 |
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 is an unfortunate situation to be in. I would recommend doing a lesson for the entire class on health/hygiene. Through this lesson you could learn more about his habits at home and maybe gently recommend ways he could adapt his habits to fit in better with where he lives now. If the problem continues I do suggest getting the parents involved. I would approach them with how concerned you are with making sure he is assimilating well to his new school/environment. You might could discuss things you could do as the teacher and they could do as the parents to make sure he is adjusting well. |
||
Rating
|
||||||||||||||||||