Poor Grades, Taking Criticism, and the Importance of Listening to Feedback

As a student in high school, I remember submitting an assignment for a social science class and receiving a barely passing grade on it. I had spent a ton of time looking at it. It came back with lots of comments. I don’t recall reading them or understanding them. I only recall feeling like trying was pointless. That was in grade 9. There were many times throughout my time in high school and university where I completed assignments, did poorly and didn’t take the time to review or understand why. It all seemed pretty depressing and pointless.

What I’ve learned as I’ve gotten older is that an important part of life is learning to listen to negative feedback and trying to take something from it. A bad grade doesn’t mean you’re stupid, bad, or wrong. It is not a rejection of you as a person. It’s a learning opportunity. You did something not good, you have to see what it was and understand it. You owe it not to your teachers, but to yourself. Good learners will take negative criticism and grow from it, bad ones will take it personally and continue making the same mistakes over and over again. 

Read your instructor’s comments, listen to and invite feedback on your work from your peers, listen to them too, they’re worth listening to. Ask your parents, other adults, your teachers to review your work and get feedback. Every bit of it helps.