Her lesson reassured parents who were reluctant to send their kids with special needs to school.
Aimee Scott (@aimeesedventures) dreamed of being a teacher for as long as she can remember. Now, as a third-grade teacher in Utah, she’s not only living that dream but also helping millions of other educators with her creative and inspiring videos. Some of her popular teaching ideas, like the “reward chart,” “GoNoodle dance,” and “Swiftie callback,” have gone viral over the past few years. In 2021, she shared a lesson on "fairness" using a simple yet powerful tool—a band-aid.
On the first day of class, Aimee asked her students to raise their hands if they’d ever scraped an elbow. Every hand went up. She then pulled out a box of band-aids and invited one student to share how they hurt their elbow.
Next, she asked the students to raise their hands if they ever bumped their heads. From the students who raised their hands, she asked one to share the story. Then, she told them “I’m so sorry you hurt your head. Here’s a band-aid for your elbow.”
At this point, the students appeared a little puzzled. But Aimee then continued her demonstration by asking the students to raise their hands if they ever scraped their knees. Again, she picked a student and told them, “I’m so sorry you scraped your knee. Here’s a band-aid for your elbow.” By then, the students were rolling their eyes in utter confusion. Amused, Aimee wrapped up her lesson and started explaining what she meant to teach through the band-aid activity. “Even though I gave everyone, the exact same thing in the exact same way, it wasn’t helpful to them. So, in conclusion, ‘fair doesn’t mean everyone gets the same thing.’”
Aimee revealed that students in her classroom became much more understanding after the innovative lesson. They started to understand when their friend with diabetes needed an extra snack, their friend with autism needed noise-canceling headphones, or when their friend with ADHD needed a fidget spinner.
Her method was appreciated by users in the comments. “It’s amazing how you took a complex concept and explained it in a simple way for everyone to understand! Good job,” @meg_rajagopal wrote. @janinejude lauded Aimee’s analogy by saying, “The world is a better place because of amazing teachers like you! What a fantastic analogy to use with the kids!” @thatspunkyteacher added, “I’m going to use this with my fourth graders!”
Aimee told FOX News that she decided to create a video about this “Band-aid lesson” after several parents visited her with concerns for their children suffering from conditions like ADHD, anxiety, and autism. She realized that every child has unique needs and they need a unique environment to focus on studies. When she taught this fairness lesson in her class, the students told her they “love this lesson.”
“When I tell students, 'I am so sorry you bumped your head! Here's a Band-Aid for your elbow!' the whole classroom giggles,’” Aimee told FOX News. Additionally, the lesson calms the fears of worried parents who are afraid of sending their children to school. “They know they are going to be accepted by their peers if they need something extra in the classroom. Many parents have shown their child's teacher my video to help introduce them to the class. Those [comments][ make me the happiest because that is why I created the video.”
@heyaimeej #howiteach fairness to my #elementarystudents #iteach #backtoschool #teachersoftiktok #teachersontiktok #teacher #teachingontiktok #classroom ♬ original sound - heyaimeej
You can follow Aimee Scott on TikTok for more creative classroom lessons and head to her Etsy shop for teaching materials.
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