Exploding TV's

Summer camp is running smoothly for the most part, and I've only got one week left until we start regular classes.  As can be expected with most things I'm involved with, they don't usually turn out as well as expected.  Surprisingly though, I don't often get blamed for things that go wrong.

Instead of using a projector screen like in Canada at schools, the classrooms have big screen projection TV's (well the English classrooms do) and LCD and Plasma Flat Screens (all the other classrooms).  My first week of classes, on the third day, in the middle of a lesson using the TV, it just shut off.  I figured I somehow did it, so I attempted to turn it back on numerous times, to no avail.  The majority of my lesson invloves using multimedia materials such as videos, powerpoints, etc. so I wasn't too thrilled about this.  However, due to my amazing problem solving skills, I gave the kids huge word searches with about 25 words to find.  That managed to hold me over, until maintenance was able to get another TV installed in my class.  A big screen projection TV.  Two days later, while in the middle of a lesson again.  I hear what sounds like firecrackers.  I nearly crap my pants, and have a little rage build up inside of me, thinking its some little jerk trying to be funny.  I turn around and realize its the TV making the noise.  Before I can even shut it off, it flashes a couple of times, then goes black.  It starts chirping like a cricket, but the screen is black. I try to shut it off but that won't work. The light is on indicating power, but it won't work.  The chirping continues, and is driving everyone nuts, so I save the day by doing what any hero would do. I unplug the TV from the wall.  You can't really expect to have two major set backs involving TV's in the run of a week so I dont have any emergency TV breakdown word search's left.  Luckily its the last day, so we just play some games and eat junk food for the remainder of class.  Everyone was happy because everybody loves junk food and games, including me.

We start up again with the camp a couple weeks later, and have to move to another classroom because of the TV problem.  The school believes its because of wiring in the classroom.  I accept it, but I certainly do anything to break them. Everything went smoothly for the first day, and then the second day, that god awful firecracker noise starts up again.  I know exactly whats happening, and sure enough, the damn TV is broke again.  I had the same word search on hand so I whipped these out to keep them occupied while I tried to figure out what the hell to do now.  My co-teacher leaves, and returns with the principal, vice principal, maintenence, and a bunch of other people who figured they could repair this TV. They all try to work there stuff.  None of them had any luck, and there were no more of these projection TV's remaining, so I moved to another room.  The staff is convinced now that the TV's I was using were old, so thats why they all broke. Good reasoning, because TV's definetely have an expiry date, and once they pass this date, firecrackers explode on the inside of them, and they never work again. Pretty logical.

I moved to a Korean home teacher's room, equipped with a beautiful new LG LCD TV.  Since then, everything has went smoothly.  I'm certain that if the firecrackers start going off in this TV, they'll have to conclude that I am cursed, and I'll never be allowed to use the TV's in the school again.  On a good note though, my English rooms will need to get new TV's to replace the ones that have "expired", and I'm sure I'll get one of these nice LG LCD's.