For the past month I have been working with incoming and returning commerce students who are concerned about the transition back to in-person learning. The questions range from what skills are they missing from the past year to what to wear to class and how to take notes when there isn’t a recording to refer back to (don’t worry there probably will be). These are genuine questions. The last 18 months have been hard and there is a deep fear of not being prepared for what comes next. 

It is not the fears that concern me. Every year students and parents alike are worried about not being prepared. My concern is the hope everyone seems to have. Almost every student or parent I talk to has assumed that in-person learning will resolve the issues Zoom University has been plagued with. 

Over the last year and half, students everywhere have felt lost and let down by their educational experiences. Issues like uncertainty about what they should be focusing their...