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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 observe the situation and see if the picking continued by the other students. If it did, I think it would be okay to contact the parents if the picking on and bullying the student did not stop. I would explain to the parent what the situation was and how our cultures are different and what they can do to prevent this from happening. If the parents do not listen or help, you are at a loss. There are cultural differences that the parents need to be aware of, and if they continue to stay the same, that is fine. At least they are aware of the situation, and the teacher did address it. The parents may respect you even more for sharing with them noteworthy insight about the situation. |
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