Our over-the-range microwave oven experienced a meltdown this week. After we’d turned in for the night, an unusual noise emanated from “somewhere else” in the house. A short jaunt through dark hallways found our microwave’s door wide open, a bit of unexpected light escaping into the kitchen. I tried closing the door, but the mechanism would not catch. Again I tried, and again. Giving up and unplugging it, we re-retired, planning to investigate the following morning.

Alas, the next-morning check gave me little hope of fixing it myself. Perhaps we could uninstall the microwave and drive it in to a service counter in town to avoid the extra cost of a service call. Four screws removed – all that we could find – let us tip the microwave out a tiny bit, but no more. Internet diagrams and videos helped not at all, nor did the manual that I’d fortunately saved and located. I’d need to visit the service counter armed only with paperwork.

A helpful technician listened and then discussed my symptoms, explaining suggestions on other microwave ovens on display nearby. If the issue could be isolated to the door, I had hope of repairing without removing the oven from the wall. If, however, the issue was behind the control pad, we’d likely be better off financially by buying a new one (and, of course, we’d still need to figure out how to get the old one off the wall).

Well, the issue was fatal to the microwave. Pulling down on little metal tabs that were awkward to reach and hard to see, we finally succeeded with the removal. Amazon Prime provided a new oven quickly, and with about four hours’ work (many little anecdotes there too), my wife and I had a new microwave oven.

Some major learning activities integrated into my CIT and BUS courses met similar fates. Well-planned, thoughtfully honed, and carefully implemented, some were – or became – ineffective. Tweaks were first sought and implemented, and often that sufficed. However, as was the case for our failing microwave (an expensive name-brand unit with an apparently undeserved reputation), repairing a few of the lessons was a waste of time and effort; complete replacements were due. It was hard to garner enough enthusiasm to start fresh and invest needed effort, but when all was done, student learning won.