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 a responsible solution to this problem is to contact the parents of Aisha in order to seek a rational understanding of her background and religion. Perhaps Aisha is being truthful, or maybe Aisha is just simply being a teenage girl who cannot stand boys. Also, most school systems have campus data bases with student information in them. If Aisha interacting with the male students is a religious issue, technically, it should be logged into the school data base service. I do think it is a disservice to divide group work by gender every single time. Perhaps the first time, the teacher could listen to Aisha because she is a responsible student, putting her into a group with females only. The teacher should then call the parents to double check Aisha's claim in order to establish a solid answer.