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!) Say that you have discussed with the class good hygiene, you have had a conference with his parents and he is still coming to school smelly. However, the student wants to do something about his body odor but his parents will not change their cultural ways of not bathing every day. If the student was wanting help on this matter I do not see a problem with handing the student a baby wipe and a stick of deodorant so he can go to the bathroom wipe under his arms and put on deodorant. I would do this in a discrete way so that other kids didn't see what was going on. If his parents found out and had a problem with it I would then address that issue as it arises.