A Break in the Action

It took the neurologist most of the summer to figure out what was wrong with me. While he was diagnosing the problem, I flew to Chicago to see the Yankees play the White Sox twice. Even though the Yankees were the reigning World Series champions, they lost both of those games to Chicago. My friend Hatch drove down from Michigan to meet me in Chicago. It was good to see my old friend again. I'd known him since we were freshmen in high school.

Chicago was suffering from one of its typical mid-summer heat waves, but this one was worse than most. At one afternoon game, it was 105 degrees with
90 % humidity. I took two walk-through showers behind the outfield grandstands. I drank ten glasses of water and consumed no beer that day. I still wound up in the emergency room that night and was given five bags of IV fluid. After being released at 5:00 a. m., I went to Hatch's friend's house where we were staying and slept for a few hours. We went to see the Mets play the Cubs that afternoon. It was a little bit cooler than the previous day and we were sitting in the shade. That evening we drove to Hatch's house in Saugatuck, Michigan.

As we were driving, the heat wave finally broke and it was pleasant by the time we reached Saugatuck on the shores of Lake Michigan. The cooler weather gave me a chance to think. I was really hoping the neurologist would have some answers for me when I returned to Colorado.

He did. I had a degenerative cervical disk which was causing longitudinal pressure on my spinal cord, producing foot drag and the limp. This was sobering news.

"What can we do?" I asked Dr. M.

"I'm afraid you'll need surgery as soon as possible," he replied seriously. Dr. M. had a great sense of humor, and he was always kidding around, but not this time.

"Could it be anything else?" I asked.

"I considered multiple sclerosis, but you don't have enough white spots on your brain," he replied.

"That's a relief," I said.

School began the next week and I told my principal what the neurologist said. I worked the first two weeks of the year and then had surgery in early September. The school year began smoothly, but a five week break that early in the year is difficult for even a veteran teacher to overcome.

I was shocked at how undisciplined students had become in such a short time. I came back in mid-October and spent the time up to Christmas break reinstituting strict and fair discipline policies. When I returned it took an average of 15-20 minutes to begin each class. By January, we had managed to pare that down to one to two minutes.

The year finished on a positive note, but I learned an important lesson that year: students are like water. They will seek their own level. If they're allowed to sink, they will go downhill in a hurry. On the other hand, if expectations are high, and fair, consistent discipline is maintained, everyone will be happier and more productive.