LAWRENCE — The mother of a Lawrence Township elementary student took the time to teach her son a valuable lesson in kindness after learning he was being mean to another student in his class.
Ambr Currin says her goal is to raise her children to be good people, especially her youngest son, DJ.
"He is your average boy.. into sports, the baby of the bunch, spoiled," Currin said. "He's all boy."
Currin said she was less than thrilled when she got the call from her son's third grade teacher at Harrison Hill Elementary School saying he was making fun of another student.
"I got a call that DJ was not being nice to one of his classmates. He was making fun of his attire - his shoes," Currin said. "DJ knows, along with his teacher, that we don't do that. I hold him to a standard, he knows how to act outside of the home, he knows how to treat people."
So she decided to use the incident to teach him an important lesson on being a good human.
“I got to thinking in my head — I've got to, not just tell him that he was wrong — but that I've got to show him and make him make it right."
She decided the best way to teach her son a lesson was to make him buy his classmate a pair of shoes. Currin says she took DJ shopping and made him pick out a new pair of Air Jordans for his classmate, using his own savings.
He then delivered the shoes to him during class.
“DJ helped him open the paper part, and when the student saw (the shoes), he gave DJ the biggest hug,” Lori Kirkland, one of DJ’s teachers, said.
Currin says she hopes to not only teach DJ a lesson to be kind, but that you never know what someone is dealing with outside of school.
"That's one of the reasons I was so hard on DJ, he is blessed," Currin said. "I want him to understand that he is blessed and we can bless others. Not only that but - be nice. It takes no time to be nice. I want him to know that and I'm going to keep instilling that in him."
She says she hopes she's raising her son to be a role model for others.
"Nowadays it's even harder, even for kids. The stigma and emotional damage that some kids go through, even at a young age now. I don't want my son to be a part of that, to put that on somebody," Currin said. "I want him to be a great kid and know that his words can greatly affect somebody. I don't want him to be a kid that is being mean to somebody, that's not him, that's not who I raised him to be."
As for DJ, he will tell you that his lesson has been learned.
“Being an example is important because you have to encourage others,” DJ said.
And the lesson he learned not only helped him, but helped build a friendship.
“I feel like he means a lot to me," DJ said. "I feel like he is the best friend I’ve ever had."
Currin says she hopes this is a lesson that DJ never forgets.
"It's my job as a parent to teach him that it was wrong and you've got to face it," she said.
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