Puzzles

as different relationships in terms of foreign policies, the holocaust, try to kind of fit as much as I can in, to give a whole gambit of films.”

In between films, Percy provides lectures that help set the stage, and give context around the film. What the view of the war was at the time, what was going on in Hollywood, and the United States government’s influence over some of the films.

“It’s three days a week, on Mondays I usually give a lecture, a little bit of background of what we’re going through in class and what that particular film (is), the background of it,” Percy said. “What the studios were doing at that particular time. The Wednesdays are a lab where you watch the film. And then the Fridays are when we discuss the film, usually students have a small reading as well as watching the film to come in and discuss the film.”

Percy also said that towards the end of the semester, students must watch two World War II films that are similar, but from different time periods and do a presentation over them. However, students are able to pick what films they cover.

So I like the idea that students get to kind of choose their own films to watch in addition to the films in class,” Percy said.

Most students who take the class have nothing but positive things to say.

“It was very interesting and informative,” said Katie Kolb, a Nickerson freshman. “I enjoyed watching the movies of course. Percy made everything easy and interesting to understand. Definitely a top three (class).”

Percy said it will be offered in spring of 2024, and is usually 12:40 p.m. to 1:40 p.m on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. However Wednesdays run longer, depending on the length of the film.

“Hopefully get a nice group of people out. The discussions are always lively and we choose some classic films that people probably heard of and some obscure films as well,” Percy said.

Vouchers

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“If a kiddo in Hutchinson decided to go to Trinity and they gave them a voucher … that kiddo’s money, whatever their voucher may be, would go to Trinity, while Trinity still uses our district for special education,” Evans said. “Now they are receiving money for that kiddo while we are still servicing that kiddo, and that’s only if they accept them.”

While private and public schools remain the primary setting for debate in the matter of vouchers, the sphere of homeschooling presents its own unique conflicts. Homeschools, just as with private schools, are under no accountability by state standards despite receiving state funds with vouchers. Any curriculum, even a Nazi curriculum, as was the case in an Ohio homeschool, could be funded by the state. Furthermore, families could use the money for any of their needs without ever actually educating their children, therefore directly targeting the low-income students that the bill claims to protect.

“They’re dangling a carrot in front of parents that are struggling,” said Meischa Zimmerman, a local parent with experience in homeschooling. “It’s like ‘Oh, I’ve got three kids and I could get five grand for each kid if I keep them at home, and who’s going to know?’”

Under vouchers, families do not have to register as a homeschool, nor do they have to register with the Department of Education. Here, the lack of accountability and oversight comes into play again, with serious effects on the necessary education of students. In many cases, public schools serve as the only place where low-income students eat a good meal or are protected from abuse;

Vouchers, Zimmerman explains, threaten the sanctity of that safe environment.

“You are going to have children that get lost,” Zimmerman said. “It’s incredibly scary to me.”

All of these complications of vouchers remain protected by a want for parents’ choice. The media describes a mass Exodus from public schools as parents grow increasingly concerned with “woke” agendas instigated by public schools. Despite these claims, 90% of students still attend public schools today.

Melissa Evans notes this driving rhetoric as her biggest frustration surrounding vouchers.

“It’s being framed and marketed as parents’ choice, but that’s not what people are asking for,” Evans said. “Not my parents. Poll my school’s parents. Not my families.”

In submitted testimonies regarding the bill, 91% opposed it, yet the bill still passed through committee.

“If I felt like this bill represented the families and the students that I serve every day, then I would be OK with it, but it doesn’t,” Evans said.

Evans, along with Lynette Krieger-Zook, Samantha Neill, and Meischa Zimmermann are behind Educate Reno County on Facebook, which urges people to hold state representatives accountable so that their legislation reflects the desires of the people they represent. They state that following representatives on social media, sending emails, and reading quality news sources are all ways to remain active in the decisions that affect your own life. On March 4 in Stringer Fine Arts Center, from 8:30 a.m.-11 a.m., the Hutchinson/Reno County Chamber will host a legislative forum that discusses school vouchers, among other issues. The public is welcome to attend.