Home | How It Works | Stats Login | Register         Case: Smelly Kid I guess I am still considered a novice teacher because I have been teaching for four years only. I am an elementary school teacher who teaches in a mostly White suburban setting. Couple of weeks ago a new student joined my classroom. He and his parents recently moved from Eastern Europe. His father works at the local university as a music professor. I am not sure what his mother does. He is a wonderful child. Although he speaks little English, he tries to participate in class activities and to make friends with others in the classroom. Couple days after he arrived, I noticed a strange smell around him. I was sure that it was body odor. The other students in the classroom started noticing it too. They started making fun of him. I learned in my multicultural classes when I was at the university that not all cultures promote taking showers everyday, and that body odor is not considered a problem everywhere in the world. Now I have a big dilemma. If I tell my student about it, I might embarrass him. If I sent a note to his parents, I may appear disrespectful toward their culture. But the way he is treated in the classroom by the other students is becoming a real problem. What should I do? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I would first of all just have a face to face with the parents. THe purpose of the meeting shouldn't be, "your child stinks." Use the meeting as an opportunity to really get to know the parents and the culture. There is likely a lot to be learned anyway. Then, a door will likely open in casual conversation about what to expect here in the US or in the classroom. This could easily come up in conversation as a noticeable difference between the cultures. If the problem did not get better, I would suggest being more forward the next time around. The teacher should be very upfront and handle any comments from classmates about the smells. I would suggest that a hygiene lesson would be very beneficial for the entire class. At this age, there are many students who are oblivious to hygiene issues. I would not give this lesson until I felt that the "smelly kid" situation was handled, as I would not want to create a scene. If I am smelling the kid, I am sure that his classmates smell him too. Talking about the pink elephant in the room, without addressing the actual problem, only could promote more picking or uncomfortableness.