If 'science + math = intelligent' where are the arts in Brunei?

If 'science + math = intelligent' where are the arts in Brunei?
Blogger Roxie
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

Tuesday, July 15, 2008

I BELIEVE that in Brunei, as in many other Asian countries, science is still considered to be more valued and respected than the arts.

For example, in the economic powerhouse that is Japan it is found that the academic achievement of Japanese students is high by international standards. Japanese children consistently rank at or near the top in successive international tests of most mathematics.

The top five countries scoring the highest in Math and Science are found in Singapore, Taiwan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan — further asserting the importance of such subjects in the various Asian nations. In Brunei however, kids are split and categorised into two streams, science and arts, upon entering high school and you can all guess which out of the two is more revered. My parents say this seperation however has been going on since they themselves were at school where many were made to feel that because they were learning History instead of Chemistry they were at a slight disadvantage. It seems that then and still now our education system is hoping to garner more scientists and mathematicians evident in the conception of Maktab Sains Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan (Science College Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan) and its reputation for being "the best run secondary school in Brunei Darussalam". This suggests that we as a nation are trying to catch up to our Asian neighbours in terms of educational excellence by emulating their educational systems. Put simply, it seems that the equation "science + math = intelligent" is ingrained in many Bruneian minds today.

Yet, there seems to be many weaknesses in this science-math oriented system.

Let's face it, not everybody has the brain for it and each person has their own individual niches. Some kids might naturally be great with numbers while others might have a knack for drawing, singing or acting. In my case from an early age I knew I wasn't a science or math whiz. I distinctly remember my kindy teacher speaking to my parents about how I would write the number "8" by putting two zeroes on top of one another. (Haha. Don't worry, I learnt to write it thecorrect way).

Basically what I'm getting at is that I find many Bruneian kids lack outlets for personal creativity and expression.

Although we have slowly begun to introduce Sports Schools and Performing Arts Schools I believe there is a stigma attached to careers involving the arts including theatre, music and fashion, among many.

I myself have met many young Bruneians who possess such talents in the aforementioned fields that find themselves discouraged due to the impression of the lack of recognition and stability if one were to pursue such career paths. For instance, if one were a painter how many art galleries in Brunei would be able to purchase your paintings? If one were a writer how many publishing houses are available to publish your novels? And I could go on and on with a list of examples. If we do not take the necessary steps to ensure that we create a thriving environment for culture and the arts we might just miss the opportunity to have our very own Andy Warhols, Coco Chanels, Jack Nicholsons and Brontes. Personally I find it very sad that growing up I did not have any Bruneian luminaries to aspire to be or admire. Still today, from off the top of my head I can't think of any famous Bruneian novelists, artists, actors, fashion designers and athletes. Furthermore, living abroad for a large part of my life when it came to introducing myself to people from other countries not only is there a common misunderstanding that Brunei is situated in the Middle East but also that we are merely famous for our oil and gas. We should strive to change that misconception, don't you think? We should learn to appreciate that Brunei's young ones have an array of talent and gifts waiting to be discovered.

While having scientists and mathematicians is a good thing, we must recognise that in order to diversify our country's resources we must first diversify the talents of our people because Brunei's definitely got more talent waiting to be tapped.

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