If these were seventh-graders....I might believe the story and the hyphen usage. Third-graders? No.
It’s fake, or she rewrote it for publication.
A suggestion for the next class writing project: My teacher lacks......
.....either a BS meter or adequate propaganda skills.
It appears the editor took the liberty to add the hyphens. The written copy by the student, shown in the link, has a note without hyphens.