Sec 2 Home-Based Learning

1) In many war torn countries, children not only are deprived from education, many were also recruited, mostly forced, into armies to fight. These child soldiers are often treated as cannon fodder, and they are often the first wave of soldiers to enter a fight. Many war lords in countries like Darfur use these children to fight because of their lower cost to maintain. Children would require lesser food and water than an adult would require. The youngest child soldier can even reach up to ages of 6 years old! In contrast, children in our society would slowly be introduced to life and are protected by their families. Children of these ages would often be at home reading and learning instead of holding a gun and killing people with it. Hence, I feel that children in our societry are very fortunate to have been born inour societry and not in some war-torn land in which no where is safe.

Annex A

Steps in Analysis
	Point	Evidence	Elaboration
1.	Point of View Point of view from his own point of view	“There are children in the darkness” Speaks of the children from a third-person point-of-view.  “Could we simply light a candle Could we give them half a chance” Offers a solution from his views.	By writing from an outsider’s point of view, he can truly convey the thoughts and feelings expressed from an objective point of view. This sentence tells us that the setting is in a war torn environment.
2.	Situation and Setting War takes a lot of innocent lives Children are not able to get education Children are in the army at a young age	“Or will a war consume them Their body and their soul” “Chalk and blackboards will not be To this door there is no key From this life they cannot flee	This sentence tells us that the children will not be using chalk and blackboards, which are items found in a classroom. This implies that they are not able to receive any education due to the war that would have affected their lices This implies that the children are also fighting the war, which might even cost them their lives.
3	Language/ Diction Rhyme	“Their body and their soul” And “Down some endless thirsty hole”	The author uses paws to show the extent of how badly the lives of the children have been affected and how the children could have spent their time doing other things instead. From activities such as dancing and reading.
4	Personal Response Pity of these children New insights	It is written in the poem that chalk and blackboard will not to be, to this door there is no key.	This means that the children cannot escape this and have no choice. Their lives are like a living hell as they are born into this life without wanting to in the first place. Hence, their lives are actually very pitiful. This means that we should think about others and count our blessings instead of complaining about how stressful our lives are. We should not constantly complain about how stressful are lives are due to school work instead we should spare a thought for these children and try to help them where we can.