My student Emoni was struggling with her mental health, and it was clear: the response from the adults in the school—the ones who were supposed to care—was only making it worse.

I told her the truth—this wasn’t about taking the easy way out by transferring. The system was broken, and we had failed to give her the support she needed. These conversations were becoming more than just feedback; they were turning into a record of the emotional and psychological toll the pandemic had on students.

We need to stop pretending that virtual learning was just “hard.” It was harmful. And if we don’t start listening to students now, we’re going to keep failing them.

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