Hi Sky

The other day someone held the door open for me and then when I didn’t say thank you said something negative about me. My behavior was rude however I was thinking about a friend that had passed and didn’t notice. Had the person known what I was thinking about I suspect they would have held the door without expecting any response from me.

The point being that we can’t know why someone does something without talking to them. We often think we know, but we can’t know with certainty.  This is where the rule of charity comes in.

The rule of charity states that if there are multiple possible explanations for an event and there is no way for you to determine which possible explanation is the correct one then chose the most helpful explanation. (The one that won’t have you creating victim/villain stories. )

In your situation you have a choice of talking to the teacher about your disappointment. If you make the choice not to then the rule of charity applies.

Possible explanation. The student that the teacher just talked to told them something that triggered them to retreat within themselves. Perhaps not very professional but we are all human.  Have you ever not been 100% present for someone needing your attention?