboys & Kisses

Written by anastacia newkirk - jive - charlie pennachio
Cowboys and kisses
Cowboys and kisses
Gotta find myself everytime you go away
Baggy blue jeans and a box of magazines
Is all i have of you
Waitin' on the day you walk back in my life
Like a newborn child, you made me smile,
Then stole my heart away
We may be outta touch, but never out of time
(come back to me boy)
Come back to me boy
(cowboys and kisses)
Always seem to bring me down
You're like a weight in my pocket
Everytime you come around
Damn those cowboys and kisses
Gotta find myself everytime you go away
Holdin on to you like a pair of old shoes
That you never throw away
Every road still leads me back to you, yeah
Your little white lies and butterflies made me shed a tear
Still i'm prayin on the day that you'll be mine (mine)
Why do all these
(cowboys and kisses)
Always seem to bring me down (down)
You're like a weight in my pocket
Everytime you come around
(damn those) cowboys and kisses
Gotta find myself everytime you go away
Everytime, everytime baby
(cowboys and kisses)
(always seem to bring me down)
You're like a weight in my pocket
Everytime you come around
Damn those cowboys and kisses
Gotta find myself everytime you go away
Yeah
Why do i keep on holding you
When all you do is hurt me?
All my friends say i should let you go
So afraid that i might see
I can't keep on living life like this
Up and down in and out
I wonder, is this world just a cowboy and a kiss?
Or should i choose another?
(cowboys and kisses)
Always seem to bring me down
You're like a weight in my pocket
Everytime you come around

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song performed by Anastacia
Added by Lucian Velea
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Cowboys Kisses

Written by anastacia newkirk - jive - charlie pennachio
Cowboys and kisses
Cowboys and kisses
Gotta find myself everytime you go away
Baggy blue jeans and a box of magazines
Is all I have of you
Waitin on the day you walk back in my life
Like a newborn child, you made me smile,
Then stole my heart away
We may be outta touch, but never out of time
(come back to me boy)
Come back to me boy
(cowboys and kisses)
Always seem to bring me down
Youre like a weight in my pocket
Everytime you come around
Damn those cowboys and kisses
Gotta find myself everytime you go away
Holdin on to you like a pair of old shoes
That you never throw away
Every road still leads me back to you, yeah
Your little white lies and butterflies made me shed a tear
Still Im prayin on the day that youll be mine (mine)
Why do all these
(cowboys and kisses)
Always seem to bring me down (down)
Youre like a weight in my pocket
Everytime you come around
(damn those) cowboys and kisses
Gotta find myself everytime you go away
Everytime, everytime baby
(cowboys and kisses)
(always seem to bring me down)
Youre like a weight in my pocket
Everytime you come around
Damn those cowboys and kisses
Gotta find myself everytime you go away
Yeah
Why do I keep on holding you
When all you do is hurt me?
All my friends say I should let you go
So afraid that I might see
I cant keep on living life like this
Up and down in and out
I wonder, is this world just a cowboy and a kiss?
Or should I choose another?
(cowboys and kisses)
Always seem to bring me down
Youre like a weight in my pocket
Everytime you come around

[...] Read more

song performed by Anastacia
Added by Lucian Velea
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VI. Giuseppe Caponsacchi

Answer you, Sirs? Do I understand aright?
Have patience! In this sudden smoke from hell,—
So things disguise themselves,—I cannot see
My own hand held thus broad before my face
And know it again. Answer you? Then that means
Tell over twice what I, the first time, told
Six months ago: 't was here, I do believe,
Fronting you same three in this very room,
I stood and told you: yet now no one laughs,
Who then … nay, dear my lords, but laugh you did,
As good as laugh, what in a judge we style
Laughter—no levity, nothing indecorous, lords!
Only,—I think I apprehend the mood:
There was the blameless shrug, permissible smirk,
The pen's pretence at play with the pursed mouth,
The titter stifled in the hollow palm
Which rubbed the eyebrow and caressed the nose,
When I first told my tale: they meant, you know,
"The sly one, all this we are bound believe!
"Well, he can say no other than what he says.
"We have been young, too,—come, there's greater guilt!
"Let him but decently disembroil himself,
"Scramble from out the scrape nor move the mud,—
"We solid ones may risk a finger-stretch!
And now you sit as grave, stare as aghast
As if I were a phantom: now 't is—"Friend,
"Collect yourself!"—no laughing matter more—
"Counsel the Court in this extremity,
"Tell us again!"—tell that, for telling which,
I got the jocular piece of punishment,
Was sent to lounge a little in the place
Whence now of a sudden here you summon me
To take the intelligence from just—your lips!
You, Judge Tommati, who then tittered most,—
That she I helped eight months since to escape
Her husband, was retaken by the same,
Three days ago, if I have seized your sense,—
(I being disallowed to interfere,
Meddle or make in a matter none of mine,
For you and law were guardians quite enough
O' the innocent, without a pert priest's help)—
And that he has butchered her accordingly,
As she foretold and as myself believed,—
And, so foretelling and believing so,
We were punished, both of us, the merry way:
Therefore, tell once again the tale! For what?
Pompilia is only dying while I speak!
Why does the mirth hang fire and miss the smile?
My masters, there's an old book, you should con
For strange adventures, applicable yet,

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poem by Robert Browning from The Ring and the Book
Added by Veronica Serbanoiu
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Saltbush Bill's Second Flight

The news came down on the Castlereagh, and went to the world at large,
That twenty thousand travelling sheep, with Saltbush Bill in charge,
Were drifting down from a dried-out run to ravage the Castlereagh;
And the squatters swore when they heard the news, and wished they were well away:
For the name and the fame of Saltbush Bill were over the country-side
For the wonderful way that he fed his sheep, and the dodges and tricks he tried.
He would lose his way on a Main Stock Route, and stray to the squatters' grass;
He would come to a run with the boss away, and swear he had leave to pass;
And back of all and behind it all, as well the squatters knew,
If he had to fight, he would fight all day, so long as his sheep got through:
But this is the story of Stingy Smith, the owner of Hard Times Hill,
And the way that he chanced on a fighting man to reckon with Saltbush Bill.

'Twas Stingy Smith on his stockyard sat, and prayed for an early Spring,
When he started at sight of a clean-shaved tramp, who walked with a jaunty swing;
For a clean-shaved tramp with a jaunty walk a-swinging along the track
Is as rare a thing as a feathered frog on the desolate roads out back.
So the tramp he made for the travellers' hut, to ask could he camp the night;
But Stingy Smith had a bright idea, and called to him, "Can you fight?"
"Why, what's the game?" said the clean-shaved tramp, as he looked at him up and down;
"If you want a battle, get off that fence, and I'll kill you for half-a-crown!
But, Boss, you'd better not fight with me -- it wouldn't be fair nor right;
I'm Stiffener Joe, from the Rocks Brigade, and I killed a man in a fight:
I served two years for it, fair and square, and now I'm trampin' back,
To look for a peaceful quiet life away on the outside track."

"Oh, it's not myself, but a drover chap," said Stingy Smith with glee,
"A bullying fellow called Saltbush Bill, and you are the man for me.
He's on the road with his hungry sheep, and he's certain to raise a row,
For he's bullied the whole of the Castlereagh till he's got them under cow --
Just pick a quarrel and raise a fight, and leather him good and hard,
And I'll take good care that his wretched sheep don't wander a half a yard.
It's a five-pound job if you belt him well -- do anything short of kill,
For there isn't a beak on the Castlereagh will fine you for Saltbush Bill."

"I'll take the job," said the fighting man; "and, hot as this cove appears,
He'll stand no chance with a bloke like me, what's lived on the game for years;
For he's maybe learnt in a boxing school, and sparred for a round or so,
But I've fought all hands in a ten-foot ring each night in a travelling show;
They earned a pound if they stayed three rounds, and they tried for it every night.
In a ten-foot ring! Oh, that's the game that teaches a bloke to fight,
For they'd rush and clinch -- it was Dublin Rules, and we drew no colour line;
And they all tried hard for to earn the pound, but they got no pound of mine.
If I saw no chance in the opening round I'd slog at their wind, and wait
Till an opening came -- and it always came -- and I settled 'em, sure as fate;
Left on the ribs and right on the jaw -- and, when the chance comes, make sure!
And it's there a professional bloke like me gets home on an amateur:
For it's my experience every day, and I make no doubt it's yours,
That a third-class pro is an over-match for the best of the amateurs --"
"Oh, take your swag to the travellers' hut," said Smith, "for you waste your breath;

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poem by Andrew Barton Paterson
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Hats Off

The stage is set tonight down in Nashville
It's been a long, hard ride into town
And thanks to some cowboys and heros
My chance to sing has finally come around
The first song I ever sang was haggard
Momma sang to me I saw the Light
I'd turn my radio up louder
To hear Johnny Cash walk the line
Waylon sang a song about Texas
Willie's "Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain"
Bocephus sings a song about dixie.
Lefty taught us all how to sing.
Hats off to hard riding cowboys
Riding some where tonight
Hats off to hard riding cowboys
Wanted, dead or alive
Charlie ran the devil out of Georgia
Skynyrd sang sweet home Alabam
The Ahlman brothers taught us how to ramble
And to Tucker boys showed us how to jam.
Hats off to hard riding cowboys
Riding some where tonight
Hats off to hard riding cowboys
Wanted, dead or alive
The stage is set tonight up in Heaven
Rebas band is there with Patsy Cline
And all around are cowboys and cowgirls
And thanks to them the music's still alive
Hats off to hard riding cowboys
Flying somewhere tonight
Hats off to hard fighting cowboys
Wanted, dead or alive
Hats off to hard riding cowboys
Flying somewhere tonight
Hats off to hard fighting cowboys
Wanted, dead or alive

song performed by Alabama
Added by Lucian Velea
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Street Fighting Man

Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy
cause summers here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy
Tell me what can a poor boy do
cept for sing for a rock n roll band
cause in this sleepy l.a. town
Theres just no place for a street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
Do you think the time is right for a palace revolution
Where I live the game to play is compromise solution
Well then what can a poor boy
cept for sing for a rock n roll band
cause in this sleepy l.a. town
Theres just no place for a street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
Well what else can a poor boy do?
Well what else can a poor boy do?
Well what else can a poor boy do?
Well what else can a poor boy do?
Hey my name is called disturbance
Ill shout and scream, Ill kill the king, Ill rail at all his servants
Well what can a poor boy do
For sing for a rock n roll band
In this sleepy l.a. town
Theres just no place for
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
For a street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man
A street fighting man

song performed by Rage Against The Machine
Added by Lucian Velea
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Let The Children Speak

Time - way out of line
A whole nation waits outside
The rhythm of tomorrow
They can dance away their sorrows tonight
Lost - broken and scarred
Prisoner waits outside with his lone heart beating
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children speak
Let the children - let the children speak
Aims - dangerous games
Their mother says one false move and we all get hurt
I feel this sense of power I feel it every hour tonight
Lets not get lazy tonight
Things could get crazy cos
One more kick and the door cracks open
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children speak
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children
Power to the powerless strength unto the weak
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children speak
Im begging you now let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children
Power to the powerless, strength unto the weak
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children speak
Lets not get lazy tonight
Things could get crazy cos
One last kick and the door cracks open
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children speak
Power to the powerless, strength unto the weak
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children speak
Things could get crazy tonight
Lets not get lazy cos
One last kick and the door cracks open
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children speak
Im begging you now
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children
Power to the powerless, strength unto the weak
Let the children, let the children
Let the children, let the children speak
The language of this world
Lets not get lazy cos
One false move and we all get hurt
Let the children, let the children

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song performed by Simple Minds
Added by Lucian Velea
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Through the eyes of a Field Coronet (Epic)

Introduction

In the kaki coloured tent in Umbilo he writes
his life’s story while women, children and babies are dying,
slowly but surely are obliterated, he see how his nation is suffering
while the events are notched into his mind.

Lying even heavier on him is the treason
of some other Afrikaners who for own gain
have delivered him, to imprisonment in this place of hatred
and thoughts go through him to write a book.

Prologue

The Afrikaner nation sprouted
from Dutchmen,
who fought decades without defeat
against the super power Spain

mixed with French Huguenots
who left their homes and belongings,
with the revocation of the Edict of Nantes.
Associate this then with the fact

that these people fought formidable
for seven generations
against every onslaught that they got
from savages en wild animals

becoming marksmen, riding
and taming wild horses
with one bullet per day
to hunt a wild antelope,

who migrated right across the country
over hills in mass protest
and then you have
the most formidable adversary
and then let them fight

in a natural wilderness
where the hunter,
the sniper and horseman excels
and any enemy is at a lost.

Let them then also be patriotic
into their souls,
believe in and read
out of the word of God

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poem by Gert Strydom
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Me & Bobby Mcgee

(kristofferson/foster)
Busted flat in baton rouge
Headin for the train
Feelin nearly faded as my jeans
Bobby thumbed a diesel down
Just before it rained
Took us all the way to new orleans
I took my harpoon out of my dirty red bandanna
I was blowin sad while bobby sang the blues
With them windshield wipers slappin time
And bobby clappin hands
We finally sang up every song that driver knew
Freedoms just another word for nothin left to lose
And nothin aint worth nothin but its free
Feelin good was easy, lord, when bobby sang the blues
Buddy, that was good enough for me
Good enough for me and bobby mcgee
From the coal mines of kentucky
To the california sun
Bobby shared the secrets of my soul
Standin right beside me
Through everything Ive done
And every night he kept me from the cold
Then somewhere near salinas
I let him slip away
Lookin for the home I hope hell find
And Ill trade all my tomorrows for a single yesterday
Holdin bobbys body next to mine
Freedoms just another word for nothin left to lose
And nothin aint worth nothin but its free
Feelin good was easy, lord, when bobby sang the blues
Buddy, that was good enough for me
Good enough for me and bobby mcgee
Enough for me and bobby mcgee
Good enough for me and my bobby mcgee
I let him slip away
Lookin for the home I hope he finds
Enough for me and my bobby mcgee
Enough for me and my bobby mcgee, yeah

song performed by Olivia Newton-John
Added by Lucian Velea
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The Castle Of Indolence

The castle hight of Indolence,
And its false luxury;
Where for a little time, alas!
We lived right jollily.

O mortal man, who livest here by toil,
Do not complain of this thy hard estate;
That like an emmet thou must ever moil,
Is a sad sentence of an ancient date:
And, certes, there is for it reason great;
For, though sometimes it makes thee weep and wail,
And curse thy star, and early drudge and late;
Withouten that would come a heavier bale,
Loose life, unruly passions, and diseases pale.
In lowly dale, fast by a river's side,
With woody hill o'er hill encompass'd round,
A most enchanting wizard did abide,
Than whom a fiend more fell is no where found.
It was, I ween, a lovely spot of ground;
And there a season atween June and May,
Half prankt with spring, with summer half imbrown'd,
A listless climate made, where, sooth to say,
No living wight could work, ne cared even for play.
Was nought around but images of rest:
Sleep-soothing groves, and quiet lawns between;
And flowery beds that slumbrous influence kest,
From poppies breathed; and beds of pleasant green,
Where never yet was creeping creature seen.
Meantime, unnumber'd glittering streamlets play'd,
And hurled every where their waters sheen;
That, as they bicker'd through the sunny glade,
Though restless still themselves, a lulling murmur made.
Join'd to the prattle of the purling rills
Were heard the lowing herds along the vale,
And flocks loud bleating from the distant hills,
And vacant shepherds piping in the dale:
And, now and then, sweet Philomel would wail,
Or stock-doves plain amid the forest deep,
That drowsy rustled to the sighing gale;
And still a coil the grasshopper did keep;
Yet all these sounds yblent inclined all to sleep.
Full in the passage of the vale, above,
A sable, silent, solemn forest stood;
Where nought but shadowy forms was seen to move,
As Idless fancied in her dreaming mood:
And up the hills, on either side, a wood
Of blackening pines, aye waving to and fro,
Sent forth a sleepy horror through the blood;
And where this valley winded out, below,
The murmuring main was heard, and scarcely heard, to flow.

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poem by James Thomson
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