The Innocent-Looking Lampshade

How would I ever know that an innocent-looking lampshade could have burned my house? Well, it almost.

How? Well, my youngest daughter, Guada, came home with a list of things to buy for her first project in TLE. It was a lampshade, by the looks of the listed things. Whoa, cool, I thought. It's that simple eh? Sophomore high schools actually do it. And so, the things were bought by her father. yeah, I had to let him do it. I thought he was more familiar with things like that so I asked him to accompany Guada get those things. These included a bulb, wires, a switch and plug. The father was kind enough to include some paint and a base for the lamp post (a makeshift wooden sieve that i found at the backyard.)

And Guada was so excited, she begun working on it. Honestly I didnt know how to do it. But being a sensitive and fragile thing to mess with, I ASSUMED that she was instructed by her teacher on how to do it. When she asked me about it, I said, she should ask her teacher or look into the internet if she wasnt sure.

Being such a whiz tech-kid from what I have observed her do in the past, I trusted her. And how delighted she was when the lamp bulb shone. I thought that was the end of it and the project was done. So simple, uneventful, that's it??? So what makes lampshades sell so much I even asked? Maybe it's the shade, etc.

Then came the switch. And she asked me again how it's done. And i kept saying, ask your teacher, he should teach you. And she said, my other classmates asked their fathers or uncles to do it for them and they have submitted. Well, I said you have no father or uncle to do that. So ask your teacher, I said for the nth time.

And on I went with my work. I thought she would leave it at that. Besides, she was supposed to be working on her investigatory project. But no, apparently, she wasnt. She was excited about finishing that damned lamp. And she worked on it, connecting wires with the philips screw and the long nose. Oh well...

Then, BOOM! I heard a SNAP, GZZZT! and the electric fan went off, her PC went off.
The fuse blew up! And the house reeked of charred rubber!

OMG! I sent her to fetch Nelson, our neighbor who was a far relative. When he came in, he reprimanded me for not knowing what happened. When he took a look at the switch, he was shocked to find it charred and brittle!! "You almost got burned, " he said!

Oh really? And I thought of the st***d teacher who didnt show the proper way to connect the wires. So Nelson told Guada, "Next time, test your project in your school, not in your house."

Now, that makes sense. Of course it does. It is a school project, it is the teacher's responsibility. It should be done in school, tested in school. And the teacher be damned if he refuses. I know I could just go and berate her teacher for letting the kids mess with electricity. I knew I had a right to be indignant. While I should have taken precaution myself, I knew this teacher is to blame for the most part for not having taught the children how to do things properly. But well, I calmed my nerves and thought of a better way to deal with it. Giving vent to my anger will put me in a situation that will make my child uncomfortable and i don't like creating unnecessary disturbances as far as my children are concerned, if things can be helped.

So, I bought Guada a new plug. I searched the internet on how to connect but my search didnt produce any. I asked an engineer friend on the net and he sent a diagram he drew and scanned. Was I amazed? Of course, Guada did wrong! But it was so simple, she could have done it right if she was taught or shown how to do it. Damn, she could even decipher how to use a digital cam when it first came out just by reading the manual. How could she have missed that simple lampshade thing?

So I brought the things to the office and asked an engineering aide put the wires together and sure enough, it was according to my friend's drawing. It wasnt that I didnt trust my friend. I just didnt want to do it myself. Honestly, i am scared of anything that sparks.

Now Guada wanted to test it. I said, "No. You bring it to school and show it to your teacher and asked him if it was done properly and then you can switch it on the socket in your school's wall. If he refuses, I will come to your school and give him a piece of my mind." She knew I meant it.

My children know how I am when I am convinced about something. I just cant; take things sitting down. I stand by it. And to hell with that st***d teacher if he makes a fuss about it. He will know what trouble means.

Sadly now, the once delightful spark in her eyes were gone and she became afraid to even touch the wires. I guess she got the scare, but I said to treat the thing as lesson learned and to teach her teacher responsibility when she explains why she was not allowed to test the thing at home.

Now, am I assuming again that the st***d teacher will understand?