A Small Lie at Work ...

I recently found out one of my students had submitted a paper that was suspiciously similar to another student's work from last year. I had an inkling it might have been plagiarism, but I wasn't entirely sure, so I didn't confront them about it... And then, when I spoke with the student and mentioned how much they seemed to have improved their writing skills recently, I lied and told them that was a great improvement, knowing full well that part of their work was unoriginal. It's not like this confession is earth-shattering or anything, but lying about something so inconsequential feels... wrong. I felt guilty the rest of the day, wondering why it bothered me more than other small lies I've told before in my career... Maybe it's because this time, the lie was to someone who looked up to me and needed guidance. Or maybe it's just that I'm getting older and less patient with myself... It's a silly thing to feel bad about, really, but here I am.