Audi e olgt LETTERS "99 A-6 QUATTRO LEASE SPECIAL 3-Year/50,000 Mile Maintenance Included Mathematics Not Slighted I was first angry and then offended by low 4t.,,Rg az • . 70 BOSE Audio, 16 inch w cold weather package,convenience package, leather, loaded. *39 mos. lease based on approved credit. 12,000 miles, $2888 down, plus tax, title, plate and sec. dep. Offer expires 1/31/99 ORE() Audi The Area's Largest Selection ofAudil. Mon. & Thurs. 9-9, Wed. & Fri 9-6 www.billcookauto.com 37911 Grand River • Farmington Hills (248) 471-0800 inf 0 invites you t o efience of a Ev he 28 Day late Summer 00 1000 odersh i p Le in Israel Plog IOTO OUTDOOR ADVENTUR E July 27- August 23 Lifei• CLASSIC EUROPE & ISRAEL June 30- July 29 28 Day OUTDOOR ADVENTURE June 30- July 27 .luae 30- JO 2 36 Doi OUTD°C* ADVENTU RE Juty 30- August 4 ACADEMIC TOU Earn 6 College Credits at Tel Aviv University June 30- July 29 EASTERN EUROPE & ISRAEL June 30- July 29 Exclusive Summer '99 B'nai B'rith Youth Organization Programs to Europe & Israel 1 /29 1999 34 For further information, please call: 248-788-0700 or e-mail: mibbyo@juno.com Check out our web site at: www.bbyo-summer.org Detroit Jewish News the article "Akiva: The Roads Ahead" Jan. 1, featuring among other things the mathematics curriculum at Akiva Hebrew Day School. I am, ostensibly, the "chair" of the "mathematics department." It seemed to be an affront to me and my teaching particularly, as I have been Akiva's only teacher of Algebra 3, trignometry, precalculus and calculus. (The other "high school" teacher, Janet Clement, teaches geometry, Algebra 1 and 2, as well as a "problem solving" course for those students who are either not planning on going to college or are not going into programs requiring calculus, etc.) However, my anger was assuaged when I realized that the article could not possibly have been about the sec- ondary mathematics curriculum at Akiva for the following reasons: • Mrs. Clement and I (essentially the whole high school mathematics faculty) have each been at Akiva for 13 years. • The mathematics curriculum is standard "college prep," and has been since it was developed and put in place beginning in 1993-94; prior to this, the curriculum did not go beyond Algebra 2. • As a full-time mathematics pro- fessor at the University of Michiga- Dearborn, I was meticulous in mak- ing the Akiva coursework "collegiate" so that graduates from Akiva could either properly place out of certain courses or, at least, be prepared for college courses. Indeed, I have put into place the same curriculum, including texts used, as we have at the University of Michigan-Dearborn. This is true from Algebra 3 up through calculus. • All of the college-prep mathemat- ics courses are designed and imple- mented with the latest conventions in mathematics education I consider appropriate, including the use of graphing calculator technology, writ- ing projects and group work. Indeed, a year ago, I displayed some of the students' work at a teaching-with- technology conference in Chicago due to the high quality work of these stu- dents. • The students at Akiva have called me many things over the years, but never once have I, or the courses I teach, including seventh-grade pre- algebra up through 12th-grade precal- culus and calculus, been called "easy. Quite frankly, that was laughable. If anything, I've had students want to avoid me because of my standards, including some of the students inter- viewed for the article. " Professor Timothy Mckenna Akiva Hebrew Day School, Lathrup Village Mike Young Well Covered I would like to take this opportunity to thank Julie Weingarten for the ter- rific article ("Lots of Laughs" Jan. 22) she wrote about my son, Mike Young. She did a wonderful job and I wanted her to know that it was cer- tainly appreciated. Many of my friends called to comment about what a terrific article it was. Gail Young West Bloomfield BBYO Coverage Was Unfair I am writing this letter in response to your article on BBYO's regional con- vention ("BBYO Streaks Kept And Broken" Jan. 22). As president of my BBG chapter, I was outraged to see the minimal credit that was given to the girls' half of BBYO. My chapter is Achay- ot BBG; we were this year's Most Distinguished Chapter. Since I joined BBYO three years ago, the follow-up articles on regional con- vention have always highlighted the AZA chapters while disregarding B'nai B'rith Girls. The article you printed was not representative of regional convention as a whole. Instead of giving much coor- due credit to the hardworking coor- dinators of the affair, Nick Shindel and Erica Silverstein, or to the com- mittees that gave countless hours to making this convention successful, the piece dwelled on the competition between Kishon and Greenberg AZA. Not only were Nick, Erica and the success of the convention ignored, every other chapter in Michigan Region was overlooked'as well. LETTERS on page 36 (-\ -/