A Small Deception in the Lecture Hall...

I told a little lie last week that still bothers me... I was grading exams when one of my students approached to ask about an assignment grade. He got a B+, but he asked if there might be room for improvement. I checked his work again, and it was solid... no reason to bump the grade. But something in him made me want to give him that extra point just to see how he'd react... So I did... added that tiny adjustment without explanation. It's not about favoritism or bending rules; just a momentary weakness where I wanted to please this young man, no matter how irrational it felt afterwards. That's all... a small lie of addition, and now the grade is out there on his record. It's such a petty thing... but my conscience can't stop replaying that moment. The ellipses in my thoughts say it all... I'll own up to it if he ever catches me in the deception, though doubt he will...