Choices

Midway through the school year, a new student joins the class who wears a headscarf every day as part of her religion. The teacher thinks that she could be teased for wearing the headscarf and decides to ask her about it after class to try to be helpful.

1. How much do you agree with the teacher handling it this way? (Check only one)

Strongly Agree	Agree	Disagree	Strongly Disagree

2. Many of the students in the class think that the teacher shouldn’t have said anything to the girl. How would you rate each of the following reasons for thinking this?

Reasons (Check for each row) (You may check the same rating more than once)	Very Good	Good	Bad	Very Bad
a. There is no rule about wearing headscarves so the student should be left alone.
b. Students need a chance to figure out for themselves how to express their identity.
c. It’s cool to wear something different.
d. They don’t think it will be unsafe for her to wear it in this school.

3. Which one of these reasons do you think is best?(Check only one):

A	B	C	D

4. How common is it for students in your school to openly express their religious or cultural identity?(Check only one)

Very rarely	Rarely	Often	Very Often

5. If you knew of a student in your class in a situation like this, what would you think of the following actions that you could take?

Reasons (Check for each row) (You may check the same rating more than once)	Very Good	Good	Bad	Very Bad
a. Tell the student that you will respect her no matter what she decides to do.
b. Tell the teacher to explain to the students about respecting her choice.
c. Don’t do anything.
d. Tell the student that if anyone tries to make her feel badly, she should do the same to them.

6. Which one of these four actions would you be most likely to take?

A	B	C	D

Please explain why:

7. What else might you do in this situation?

8. Is there anything else you would want to know in order to make the best decision about what to do?