First, stop blaming COVID. These kids have been in school long enough to learn/re-learn social skills. This is an excuse. It's the same excuse teachers give when test results are low. We've had plenty of time to catch up.

Second, you are not alone. This generation of kids are just like this. They are worse than the millennials/gen-z where everyone get a trophy. This generation doesn't just expect the trophy, they expect everyone else to do the work for them. They not only lack any sort of self-control but they also lack any sort of personal responsibility (or as much as previous generations at the age did previously). My beginners have been playing since early September and they "know" three notes and only whole notes and half notes. Tone is horrible and brass pitch is all over the place. Now, I say the we've also had several days off in September due to BOY testing (school wide shut down in the morning and all beginners in the AM) and inservice days. It's hard to gain traction and retain information when you have a whole month of 3-4 day weeks. But, we have a winter concert to prepare for in early December and even more days off for inservice and interim testing (again in the AM during beginner classes). We just need to keep plugging away. It isn't going to get any better so we need to adapt.