Third-Grade Teacher Uses Band-Aids to Teach Her Students an Important Lesson On Fairness

Some of the most important lessons we learned in school likely had nothing to do with reading, writing, or arithmetic but rather how to be a good human. And one teacher took to TikTok to explain how she's doing exactly by teaching fairness using a common household item: Band-Aids.

The video posted by the third-grade teacher, who goes by @aimeesedventures on TikTok, has already racked up more than 4.2 million views, 889.3K likes, and 5,800 comments since she posted it on August 16.

"On the first day of school, I ask my students to raise their hand if they've ever scraped their elbow," the teacher explains.

Not surprisingly, everyone raises their hands.

"I get a Band-Aid, [and] I pick on one student to tell us the story of how they scraped their elbow," she continues. "Then, I put the Band-Aid on their elbow."

Next, she asks the students if anyone has ever bumped their heads, and more hands go up. Again, the teacher has someone tell her a story about how they bumped their head and gives them a Band-Aid.

The catch? She says, "I am so sorry you hurt your head. Here's a Band-Aid for your elbow."

"The kids are a little confused at this point," she says. You may be, too—wouldn't you give the person an ice pack for their head? But the teacher continues, asking students if they have ever scraped their knee. Many have.

She says, "I am so sorry you scraped your knee. Here's a Band-Aid for your elbow."

"At this point, the kids are super-confused," she admits. "I'll stop my lesson, and we'll have a conversation about how, even though I gave everything the exact same thing in the exact same way, it wasn't helpful to them. In conclusion, fair doesn't mean everyone gets the same thing. Fair means that everyone gets what they need to be successful."

This message is powerful, and the teacher points out that it helps her students become more empathetic.

"After this lesson, students are much more understanding when their friends with diabetes need an extra snack, when their friends with autism need noise-canceling headphones, when their friends with ADHD need a fidget-spinner and they can't have one," she says.

The commenters gave the teacher an A .

"You are exactly what kind of teacher we need," someone wrote. "This is extremely well-explained. Thank you for doing this lesson," said another.

And others think adults might benefit from a day or two in the teacher's class.

"Can you please explain this to adults in this country?" one person commented.

The commenter has a point—many people could probably stand to take a step back and evaluate the true meaning of fairness, especially right now. Kids are returning to school during a scary time because of the pandemic, and a little kindness and empathy could go a long way.