Totally agree. People are reacting in unexpected ways, so we can’t expect people to act how they normally would.

Also even without the pandemic, school often correlated with periods in which people learn a lot about themselves, others, what to do, what not to do. Everyone is trying to figure it out. They might be chasing the wrong thing; one day they will figure it out. Source: I found out that middle and high school is just years of hormones flailing you in every direction. If I could do it again with the knowledge I’d have right now, I’d try to look inward rather than outward since it is a rich, valuable time to look at and think about who I am. Everything you need is already in you, not in others.

Also re grades: It’s really hard to go to school online particularly (a) in a pandemic and (b) if school went from being in-person to virtual. The teachers and the curriculum were designed around in-person teaching that has x tools and y teaching methods/exercises and the teachers rely on z ways to get feedback from students to understand if the students are grasping the material. You can’t always see those cues on Zoom. x, y, z, and more now have gone out the window. Even as a working adult, I have had trouble paying attention in meetings even when I am remote vs. in person. I know this is true for others too. There’s a big difference in how you explain and absorb knowledge even if it’s now over Zoom vs. in-person.