PHOTO: Teacher's bullying lesson using bruised apple goes viral

(WTXF) - A teacher's use of a common fruit to teach a lesson on the effects of bullying has quickly made it's way around the world.

According to the Huffington Post, Rosie Dutton of Relax Kids, teaches a weekly class to young students about mindfulness and relaxation.

Earlier this week, Dutton shared the story of a recent lesson on the effects of bullying, and how they may not always be so obvious.

In a viral Facebook post, Dutton explained how she showed the class two totally normal looking apples.

Before class had started, she says she dropped the apple on the floor several times, bruising the inside of the apple, but leaving the outside unharmed.

Next, she explains how she treated the damaged apple poorly once the kids were in class, by making mean comments and dropping the apple in front of the kids.

"I picked up the apple I'd dropped on the floor and started to tell the children how I disliked thisapple, that I thought it was disgusting, it was a horrible colour and the stem was just too short. 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."

Then, Dutton passed the healthy apple around the classroom and showered it with kind words, encouragement and compliments.

The eye opening lesson struck a cord with the children once the class cut the apples in half. The batter apple was bruised and mushy on the inside, despite its near identical appearance on the outside to the other apple.

Dutton explains what the calls a 'lightbulb moment' for the kids:

"They really got it, what we saw inside that apple, the bruises, the mush and the broken bits is what is happening inside every one of us when someone mistreats us with their words or actions."

She added:

"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 finishes her post by saying, "The tongue has no bones, but is strong enough to break a heart. So be careful with your words. "

The post has been shared more than 220,000 times since it was posted.

Read her full post below: