When a class of Phillipsburg elementary students learned that novelty lighters were legal in New Jersey even though they resemble toys, they were genuinely puzzled.

The Weekly Reader article the students read as Barber School second-graders in October 2008 detailed how some states worked toward banning the devices that can easily fall into children’s hands.

The class decided it was time for New Jersey to join those ranks.

About a year and a half after the class helped lobby for the passage of a law prohibiting the sale of novelty lighters, the

recognized the youngsters for their civic-minded activism.

The teachable moment

Former Barber School teacher Amy Russo-Farina said she knew she’d found a unique teachable moment when the usually quiet Jada Bullock, 7 years old at the time, spoke out passionately about how dangerous the lighters could be in children’s hands.

With some help from student Madison DeGerolamo’s father, town council President David DeGerolamo, the class reached out to New Jersey Assembly Majority Leader

, D-Union, with individually written letters of concern.

Two bills dealing with novelty lighters were awaiting votes and Cryan co-sponsored the more simply worded of the two, the one recommended by the students.

By December 2009, the bill was introduced as law.

Student Kyle Sofhauser confirmed there was plenty to gain from the experience.

A serious message

Suzanne DeGerolamo, Madison’s mother, remembers her younger daughter Gretta finding a lighter at a dollar store that was shaped into a little plastic lion. DeGerolamo said she was startled to discover the little toy picked up by her then-3-year-old child could start a fire.

That lion-shaped lighter became the class mascot in the campaign.

Russo-Farina believes hearing back from lawmakers and getting kudos from local politicians will be a source of inspiration for the grade-school class.

Madison DeGerolamo agrees to a point. Success hinges on the message, according to the articulate 9-year-old.

Russo-Farina, now a math coach and gifted and talented teacher at Andover Morris Elementary School, can see the makings of leaders in many of her former students.

Parents say it wasn’t just the experience that will leave a lasting impression. It’s the teacher who turned a lesson into action.

Reporter Sarah M. Wojcik can be reached at 610-258-7171, ext. 3631, or swojcik@express-times.com.