What is the best I could do? Understand the deeper pain of the people. Tell them the multiple ways people can take this situation.

You need to become wiser. Don't hesitate to take responsibility, but don't let this make the students lax.

There is enough demand for commited people to work.
Work with focused involvement, to learn

Objectives, Principles to attain a goal, Design system, build on it. Structured approach.

Time.

.....

This is how I thought and took decisions when I was hit with a failure recently.