How having a positive mindset can help you bounce back from a bad grade | Boarding School Blog | About Us | Avon Old Farms

At Avon Old Farms, we teach our boys the importance of our motto, aspirando et perseverando, to aspire and persevere... Sometimes that means grinding to earn a good grade, make the varsity squad, or pursue that community service award. At other times, the lesson to aspire and persevere can come from experiencing a setback, and learning to keep your head high. In one chapel talk, senior Peter Mok '25 shared one of those moments:

I’ve had Mr. Malchoff as a math teacher for three years, so I thought I knew all his tricks and curveballs he has to throw on exams. Monday's test proved me wrong. Hours of studying proved to be of no use, as I was still working on the test ten minutes after the period had ended, and I was forced to throw in a wild guess on a multiple-choice question. This will likely be my all-time worst performance on a Malchoff test. 

I walked out of Ordway angry at the test and what it would mean for my grade. To make matters worse, it was cold and pouring rain, and I had 10 minutes to make it down to the field in time for lacrosse practice. By the time I got there, I was already drenched. I made it just as the whistle blew to mark the start of practice, and knew this would be a miserable hour and a half. 

Like usual, I began practice with the other goalies, getting warm-up shots from Coach Kowalchick. I was still struggling to get the test off of my mind when Coach K asked a question that certainly didn’t help. He asked me if I had had any AP tests that day. I told him no, but that I had had the worst math test of my life. To my confusion, Coach K began celebrating. He said, “These are the best days of all.” Looking around at the pouring rain, and mourning my test, I was lost. But then Coach K continued, “The only way you can go from here is up!” Something about this hit me hard; he was right. I could let my mood from the test continue through practice and the rest of the day, or I could turn it around here, and like Coach K said, go up. 

My mindset changed in that moment. I no longer cared for the rain; I realized the test was in the past, and the grade is now inevitable, so I stopped thinking about it completely. I made the most of practice, which turned out to be one of my best of the year. I started looking at the positives; I was out playing the sport I love, and I’m three weeks out from graduating the school that has changed my life. On top of this, Mr. Malchoff tends to take his time grading tests, so I can still enjoy my A for the rest of the week.

 The lesson I learned on Monday applies to everything: sports, school, jobs, and life in general; you can’t let one bad moment ruin the rest of your day, week, or month. You will inevitably have bad moments, but it is important to live in the present. The same goes for the future. You can’t let anticipation or fear of the future interfere with the present. When I was a freshman, I couldn’t wait to be a sophomore, then I couldn’t wait to be a junior, and coming into senior year, I couldn’t wait to go off to college. While I am excited for the future, I know that I will miss my time at Avon. 

So don’t spend all your time thinking about things to come, or things that have already happened, make the most of right now, and create memories that will stay with you for life. And remember, when you’ve hit rock bottom, the only way you can go is up.

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