A group of five elementary school boys have taken a fellow student under their wing in a bid to prevent him from being bullied.
The fifth grade students from Franklin Elementary School in Santa Monica have formed a close friendship with James, a student with special needs who spends his school days being taught in a separate classroom to the rest of the children.
James’s learning disability made him an easy target for bullies and being picked on was part of his daily life until his new friends stepped in.
The five boys explained that bullies used James and picked on him “because he’s an easier target” but “it’s not right.”
They decided to befriend James and protect him from the bullies. One of the boys quite rightly questions:
“Why pick on someone who has special needs?”
Their teacher believes that a few anti bullying lessons that the boys participated in must have really struck a chord with them and states that she is very “proud to be their teacher” and that their actions have exceeded her expectations.
James’s mum has also spoken out about her son’s new friends and has said that the boys are really “changing him.”
She explains that James used to dread recess because he didn’t want to go out and interact with others students however now James can “barely eat his lunch to get outside and go play with those guys.”
The boys even clubbed together to buy their new friend a Playstation and video games and sometimes go to James’s house to play them with him.
James’s mum states that they are the only children who have visited James at home and talks about the first time they went to the house, claiming that she “will never forget it.”
The video shows the six boys talking, eating, and playing together and even shows one of the boys fastening James’s shoe for him.
The impact that the five elementary school students have had on James’s life is evident and he says:
“I have the best friends anyone could ever ask for.”
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdeuivQYnas]
Image by USA Today on YouTube.
