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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!)
This is a very difficult and touchy subject to deal with. I personally would pull the student aside and discuss the situation with him first. I would try to understand the child's culture and get a feel for where this "smelly situation" is coming from. If there was no change, I would talk with the office, counselor, and nurse about seeing what we can do for the child to help him, but not make him feel awkward. Then I would have the student run an errand for me so I could have a chance to talk with the class about accepting others and being kind no matter what. If no changes are made, I would see if we could make a call to the parents. |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Very touchy topic. I think that it is a counselor's job. |
| Rated On: October 21, 2019 12:06 am |
| Rated By: ygyXeT |
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Rating
| The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) |
No
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| The suggested solution is relevant to the case |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement |
Yes
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| The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue |
No
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| The suggested solution is original |
Yes
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| Comments: Talking to the student directly would be inappropriate because he might not even have control of when he showers. Especially since the student is elementary aged. Getting a student to leave the room to talk about sends the wrong message to the students. |
| Rated On: March 7, 2021 11:18 am |
| Rated By: WyJyGa |
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