I didn’t notice it until about midway through the class when I approached the front row to ask a question. There was a certain aroma in our little classroom...and it was quite pungent, but not altogether unpleasant. It was unmistakable to anyone who’s ever been to a rock concert. I’m pretty sure it originated on the left side of the classroom, but I don’t think I could localize it without weaving in and out of each row. I probably smiled to myself, shook my head a little, and then went on with the class. My thought at the time was that class wasn’t being disrupted. Everyone seemed focused on our discussion and most were participating. Class ended and I didn’t think about it again.
The next day though, I received an email from a student, a good student, who had taken previous courses with me. He was complaining about the smell. He couldn't escape the odor and was having trouble focusing on classroom discussions. He couldn’t identify the scent-giver, but asked me to try and do something about it. I replied that I would say something to the entire class at our next session.
Let me say right off the bat that I don’t think students should come to class high. Nor should faculty. I've heard from students and colleagues alike that a former faculty member was regularly high when teaching. Teaching while high seems like a bad idea. I can't even imagine what the classrooms in Washington and Colorado must be like!
But then I started thinking about the repercussions of telling someone in class that he or she stinks. What if the person had bad body odor? Would I feel comfortable speaking to the class about that...even if it was distracting the other students? I don’t really think this is the same thing. Is it?
I also don’t think it’s appropriate to perform a sniff test on my students to identify the olfactory offender. Finally, what if I say something to the class and the odor returns next class? What then?
What would you do?
Comments