This fall, I have a student who seems unfamiliar with showering and deodorant. I haven’t said anything, hoping that the issue is just a one-off and that it will resolve itself. However, we’re quickly approaching the end of my patience, and I’m not sure how to proceed.
Everyone has a deodorant malfunction from time to time. Obviously, no one is going to be personally identified, even in a private email. My best idea so far is a general class announcement via the LMS that it’s been brought to my attention that we may have a problem and for everyone to please double check their hygiene before coming to class.
Have any of you all ever had to deal with this? Any suggestions?
You may not get results that way, but it’s a start. I have had this issue and the student in question required a point blank conversation. He said it couldn’t be him because he used very expensive bvlgari deodorant… which I had to explain was cologne and was actually making the problem worse.
This was for an extra-curricular, but eventually I did have to say I knew it was him because when he left the smell left with him. He thought that was insensitive, but I dont think one person gets to unilaterally ruin the experience of multiple others.
Also we had to make a club statement that good hygiene is a shower with soap followed by deodorant followed by a CLEAN shirt. This I guess is not universally known. For a plain old class you might not be able to be that specific though.
Yeah, I’m not sure how specific to be. I am sure that this cannot continue for the rest of the semester.
I used to teach in a department with a wider variety of cultures. It was sometimes an issue there, but student who had been here longer generally took them aside after the first day and had a talk about US expectations. Our student ombudsman was also a no-nonsense and direct person who could take care of the situation in a short conversation. I don’t have that skill.
If the general announcement doesn’t work, I suppose I could always drag in the counselors. They seem to feel underutilized.
Quick followup: The issue became very hit-or-miss after this post. The student’s attendance became sporadic and they recently dropped the class. I never had to have the difficult conversation, but thanks for tips and advice.