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  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 view this situation two main ways. On one side I think it is important to keep in mind the religious beliefs of all of my students because that is a part of who they are as a person. On the other side I believe that all students should be exposed to different religious and cultural differences. In this situation I think I would take advantage of the learning opportunity in front of me. I would start with contacting the parents of the child to get the full details of what they do believe in regards to working with men. I would then ask the parents permission to expose her to other cultures within the classroom. I would then have my students divide themselves into groups according to different religious viewpoints and we would discuss why people choose to be grouped in this way. That way all of my students could understand the importance of learning about different cultural and religious backgrounds and why it is so important to respect these differences. From that point on I would be mindful of my student's religious beliefs and I would place her in a group of all female students.