Office hours' conversation

20 March 2023: An office hours conversation with a student today started off being about his major project for the class. I could kind of sense he wanted to linger, so I gave a "that's okay" signal and we kept talking about school stuff, but also more than that--books, his writing, etc. I'd never had a conversation that long with that student and for reasons I will be vague about, it meant a great deal to me that he stayed and felt comfortable. 

When you have the time and energy to do it/give it, one of the best parts of teaching is that you can give students time to talk and be heard. That's such a privilege.