Child Labour Assignment

Hello all, 

With Labour Day coming up, a major issue to think about is the problem of Child Labour which exists all over the world today in many parts of the world. I hope you have learnt quite a bit about Child Labour during our discussion today. To read a bit more, you can read the Wikipedia article. http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_labour.

Here's the details of your next major assignment. 

You can pick any occupation you want to cover, and here are some suggestions to research on. Most importantly, choose an occupation which you care most deeply about that children should not be doing. 

You should use the build in photos and icons on Adobe Voice to help build your story, and you may also use Google images to find more photos for your Adobe Voice assignment. 

The stories of chimney sweepers are especially tragic and I have discussed some problems they encountered in their work. In fact, many writers have written about them, of which the most famous is the poet William Blake. 

The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

When my mother died I was very young,

And my father sold me while yet my tongue

Could scarcely cry " 'weep! 'weep! 'weep! 'weep!"

So your chimneys I sweep & in soot I sleep.

There's little Tom Dacre, who cried when his head

That curled like a lamb's back, was shaved, so I said,

"Hush, Tom! never mind it, for when your head's bare,

You know that the soot cannot spoil your white hair."

And so he was quiet, & that very night,

As Tom was a-sleeping he had such a sight!

That thousands of sweepers, Dick, Joe, Ned, & Jack,

Were all of them locked up in coffins of black;

And by came an Angel who had a bright key,

And he opened the coffins & set them all free;

Then down a green plain, leaping, laughing they run,

And wash in a river and shine in the Sun.

Then naked & white, all their bags left behind,

They rise upon clouds, and sport in the wind.

And the Angel told Tom, if he'd be a good boy,

He'd have God for his father & never want joy.

And so Tom awoke; and we rose in the dark

And got with our bags & our brushes to work.

Though the morning was cold, Tom was happy & warm;

So if all do their duty, they need not fear harm.

This poem was taken from the Songs of Innocence collection, and it has a more hopeful tone and mood. The next poem is from the Songs of Experience collection and has a much darker tone. 

The Chimney Sweeper by William Blake

A little black thing among the snow,

Crying "weep! 'weep!" in notes of woe!

"Where are thy father and mother? say?"

"They are both gone up to the church to pray.

Because I was happy upon the heath,

And smil'd among the winter's snow,

They clothed me in the clothes of death,

And taught me to sing the notes of woe.

And because I am happy and dance and sing,

They think they have done me no injury,

And are gone to praise God and his Priest and King,

Who make up a heaven of our misery."

Read both the poems carefully. What is the meaning behind each poem? How are they different? What is the attitude behind each speaker introduced in each poem? You can copy and paste both poems into Notability and we will discuss each one further tomorrow.