What does fairness mean to you?
It's an incredibly simple concept, but recognizing and practicing it in the real world can quickly get complicated.
A third grade teacher has broken it down quite brilliantly in a series of videos.
If it makes sense to a third grader, it should make sense to the rest of us.
Schoolteacher Aimee starts off her TikTok by saying that fairness can be explained using Band-Aids.
How?
It's a lesson in different people needing different accommodations in order to make things fair. For instance, it's fair to give someone a Band-Aid if they fall down and get hurt, but this doesn't mean everybody needs a Band-Aid in the name of fairness.
To counter kids who say it's "not fair" when a kid gets certain accommodations like a diabetic kid getting a snack or an autistic kid getting special headphones, Aimee explains the Band-Aid analogy. It's all broken down in this TikTok video.
Aimee says it can be tough to explain to kids that one kid might need a fidget spinner to play with while completing a task, while another might just play with it instead of completing the task.
Once again, though, it all comes down to recognizing individual needs.
Lots of commenters jokingly asked Aimee if she could spread this lesson to the adults of the world who don't seem to understand the concept of fairness.
Also, the red commenter above hits the nail right on the head: fair and equal are two different concepts.
In a follow-up video posted to Instagram, Aimee explains things further.
She emphasizes the importance of empathy as a way to understand the challenges of different students.
In other words, it's one thing to give a kid a fidget spinner. It's quite another thing to help the rest of the kids understand why that kid needs a fidget spinner.
It's incredible, when you really think about it, how many people seem to miss the importance of this lesson.
Many of us are so caught up in having exactly what another person has that we don't reflect on individual needs.
If you have a cut, you can use a Band-Aid. This doesn't mean that everyone else also needs one.
Let us know what you think of Aimee's ideas in the comment section below!
