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!) Since the student is a different gender then me I would try to find a male teacher or counselor to discuss the body odor issue with him in private. He needs someone to talk with honestly about this situation and explain the differences in custom between cultures. I think pubescent teenagers are already shy and awkward enough. Anything we as teachers can do to mitigate these feelings is important to consider. For example, I have had students come and ask me about feminine hygiene because they needed someone to talk with or provide them with items. Most would be mortified if they had to discuss this with a male teacher. Some things are just easier to talk about with someone of the same gender regardless of culture. I have never had an immigrant student who smelled bad in the past but I have had students who had odor issues for other reasons. Speaking to them as a concerned person with their best interest at heart can go a long way. When the student was male there was another male teacher I worked with who was decent and well respected by the students. He generally spoke to the young men and I spoke to the young women. This may be a cultural issue but it may not be. It may be an issue with access to resources like a washing machine. Many immigrants who come to the United States initially stay with family (Spring, 2008) and he may be temporarily living in cramped conditions that are not ideal. The fact that his father is a professor certainly does not necessarily mean the family has a great deal of financial resources so this is not beyond the scope of possibility. Some adjunct professors make as little as $20,000 and year and it can be difficult to support an entire family on this salary right after a move. While this situation does need to be broached delicately and with a lens of cultural sensitivity it does need to be broached. Once someone has spoken with the young man and you have an idea what is going on I would call the parents. You should be able to work with them to find a solution to help your student.                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: If I were in this situation, I would exactly do this. Rated On: October 18, 2014 11:34 pm Rated By: Doniesha                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: Great post! Rated On: July 10, 2015 2:37 am Rated By: RaMevy                 Rating The suggested solution is respectful of the individual (student) Yes The suggested solution is relevant to the case Yes The suggested solution is reasonable (easy) for the teacher to implement Yes The suggested solution is likely to solve the problem/issue Yes The suggested solution is original Yes Comments: I think you present some great ideas Rated On: October 18, 2015 4:42 am Rated By: Krystalynn Gulczewski