Aimee Scott, an American primary school teacher demonstrated a simple yet genius lesson using bandages to make the students understand fairness.
In the video, she explains how she did it.
At first, she asked the students if anyone had ever scraped their elbow. The whole classroom raised their hand. She then picked one student to share their story of how they hurt their elbow. After they narrated, Aimee put a band-aid on their elbow and said, "I'm sorry that you hurt your elbow".
Next, she asked if the students had ever bumped their heads, which raised many hands. She continued to put band-aids on their elbows and expressed her sorry.
The kids started getting confused after this.
The third question that she asked the children was, "Who has ever scraped their knee?". To which she continued and said, "I am so sorry that you scraped your knee. Here's a band-aid for your elbow".
She then explained to the children that even though she may have given everyone the 'exact same thing, exact same way, it wasn't helpful' for everyone.
"In conclusion, fairness does not mean everyone gets the same thing. Fair means that everyone gets what they need to be successful," she explains.
After this lesson, the children were more understanding of why their friends who have diabetes need an extra snack, why their friends with autism need noise-canceling headphones and why their friends who have ADHD need fidget spinners, and why they can't have one.
