Teacher noticed a 4th grader wearing an uncomfortable rubber prosthetic. His $20 surprise ended up changing the boy’s life
Elementary teacher Scott Johnson always admired his student Jackson Farmer's love for science. However, since Jackson, with a missing right hand, used a silicone hand, he decided to give Jackson a surprise costing $20, which has now earned him the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year award, per WLBT3. The Red Cross Elementary School teacher, Scott Johnson, teaches STEAM classes for 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. Jackson, who was one of his 6th-grade students, had trouble due to a lack of mobility in his right hand. The teacher immediately recognized the problem and decided to come up with a solution.
The teacher immediately recognized the problem and decided to come up with a solution. He designed, printed, and assembled the prosthetic hand on his own. "He's got a skin-tone rubber-type hand that he can wear, but it doesn’t have a lot of functionality to it. He can't actually grip things and whatnot," the teacher said. Johnson created the initial file earlier and brought it out again during this year's 'Back to School Bash' when Jackson attended the event with his mother and sister. He explained that he had printed the file and kept it stored in a Ziplock bag behind the STEAM lab table. When he saw Jackson, he decided to approach him about it.
He said, "I was like, 'I made this, and I would like to make one for you if it's cool.' And I got his mom's permission and stuff, and they were good with it, so I was like, 'Okay, I'm going to go forward with this.'" A 2020 report by John-John Cabibihan found that 3D printers and open-source designs are changing the field of rehabilitation and assistive devices, particularly for upper limb prosthetics. The study showed that the prosthetic hand could perform three of the 33 grasp types of a human hand. The study noted that the incredible results provide a baseline for developing low-cost yet functional prosthetic hands for children with congenital limb differences and individuals injured in accidents.
On The Jennifer Hudson Show, the teacher, who was invited along with Jackson, revealed the functionality of the device in detail. He explained, "With this, this would give him the ability to use his own functioning wrist function to actually hold on. When he flexes his wrist down, it closes the fingers and hand around, and when he flexes it up, it widens his grip." According to the teacher, it only costs $20 to produce. He also added that the file can be reprinted and scaled up to a larger size so it continues to fit him. He said that they can keep providing him with new versions for several years, even after Jackson moves on to Barren County Middle School or later. For his heartfelt contribution, Johnson was named the 2025 Kentucky Teacher of the Year.
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