One of the most important lessons I have ever learned is knowing when to “throw in the towel” on a lesson plan. I’m sure you’ve experienced it before. You could be saying something mid-sentence and realize, “My students look bored. They’re not getting this. This just isn’t working.” At this point, we have two options. Sometimes we make the smart choice and adjust our methods, tweaking the activity as necessary. But if we’re optimistic that things may improve (or simply determined to get through the material after having spent hours planning it out), we may choose to plow through it as planned. And the results can be disastrous.

One particular moment that comes to mind is when I was teaching English in China. I was partnered up with another teacher, Nolan, and together we taught songs to six classes each day. Towards the end of our English camp, the school had asked us to teach the students a song that they could sing at the End-of-Camp Ceremonies. Nolan thought of an idea right away; he wanted to teach the upper-level students the chorus to Brian McKnight’s “Back at One.” At first, I kept an open mind. Sure, the tempo is a little slow and the subject matter is a bit mature. But the students loved American pop music. So I (naively) assumed, “We’ll make it work!” We walked into class toting eager smiles and an overhead transparency of new lyrics. But after only fifteen minutes, we recognized the dreaded signs—the glazed-over eyes, the shuffling feet, the utterly monotone voices—of a failed idea (a failed idea we had them rehearse for two more class sessions before finally realizing we needed to not only throw in the towel but also burn it!).

Fortunately, we had a back-up plan that we could resort to (“Row, Row, Row Your Boat” in rounds—thank goodness for melody!). In fact, it’s these kind of secondary ideas that I frequently fell back on well after this experience because, in the end, it offered a more rewarding experience to my students. And isn’t that what teaching is all about?