COMMUNITY VIEWS
Akiva's A Vital Part
Of The Jewish Community
within a specific grade, but rather,
he best way to understand
throughout the entire high school
the dynamics of Akiva
there
is incredible spirit. What people
Hebrew Day School is to
fail
to
realize is that we are not only
look, as you did ("Akiva:
cheering
for our school, but rather, we
The Roads Ahead" Jan. 1), at the past
are cheering for the conti-
graduating class, of which I
nuity of the Jewish People.
was a part.
Ask any member of the
In ninth grade, there were
Class
of '98, and he or she
21 members. At graduation,
will
tell
you that the greatest
we had dwindled to 10. But
attribute
of Akiva is the
now take a closer look at that
atmosphere
and warmth
figure. Out of the 21, nine of
there.
In
my
11 years there,
us graduated and four left so
the
school
was
my second
that they could enter college
home.
Students
there have a
or yeshiva in Israel a year
sense
of
family
and comfort
early
JOSHUA SKARF that is nearly non-existent
Two others were recent
Special to
in any public school, or for
Russian immigrants, who
that matter, in the majority
The
Jewish
News
had no long-term plans for
of modern Orthodox
Akiva, but rather were there
schools
on the continent.
only as long as the school was willing
This
reflects
the
most crucial reason
to provide scholarships. One student
for
attending
a
Jewish
school: filled
was asked not to return, one was held
with
traditional
Jewish
values and
back a semester and one moved to
close,
caring
friends,
the
halls of Akiva
Israel. The three others had all gradu-
Ahavat
Yisrael
and
exude
a
form
of
ated Hillel the year before, and
Judaism that is crucial for the develop-
remained in Akiva for one year only
ment of Orthodox youth. The kids
By the time our class graduated
who
left Akiva missed out, and that
Akiva, we had a strong bond, having
they
and their parents didn't realize
been through years of classes and gone
this
is
indeed unfortunate.
on basketball tournaments, retreats
Parents must also be committed to
and Model United Nations together.
modern Orthodoxy. Throughout the
Last week, I was reminiscing with a
years,
Akiva students have been, and
former classmate about our senior trip
will
continue
to be, instilled with a
to Israel. This unity is not just found
love of Am Yisrael, Eretz Yisrael and
Joshua Skarf was a member of the
Torat Yisrael. For students who do not
Akiva graduating class of 1998 and is a
have this love from a young age, who
former Student Council president. He's
do not have this background, it is
now living in Israel.
much harder to adapt to the school.
T
While the school does a great deal to
foster this, it needs the commitment
of parents in their home as well.
For everything that was written
about the shifting attitude of the
school towards the right, there are few
instances where this can be seen to
have any practical ramifications. My
classmates all are Zionists. They all are
committed to Judaism. They all think
for themselves, and balance modernity
with traditional Jewish values.
Anyone interested in opening up our
yearbook and reading the dedication on
the very first page will see this. -What
better way to judge the school than by
its output? And the trend continues
down the line through class after class,
including this year's senior class, which
has about 20 students in it.
In addition, lack of enrollment was
cited as a problem. Indeed, high
school enrollment has remained steady
for several years. A reason for this lies
in the very principles the school was
founded on. We are taught that the
ideal place to practice Judaism is in
Israel, and unfortunately for Akiva,
but fortunately for Am Yisrael, many
of us choose to take this seriously.
Currently, five of the 10 graduates of
the class of '98 are planning to make
aliyah in the near future. Akiva will
never see the children of these five
enroll. Other graduates may move to
New York or elsewhere.
And so Akiva's attendance remains
level. We can only hope to see the day
when enrollment begins to drop dras-
tically because of aliyah. Then we'll
know that the school is really success-
K
ful.
As the years go by, fewer and fewer
people remember the mess the school
was in before Rabbi Karmi Gross
arrived. Discipline was maintained by
fear alone. Criticism was simply not
accepted and school spirit was non-
existent.
Today Akiva is moving forward in
many ways. The school is more open
and flexible, for example, allowing stu-
dents to take college courses and
receive credit. Rabbi Gross has
improved the school in several areas
and the rest will follow.
Although no one can, or will, deny
that the curriculum needs improve-
ment, things are not nearly as bad as
were depicted in your article. While
the school did not have the resources
or the interest to schedule multiple
advanced placement (AP) classes, it
helped me prepare for the tests in
every way I requested. Last May, I
took four APs and scored all 4s and
5s. Others who took APs scored simi-
larly.
The SAT scores in our class were
outstanding. Over half of us were
accepted to the University of Michi-
gan. We were all accepted to our top
choice of Israel programs, perhaps an
even more difficult achievement.
I highly doubt that any of us will
be severely hampered by our high
school education in the future. I
expect great things from my class-
mates. While some departments are
VITAL PART on page 37
<
LETTERS
not all, niches in the Jewish popula-
tion.
Please do not question the viability
of Akiva. It is a school that is emi-
nently qualified to serve an important
sector of this community.
Peggy Linker
West Bloomfield
Winter Camp
Was Special
The last week in December, I helped
run Camp Friendship Circle — the
Chabad winter camp program for kids
with developmental disabilities. This
extraordinary program, run by Rabbi
Levi and Basi Shem Tov, and my dear
son-in-law Rabbi Rafi Rosenberg, fea-
tured exciting experiential activities
and trips for the entire week.
1/22
1999
34 Detroit Jewish News
Each one of
We took our
our 14 volun-
campers bowling,
teers had given
swimming, to the
up personal
science center in
vacation time to
Toledo, toboggan-
work and inter-
ing, horseback rid-
act with these
ing, dancing,
special campers.
singing and more.
Nearly all of
Our campers, all
these incredible
beautiful children
individuals
ranging in age from
came from
5-19, required one-
Akiva Hebrew
on-one supervision.
Day School.
Some were in
Dr. David Lazerson and camper Elana
All schools,
wheelchairs. Others Kaminer walk up the toboggan path.
yeshivas includ-
needed to be
ed, have their
changed. Some
difficulties. But in all my years in edu-
were autistic. Many needed to be
cation and camping, I've never met a
hand-fed.
finer bunch of teens. They demon-
But what was most special and
strated what it means to be a true role
remarkable was that our counselors
model, to be a real leader.
were all young teenage volunteers.
Your recent article about Akiva
("Akiva: The Roads Ahead" Jan. 1)
was way off base. I salute their princi-
pal and school. Above all, I salute
those outstanding volunteers. It was
an honor to work with them. I think
the entire community owes them a
debt of gratitude.
Dr. David Lazerson
Miami Beach, Fla.
Akiva Story
Challenged
As an alumnus, I feel compelled to
respond to the article ("Akiva: The
Roads Ahead" Jan. 1) concerning the
current situation at Akiva Hebrew
Day School. Allow me to highlight a
few of the points I personally find
objectionable.