A seven-year-old brought a newspaper clipping to school for a family photo project, and her teacher called it inappropriate.
The principal read the article, took out his wallet, and laid a second, older clipping against the cut edge of the first — and the two halves of one photograph met exactly, in a classroom, in front of twenty-two children who had been told to stay in their seats.
Chapter 1: The Clipping
Last Monday my daughter’s teacher asked every student to bring in a family photo for a class project.
My seven-year-old, Wynne, was adopted.
She knew she had biological parents before us, and we had always answered her questions gently and honestly. They had both d*ed in a car accident when she was a baby.
That evening I offered her dozens of pictures from our family albums.
She chose one of the three of us at the beach.
Or at least, that is what I thought.
The next afternoon the school called.
When I got there, Wynne’s class was still sitting at their desks.
Her teacher, Mrs. Tolland, looked annoyed.
“Your daughter brought something completely inappropriate for a second-grade project.”
She handed me a folded newspaper clipping.
My stomach dropped.
