 |
Home
| How It Works
| Stats
Login | Register |
|
Case: Cannot Cooperate Aisha is known as a responsible and smart student. I have known her for the last two years, but this year is the first time she is taking one of my classes. She is in my 10th grade US History class. Recently, I started using small group projects in my class. I simply want my students to learn to cooperate, exchange ideas, and produce the project together. Although Aisha is willing to take part in these small group projects, she does not want to be in groups with male students because of her religious beliefs. When she told me about this, I told her that she was in the United States and that she had to work with whoever she is in a group with. In the first group project, Aisha was in a group with three males and one female students. She simply did not participate in any of the group activities. I wonder if should reconsider my original position on this issue and accommodate Aisha by having her work only with girls. Would I be doing her a disservice? What should I do? Solution: (Rates are posted for this solution!) I think it is important to be sensitive to students' religious backgrounds. Aisha is a smart and responsible students who seems to have a good track record for doing her best and participating in school. Her insistence to not work with males is not her being defiant, but rather respectful of the religious beliefs she was born and raised into and have known all her life. With that being said, I also feel that it is important for her to understand that she will be expected to participate in similar activities in future classrooms and out in the real world. I would try to find a compromise to gradually help her adjust to working with at least one male student during only the necessary required activities in the classroom. Depending on her future goals, it is unlikely that she will be able to not work with males while remaining in the United States so learning to adjust in a controlled environment such as your classroom would be a great asset for her. |
||
Rating
|
||||||||||||||||||