A teacher used two apples to teach a crucial lesson about kindness

Facebook/Relax Kids Tamworth

These two apples taught students a powerful lesson.

A teacher in England thought of a genius way to explain the harmful effects of bullying, the Daily Mail Reports.

Rosie Dutton, an instructor at Relax Kids Tamworth, used two apples as part of lesson on the hidden damage caused by hurtful words. Early this week, Dutton posted the lesson on Facebook, where it's since been shared more than 160,000 times. 

She presented the class with two apples that looked identical. What the children didn't know was that Dutton had repeatedly dropped one of the apples on the floor before class began.

"I picked up the apple I'd dropped on the floor and started to tell the children how I disliked this apple," Dutton wrote. "I told them that because I didn't like it, I didn't want them to like it either, so they should call it names too."

Next, she passed around the second apple, instructing the children to compliment it. 

Finally, Dutton cut both apples open. The apple that the class treated kindly looked fresh and unblemished inside. But the other apple - the one they'd treated poorly - was bruised and mushy beneath its skin. 

"I think there was a lightbulb moment for the children immediately," Dutton said. "When people are bullied, especially children, they feel horrible inside and sometimes don't show or tell others how they are feeling. If we hadn't have cut that apple open, we would never have known how much pain we had caused it."

Dutton concluded her post with a powerful sentiment: "The tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart. So be careful with your words."

Here's the original post: