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!) If I were the teacher I would do a classroom activity that involved all of the students. We would all discuss hygiene. I am sure he is not the only student that needs a refresher on hygiene. When children are young they don't always care about hygiene, and I think that with/without a problem it should be discussed. I would also consider bringing in a guest speaker about hygiene. I know that when I was in middle school we had a guest speaker come in and talk to every class about personal hygiene. The speaker was very interesting, and talked to everyone as a whole not just one person. No one was embarrassed, and could openly ask questions. We all felt as if we were on the same level, and were all learning the same thing because of the same reasons. No one felt weird. I do not think that a teacher just address the student about his hygiene problems in front of the other kids, or single him out. I think that would be an awful experience for the child.