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 speak to the students who are making fun of him and explain why he smells the way he does. If they continue doing it even after you have explained to them what is going on, then they should receive a consequence. Their consequence could be something such as researching this child's culture and writing a report on it and then comparing American culture to this child's culture. As far as speaking to the child about it, I would maybe do a lesson on American culture in class as part of Social Studies and maybe hint at the fact that Americans bathe everyday? This might allow him to get the hint. I wouldn't directly address to him or his parents though.