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!) I would suggest a Parent-Teacher Meeting. This would ensure that the parents would understand that you are not trying to seem culturally disrespectful. Explain to the parents that you are able to deal with whatever choice they make, but that their son is being made of fun in his school environment. Also explain that the closer their son gets to puberty, the more likely it is for him to smell and encounter this problem at school. After discussion with the parents, ask them if they want to talk to their son privately or if they want to invite him to the meeting to discuss it as a group. This will let the parents know that you are a team and want to work together to do what is best for their son.