When Victoria Vial’s high school in Miami stopped last year and her classes went online, it felt like the beginning of an adventure. “I was in my pajamas and sitting in my easy chair,” the 13-year-old recalled. “I texted my friends during class.”
Then she received her academic progress report. As an A and B student before the pandemic, she failed three classes. The academic slide left her mother, Carola Mengolini, in tears. She insisted that her daughter compile to-do lists and move the girl’s workspace to the guest room to obtain her degrees.
During the summer, Victoria’s tennis and theater camps were canceled. Her family has postponed a planned trip to Argentina to visit her extended family.
She formed a pandemic pool with five good friends, but the girls quarreled. Subclicks were formed, and Victoria and her best friend were excluded. The pod falls apart.
The return of personal training last fall brought some relief, but with some of her classmates still at home, teachers had to shift their attention between personal children and those who were online, and students had to feel disorganized and left behind.