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!) This won't be an easy problem to fix. If you think it's part of his culture, find out exactly where the student comes from in Europe. Then research that country to see if showering daily is the norm there or not. If you want to just confront the student about it, you could start with talking to the boy or sending a letter home first. If that doesn't change, you can call the parents in for a conference. Before you do anything, though, talk to the guidance counselor. I am sure this wouldn't be the first smelly kid he or she has run into. There may be some experience you can pull from, or at least an idea of how it has been handled with kid gloves in your district previously.