Natalie,
Your comments mirror the observations of a lot of teachers who are trying to help students reach their goals during these tough,stressful times. Students can lose focus rather quickly when the rocks in the road multiply or get bigger.
It is important to help students guard against negative expectations. Just as positive expectations usually lead to positive results, the Pygmalion effect can mean that negative expectations may need to negative results.
Thanks for being there for your students.
