I must have hit a nerve with some teachers. "One of these things is not like the others." Intentionally so. To go into your example, age difference. Age matte

I must have hit a nerve with some teachers. "One of these things is not like the others." Intentionally so. To go into your example, age difference. Age matters in the real world, so pretending it can be nullified is a delusional "lesson". Your parents have power over you. Your teachers do. Your manager at work. Older people have most wealth and political capital. Age matters whether you like it or not. Same for other aspects, like luck. Other kids can be lucky to have rich parents, or to have been born with superior talent. They're going to do better compared to less fortunate ones. Pretending all these factors do not exist or aggressively wiping them out in a playful scenario is not the lesson these kids need.