to hug or not to hug

It's been a minute since I visited my space here.  I decided to open up my tutoring biz for a little side gig income streaming, and it didn't take long for the requests to trickle in.  I took on three students before closing the request door again.  Nice kids, all.  Two local seniors, one online junior.  Keeping me maybe a little too busy.

One of the locals, I'm pretty sure, has ADHD.  "Slow down and focus, Betty.  FoCUs!" (her name's not Betty).  I've had ADHD tutees before, and they are a challenge.  Helps me sympathize and appreciate not having that particular disorder.

But I do enjoy the work and was worried about my brain turning mushy from not doing it.  Now that COVID restrictions aren't so limiting, I like having the option of meeting in-person again.  

I don't go to people's homes and instead meet locals at libraries or such.  WAAAY back when I first started tutoring for a test prep company, we were advised against tutoring in homes.  If we did go to a student's house, a "responsible adult" had to be present because there are scammers/ opportunists who might claim something happened that never did.

Personally, I think students typically do better if they have to get their stuff together, get properly dressed, and leave the house to meet.  Even meeting online isn't so bad since they need to have their materials ready in one spot and login to an account.

So scammers and opportunists aside, the handful of times I did go to someone's home, I quickly grew tired of students who didn't have their stuff ready, who'd maybe just crawled out of bed, sat eating a meal or snack during tutoring, interacted with their pets... yeah, no.  Not doing it.

One of my coworkers has also worked as an adjunct instructor at the college.  He told me about a female student who once came to him in tears, asking if she could do a make up of a test she'd missed. With broken sentences she explained having "a lot going on right now", and feeling a bit overwhelmed with it all.

He told me he interrupted her speech and just gave her a hug "because she really seemed to need one".

And I was thinking, "Ooooh, Steve, nooooo".  

I get that she probably did need a hug, but not from her college instructor?  Her older male college instructor?  

So it got me thinking.  I wouldn't hug a high schooler, but I have had college students who were grown ass adults and nearly my age and almost on "friend" terms.  Hugs though?  Female student maybe, men, hmmm, no.  

Steve thinks it was the right thing, so maybe it was.  Every situation is different.  Steve also says he has ADHD.  

Oh, look, a squirrel!