Letters

Thank you so much for such an amazing feature on our twins Lilo and Deena following their literary success in the International Torrance Legacy Creativity Awards. It is beyond anything that we could have imagined.
We have received nonstop calls and messages of praise, including from people who are not friends, just parents, who found the content inspiring to their kids as well as very positive in that it supports the often forgotten basics, such as writing.
The twins were initially beside themselves, but, of course, once people started talking to them, got too embarrassed with how important it all sounded.
All the same, it’s truly appreciated.
Heba Fareed, by email.

I would like to say a big thank you on behalf of myself and my colleagues at CUT by Wolfgang Puck for the great review on our restaurant in the Eating Out section of last week’s GulfWeekly.
On a personal note, I am full of joy and am very humbled and honoured that my service helped make the editor’s evening a spectacular and memorable one. His words in the article have motivated me so much. I will keep up the great work until I get to become the ‘admiral’! Once again, THANK YOU. We look forward to hosting GulfWeekly again … and, of course, its readers.
John ‘the captain’ Musyoka,
Cut by Wolfgang Puck, Four Seasons Bahrain Bay.

With reference to last week’s article on Page 7 of GulfWeekly headlined ‘Digital tools ‘poison’ for young’, parents of St Christopher’s School have been discussing the decision to impose the use of iPads at our Infant and Junior schools with concern.

We are worried about the potential negative outcome for our children and about the cost of these ‘personally-owned devices’ as well as repairing/replacing them as a result of accidental damage.

A lot of parents have been discussing these issues amongst themselves and a few addressed their concerns to senior members of staff during an ‘iPad Info Evening’ which took place earlier this month.

It appears that neither the support staff nor the principal want to hear about the results of studies that highlight the negative impacts of these electronic devices on children or are willing to listen to our concerns.

Instead parents have been told that if they are unhappy they could ‘change school’. WHAT AN EASY SOLUTION IN BAHRAIN!
We, as parents of happy, active and creative children should be heard.
We feel sorry when we see five-year-olds (and even younger children) sitting with their iPads, impressed by the apps, tapping away for hours in alarming silence, eyes wide open, having a so-called play-date!
We talked with one father who said he had to take away the iPad from his kids after two weeks because he saw the negative change in their behaviour.

Before being given the devices they were social, creative and playful. Within a short time they had turned into unsocial, introverted and aggressive individuals not wanting to spend time on anything but their devices.
We don’t want that to happen to our children but we are being forced to follow the dictate set by our school.
A lot of parents appear unhappily resigned to accepting the decision fearing possible reprisals against their kids or even themselves.

Within a week, parents were urged to purchase the iPads through the school and warned that if they were late placing orders it could lead to financial disadvantage. We could also order as many iPads as we liked for siblings, regardless of year group, for us parents ourselves, maybe even cousins, as well as granny and grandpa abroad!

It is big business. It is Apple. There are deals with minimum orders.
Funnily enough, the school appears happy to take the risk although it may take two years for any evidenced educational benefit to be recorded.

Supposedly, if there isn’t any, it can then back-pedal on the decision.
Until then, we, the parents will pay and the saddest thing of all; our kids and their brain functions will have been spoiled in what some may consider being an egomaniacal trial.
Please check the Facebook page ‘St Chris Parents Initiative’ for more details of our stand on this matter.
Concerned family,
name and address supplied.