DON’T MENTION THE WAR ...

Chip Chaffee, a 13-year-old student at Vermont's Walden School, was excited last fall when he learned of a "narrative writing project" that would be assigned this spring: He closed himself into a room over Thanksgiving vacation at his father, Earl Chaffee's, house in Woodbury, and wrote a fictional war story inspired by current events and his father and grandfather's military experience. Chip's father served from 1986 until 1990 in the U.S. Air Force, reaching the level of sergeant. Chip's grandfather saw action in World War II. Chip was also extremely concerned about the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, Earl said. Chip spent three days working on the tale which featured his father, step-father, grandfather and himself as main characters involved in military action in Afghanistan. . . . Chip said when he tried to turn the story in, his teacher refused to accept it because it contained violence.

More here. Via the WSJ