At every school, expectations to succeed are placed on students, but maintaining a certain standard in order to meet expectations is a task that is not always maintainable. 

When I had a lot of work piling up I had the realization that some pieces of work would be of higher quality than others. With the implications of the weaker pieces being a failing grade, I realized the grade would not only help me progress as a learner, but also help teach me about time management.

It is unfair to expect a student not to receive a bad grade once in their academic careers; it is simply impossible.

Whether it be through procrastination, an overloaded academic schedule or simply just forgetting about the quiz or test, a student will, at some point, get a below average grade on an assignment.

With the stigma surrounding a failing grade, there should be a new system implemented revolving around the acceptance of a failing grade. The first step should be to resurrect the mistakes made on the assignment.

I believe that failure is okay, and the takeaways from failure are both essential to one’s growth as a learner as well as one’s growth as a person.

Though the idea of failing may seem daunting to most students, the long term benefits are valuable when speaking about growth. Being able to learn from your mistakes and build off of them in the graded pieces of work is an invaluable skill that both the faculty and administration should regard as indispensable for the entire student body.

Moving past your mistakes is both good and bad. Living in the past is not a good thing. It can hold you back and limit your potential as a learner. The counter to that is that correcting your mistakes as you go along can be essential in avoiding such mistakes from happening again and developing your capacity as a learner.

This moves past the idea of going over a quiz or doing test corrections: It revolves around the idea of a student fixing their own mistakes, not for a grade, but instead for their own development. Instead of a simple re-write or retake, students should be encouraged to redeem themselves through an original, creative outlet that displays their understanding of a topic.

Success is great. Getting that 21/21 on a quiz or that 98 percent on an exam is a great feeling; it shows success, dedication and most importantly, that hard work and time necessary for it to happen.

The point I am trying to make is this: if you do not do well, do not pretend it didn’t happen, that way you are only cheating yourself. Ask your teachers questions on what you got wrong and try to learn from your mistakes.

The idea that failure is a bad thing is up to however one wants to interpret it. In my case, I can admit that I have not done as well as I would have liked on various quizzes, tests, projects – you name it – but each time I have looked to better myself.

Whether it be through getting counsel from a teacher, reviewing my notes to see where I went wrong, or even just simply looking over the rubric at the teachers comments, I have always strived to better myself when faced with the adversity of a failing grade.

Don’t hide from it. Instead look to better yourself. There are plenty of opportunities over the course of a semester to raise your grade, accept failure to help yourself.