A third-grade teacher has a way of explaining fairness to her students using just a band-aid.
You can see more of her on TikTok.
The teacher, Aimee, uploaded a TikTok video showing how she explains what fairness is about.
She asked the kids if they’d ever bruised their elbow; some students raised their hands. She asked one to share what happened and then gave that those students a band-aid.
After that, she “ask who’s ever bumped their head. More hands go up.” She then has someone tell her their story and says, “I’m so sorry you hurt your head, here’s a band-aid for your elbow.”
The kids take a second to figure out what’s going on, then she asks who scraped their knees. Hands go up, she gives them bandaids for… their elbows! “At this point,” she says in the video, “the kids are super confused.”
And then the lesson becomes a discussion about how, despite giving “everyone the exact same thing in the exact same way, it wasn’t helpful”. She concludes that “fair doesn’t mean everything gets the same thing; far means that everyone gets what they need to be successful.”
She explains that after the instruction, her students are far more understanding of their friends with disabilities or illnesses; a child with diabetes may need an extra snack or a child with autism may require headphones.
And then Aimee posted a follow-up video!
She says “this is an equity lesson,” explaining that if she knew her TikTok was going to blow up, she would’ve used that word specifically. She says she uses “fairness” because that’s the language the kids use and know.
She also demonstrates specific situations the lesson helps.
The band-aid video lesson went viral with nearly 6 million views. Aimee’s other videos revolve around tricks for teachers to organize work, prep for class, and teach.