Band Aids can’t help with a headache or a cold!

First graders at Primrose Elementary participated in a short program for Inclusive Schools Week where they each received an injury card and a Band Aid for treatment. No matter the “injury” – a scrape, a cut finger, a cold, a food allergy, a fever, a toothache – students were given the Band Aid. The lesson was that fair is not always equal.

“Do you think it’s fair to give everyone a Band Aid for their injury?” asked teacher Keri Cash. “Is it what everyone needed?” One student pointed out that her Band Aid was not going to help with her injury – a sore throat.

The Band Aid lesson taught the students about fairness and explained that not all students need the same things in the classroom. Some need extra wiggle time, a pencil grip or a different chair.

“We focus on including everyone, especially if they need something different to feel included,” Cash said.

Students then watched a short video about a young boy with disabilities named Matthew who uses his wheelchair to race. Cash and the class discussed how they race around with their feet but Matthew, who was just like them, needed something different – his wheelchair -- in order to race.

“Fairness is when we get what we need,” Cash said.