The Michigan Daiy - Thursday, February 3, 2000 - 5A

'Mathematics pro grams
attract local criticism

'U' student travels to
Washington D.C. to
debate math merits
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Edu-
cation Department defended its
endorsement of 10 school math pro-
grams while enduring criticism yester-
day from parents and educators who
complained to lawmakers about low
test scores and student performance.
"If medical doctors experimented
Sith our kids in the same fashion
school districts do, they would be in
jail," Mark Schwartz, a parent of
three from Livonia, Mich., told the
House Education and the Workforce
Committee.
Last year the Education Depart-
ment designated 10 math programs
as "exemplary" or "promising" for
school districts seeking to improve
*gging math scores. More than 200
mathematicians took out a full-page
newspaper ad condemning the pro-
grams and asking, Education Secre-
tary Richard Riley to withdraw the
designations. The department
declined.
James Milgram, a Stanford Univer-
sity mathematician who led the cam-
paign against the lessons, told
lawmakers that in California, where
'Website
promises
to dole
out d$O
BOSTON (AP) - An Internet site
to be launched today is promising to
give away $10,000 a day in college
scholarship money. No essay
required. No nerve-wracking inter-
view. Just the luck of the draw.
The folks at FreeScholarships.com
.Apow the sweepstakes may sound too
od to be true. But it's the latest of
a host of Websites handing out mil-
lions to Web surfers willing to tell
marketers about themselves.
The scholarships from the new
Cambridge-based company are
financed largely by marketers and
advertisers who are particularly keen
on the teen-age and 20-something
markets.
*And the incentives for coughing
up demographic information are
great. FreeScholarships plans to
award an additional $25,000 every
month and $50,000 each quarter, in
addition to the daily giveaway of
$10,000.
The money is available for col-
lege, graduate school, even private
school for children. College grads
with loans to pay off are also eligi-
ble, as are parents planning for
*ture college bills. Winners need
only be U.S. citizens over 13.
The Website sounds well-inten-
tioned enough, said Mark Cannon,
deputy executive director of the
National Association for College
Admission Counseling, which repre-
sents guidance counselors and
admissions officers.
Still, he said, "You don't need to
a sweepstakes winner to afford
llege."
To ensure the money goes to
school and not a new car or vacation,
the company will send the check

directly to the college, bank or other
lending program, said Chuck Digate,
the company's founder.
Site visitors must register to be
eligible. Visitors earn more chances
by playing games, answering surveys
and polls, referring friends and
*cking on ads.
Winners, chosen by a computer-
generated random drawing, can win
more than once. The odds of hitting
the jackpot depend on how many log
on.
FIRE
Continued from Page 1A
oke out.
The newspaper said investigators
believe the fire, which injured more
than 60 students, may have resulted
from a feud between a group of stu-
dents and some non-students who
were in the building the night of the
blaze.

many of the lessons are used, more
college freshmen in the California
State University system need remedial
math courses. In 1989, 23 percent of
entering freshmen need the courses; this
school year, 55 percent enrolled in such
classes.
LSA freshman Rachel Tronstein,
blamed the math program she took in
high school for her B-minus in first-
semester college calculus. She said she
earned A grades in her other courses.
Other critics said the new math pro-
grams, many of which rely on calcula-
tors and building blocks, neglected
important skills such as dividing frac-
tions and multiplying multidigit num-
bers. .The basics, they said, are
essential to students hoping to master
algebra, calculus, physics and other
advanced concepts.
Kent McGuire, a Riley deputy who
oversees research, said the department
had an obligation to offer schools
guidance on the best lessons available.
He defended the expert panel that
reviewed the programs
"We should respect the members of
the panel and applaud their good-faith
efforts,' McGuire said.
Many school districts are accepting
Core-Plus Math, Mathland and Con-
nected Math and other lessons because
they promote reasoning rather than

rote memorization, said Judith Sunley,
who directs education programs for
the National Science Foundation,
which studied and supported many of
the recommended math lessons.
McGuire said the department simply
was following a 1994 law requiring fed-
eral researchers to make the recommen-
dations. By law, the department cannot
directly tell the nation's nearly 16,000
school districts what to teach.
Republicans who favor a reduced
federal role in education hinted yester-
day they would repeal the law, which
was enacted by a Democrat-controlled
Congress and is up for renewal this
year.
"I imagine there will be pressure to
do that," said Rep. Bill Goodling (R-
Pa.) the House Education Committee
chairman. "Our job is to present
research and let the states and local dis-
tricts make the decision about what they
will teach."
Committee Democrats and admin-
istration officials emphasized that
districts and schools do not have to
adopt the recommendations, which
also cover programs in science, gen-
der equity, school safety and tech-
nology.
But school-level officials tend to fol-
low the federal government's lead,
Milgram said.

Dow Jones Industrial Average, NASDAQ and
S&P 500 Composite for Week Jan. 27 - Feb. 2
DJIA NASDAQ S&P 500
Close JChange Close DChange Close& Change
1/27 11,028.02 -4.97 4,039.56 -30.35 1,398.56 -5.53
1/28 10,738.87 -289.15 3,887.06 -152.50 1,360.15 -38.41
1/31 10,940.53 +201.66 3,940.35 +53.28 1,394.46 +34.30
2/1 11,041.05 +100.52 4,051.98 +111.63 1,409.28 +14.82
2/2 11,003.20 -37.85 4,073.96 +21.98 1,409.12 -0.16
HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE WEEK: Despite the Dow losing 512 points last week, this week marked the
longest economic expansion in U.S. history. To combat the potential inflation that might occur to US.
goods prices because of the robust market of the last few years, the Federal Reserve decided yesterday to
raise interest rates by 25 basis points. The federal funds rate, the rate that banks charge each other for bor-
rowing money, and the discount rate, the rate the Federal Reserve charges its member banks for loans,
were both affected by the hike. The Federal Reserve has raised rates on four separate occasions since June
and the NASDAQ composite has responded positively each time. If inflationary economic data continues
to be reported many analysts expect another rate hike in March, until then, stocks should be very volatile.
WHAT IS THE Dow JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE? The DJIA represents 30 stocks traded on the
New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and are all major factors in their respective industries. These
stocks are widely held by individuals and institutional investors. Many financial advisers think of it as a
good indicator in telling whether the NYSE is doing well or poorly.
WHAT IS THE NASDAQ COMPOSITE? The NASDAQ is the fastest growing stock market in the
U.S. due to it being a screen-based stock market, compared to a trading floor market like the NYSE. It
also has almost all of the technological stocks available for trading, which has proved to be a very
volatile industry in the last couple of years.
WHAT IS THE S&P 500? The S&P 500 is a market value weighted index composed of 400 indus-
trial stocks, 20 transportation, 40 financial, and 40 utility. It is a far broader measure than the DJIA
because it takes into account 500 different stocks traded on the two main exchanges (NYSE and
NASDAQ-AMEX) compared to the DJIA's 30 all traded on the NYSE and NASDAQ.
- Compiled bv Dailv Staff Reporter Kevin Magnuson fio wire reports.
Mt.ClemenswoWman sues
Kid Rock for custody of son

I i

Home on the range

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) -- Recording star
Kid Rock is in a custody fight with the mother of his
child.
Kelley South has filed motions in Macomb County
Circuit Court to gain custody of her 6-year-old son
from Robert Ritchie, better known as the multi-plat-
inum selling musician Kid Rock.
Court records show that Kid Rock, formerly of
Romeo, has had legal custody of Robert Ritchie Jr. for
some time, but South now is raising issues about his
success.
"Given the amount of time he travels, he's not there
to take care of the child," South's attorney, Kathy Vogt
of Warren, told The Macomb Daily for a story yester-
day.
"He's been on a European tour and there may be
another," Vogt said. "They're supposed to have an
agreement that while he's away, she takes care of their
son. That hasn't always been happening."
Circuit Judge Donald Miller scheduled a hearing on
South's motions for Monday.

"It's a very important matter
to him. This is his son."
- Lori Finazzo
Kid Rock's attorney
Kid Rock's attorney, Lori Finazzo, said she will seek
to hold the Monday hearing and future proceedings
away from media attention, if possible.
"ie doesn't want all that. It's a very important mat-
ter to him," she said. "This is his son."
The case stems from a 1994 paternity suit in which
the musician proved to be the biological father of
South's child. Kid Rock and South were never married.
Kid Rock has maintained legal custody of their son
and the mother has visitation times with him.
Angelica Cob, a publicist for Kid Rock through New
York-based Atlantic Records, said she was not familiar
with the case and would not comment, the paper said.

T~


JESSICA JOHNSON/Daily
Margo Simmons, lead singer of Cowboy Junkies, performs at the Michigan
Theatre last night.
2 construction
workers ked n
Conn. crane crash

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* Steel girders crush
the crane's cab injuring
the driver
MILFORD, Conn. (AP) -- The
steel skeleton of a power plant col-
lapsed at a construction site yester-
day, killing two workers and
trapping a crane operator for nearly
eight hours.
The crane's cab was partially
crushed beneath steel girders and
trapped Robert Fitch, said fire
Capt. Robin Tummins.
Fitch, of North Branford, suf-
fered crush injuries to both legs and
hypothermia from the 20-degree
weather, said Natil Atweh of
Bridgeport Hospital. Fitch was list-
ed in critical but stable condition
Wednesday night. Atweh said he

"The crane is a big one, and
everything came down on top of it,"
Tummins said. "It's almost like
pickup sticks."
Other cranes at the site and tow
trucks were removing the rubble
Wednesday evening while crane
inspectors from the state fire mar-
shal's office surveyed the site.
The two men killed in the col-
lapse were identified as Kevin
Winslow of Newington and Wayne
Most of West Hartford.
Another worker, George Scrivner
was hospitalized with injuries that
did not appear life-threatening, said
bonnie Lukacs, spokeswoman for
the Hospital of St. Raphael in New
Haven.
The power plant was being built
for Houston-based El Paso Energy
Corp. and Power Development Co.

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