I LETTERS I

DOLLAR STRETCHING SPECIALS

Hebrew Memorial

•

Continued from Page 6

OFF
5

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piece set

also stated that the Hebrew
Memorial Chapel is open to
Reform Jews. If that is so, why
does Hebrew Memorial ex-
clude Cantor Gail Hirschen-
fang of Temple Beth El from
officiating at the chapel? The
answer they give is because
she is a woman.
In the article Hebrew
Memorial Executive Director

CLOSE-OUT

AMY J. MEHLER

Commercial Strap

Staff Writer

Features fully circumferenced welds, powder coated

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pieces stack for easy storage! 5 PIECE SET

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WEST BLOOMFIELD • MICHIGAN

Orchard Lake Road • North of Maple

10 FRIDAY, MAY 29, 1992

I

Eleventh-Grader Fixes
Computers For Schools

SALE

NOVI
LIVONIA

Dr. David CoLa
West Bloomfield

I DETROIT

List $2145.

THREE LOCATIONS!

Rabbi Levine refused tc
discuss details about his
salary and benefits . . .
What started out as a true
act of kindness has turned in-
to a business for the benefit
a few people, at the expense o
the whole community.

omputers occupy
most of Jim Blum's
time. Studying them,
repairing them, programm-
ing them.
Now, this 17-year-old from
West Bloomfield is donating
them.
A junior at Bloomfield
Hills' Model High School,
Jim fixes old or broken-down
computers and gives them to
underprivileged students.
"We're lucky, because the
(Bloomfield Hills) district
gives us some of the latest
and most expensive com-
puter and software
technology," Jim said.
"Other students don't have
the same kind of computer
opportunities that we have."
The Bloomfield Hills
school district created the
Model High School in 1990
as a prototype program. The
school stresses inter-
disciplinary learning.
So far, Jim's rebuilt two
computers and donated one
to students at Lakeside
Homes Visions Unlimited, a
junior high school enrich-
ment program in Pontiac.
Lakeside, home to about
300 families, is a federally
subsidized housing project.
Jim says he calls diff-
erent districts to see which
school would like to have a
computer. Visions
Unlimited was recom-
mended by Bloomfield Hills
School District President
Robert Docking.
"I'd like to reach as many
schools as possible, but I'm
just starting out," he said.
Ellen Ford, director of Vi-
sions Unlimited, said her
students use the computer
for reading and arithmetic.
"They're learning how to
drill with the computer,"
Mrs. Ford said. "It's made
learning more fun."
Jim also has agreed to
conduct computer training
workshops for 125 students.
"The students respond

well to Jim," Mrs. Ford said,
"They just gravitate to
(
him."
Jim, who lives in West
Bloomfield, has beef
enamored with computers
since he was little. He'd like")
to combine education and
computers as a career.
"Computers are exciting
because they are still in
their infancy," Jim saki.
"The technology is constant-
ly changing and their' )
possibilities are seemingly
endless."
In school, Jim and his
classmates complete most of
their schoolwork in a large,
carpeted computer laborato-
ry. They have a room full
IBM and Macintosh compu-
ters.
"We share our knowledge
of computers with ou'r,
teachers," Jim said. "Lots of
the time, we're the ones
teaching them."
Jim recently finished work
on a computer brochure,
promoting a senior trip to
England, France and
Using a special scanner, his
computer program includes
music from the Beatles, Les
Miserables and from ari
Italian opera.
"I'm trying to gather
enough interest in the trip so,
we can go to Europe next
year."
When Jim's not in school,
he scouts metro Detroit fo -i -
old, unused machines. He
calls accounting firms or
computer companies likQ
IBM — any firm he thinks
might donate a computer.
"I'm not that picky," Jim
said, "I tell them I'm looking
for computers with at least
1981 technology."
Jim feels strongly about
the unequal distribution of
computers in schools. "We <
must have a computer for
every student," he said,
"Some students are lucky if
they have one computer per e
class."
"I'm so word-processor < 1
dependent, if I had to use a
typewriter for my work, I'd
be history," Jim said. 0