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  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 recommend that you send a note home asking the parents to meet for a conference. When you meet with the parents start off that the child is doing a great job participating and is trying to be friendly with other classmates. After the positives, I would state that other children have been making fun of him due to a "smell" that has been in the classroom. If the parents know that their child is being made fun of they will want to do whatever they can do to help him. I would state that it could possibly be his clothes or something that he brings with him to school. I would finish the conversation with more positives, such as, he is a wonderful child and that I would like to make sure he is having the best time in my classroom!