Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Cannot Cooperate Aisha is known as a responsible and smart student. I have known her for the last two years, but this year is the first time she is taking one of my classes. She is in my 10th grade US History class. Recently, I started using small group projects in my class. I simply want my students to learn to cooperate, exchange ideas, and produce the project together. Although Aisha is willing to take part in these small group projects, she does not want to be in groups with male students because of her religious beliefs. When she told me about this, I told her that she was in the United States and that she had to work with whoever she is in a group with. In the first group project, Aisha was in a group with three males and one female students. She simply did not participate in any of the group activities. I wonder if should reconsider my original position on this issue and accommodate Aisha by having her work only with girls. Would I be doing her a disservice? What should I do? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) This is certainly a complicated issue. On one hand, it could be argued that, in the real world, we must all work with different kinds of people, and it is part of a teacher's duty to prepare students for such diversity. On the other, if we violate a student's religious beliefs and force them to do something they are not comfortable doing, we risk crippling our relationship with that student and having them shut down in our classroom. Not to mention the ethical issue of forcing someone to violate his or her own religious beliefs. I think that the first step should be setting up a parent-student-teacher conference to open up the lines of conversation. Sometimes, once we learn more about another culture or belief system, we develop a deeper understanding of and even appreciation for it. During this conference, a solution with which everyone is comfortable can be created by all of the stakeholders in the conversation. For example, maybe a blanket "no boys" policy is necessary; on the other hand, maybe Aisha could work with boys on certain projects/interactions, but not on others. For a truly mindful and considerate solution to be found, however, it must be created on a foundation of true understanding and cooperation among the teacher, the student, and the parents. Of course, during the conference, the teacher should also share his or her feelings about why it is important for Aisha to work with a diverse body of students. If a solution cannot be reached that satisfies all parties, then I do believe the solution viewed most favorably by the parents/student should be the one used. Obviously, Aisha is not going to be successful when forced to work outside of her comfort zone anyway (evidence: she refused to participate in the group work), and I do not believe that it is a teacher's job or within our ethical boundaries to violate a parent's wishes for their child, especially in terms of religious belief.