Right after my son finished his last day at school this year, he came home with a bunch of certificates and schoolwork, along with some flyers advertising the summer camp run by the school.

Now most parents do appreciate summer camps, be they be here or outside the country as they afford kids a programmed curriculum of activities meant to develop their minds and bodies, in a low stress, fun atmosphere. And so, like any good parent, and with no plans for the early part of summer for my kid, I went through this brochure.

Now what’s on offer? What are they going to provide children that would encourage and benefit them? And bear in mind that this brochure is no different than the thousands printed here at the end of the school year by different institutions each vying for your child’s admission.

Well, first there was the English Language Training. OK, I can understand that. As our society is becoming more competitive, so is the need to have your child versed in an international language? Then there is athletics, soccer, volleyball, track, karate, etc. Once again, not a bad choice. Kids need physical activity to expend all that excess energy.

Next is First Aid awareness, swimming and cycling. Acceptable, I may add. And finally there is Video? Video, I asked. Yes, kids can switch on the TV and watch their favorite cartoons. Now why would I bother when my child could do that at home? And that was it. That’s all the brochure wrote.

Now I wonder. Why was there no art or music on offer? The human brain is split fairly evenly between the artistic and the rationale. And yet, this institution like many others in this country chose to ignore the development of half the child’s potential. Granted that sports and athletics, and English and First Aid are important, but where is art? I would think certainly that art is far more important than Video!

The Ministry of Education should realize that the exposure of arts to children at an early age is a critical milestone in the development of a child’s imagination and comprehension of his surroundings. Rather than encourage an appreciation of music and the arts, they too choose to ignore this element in teaching. As a result, you have an abundance of graduates with a very unimaginative perspective on life.

With no Picassos, Byrons or Da Vinci’s to grace our society, I wonder where would that eventually lead us? A nation of unsmiling bores?

—Tariq A. Al-Maeena ([email protected])