Kottman (II)

So…I got to thinking about a former professor and decided to write some stuff about him.  A lot of students disliked Dr. Kottman, but he made me a much better student–and eventually a better teacher.

After I got the ‘B’ from Kottman, my friend Dave wound up taking his class along with my former roommate Chris.  They were good with being pushed and challenged, too.  In the end, they both took two Kottman classes, just a little after I did.  Not a lot of people did that.

So I graduated before Dave and Chris and when I came back to Ames for a weekend, I stopped by on Friday for Kottman’s office hours.  He kept them at odd times mainly to prevent students from complaining…and serious students would still come see him, so went the logic.  So…I knock on his door at 5pm on a Friday.  He opens it–he was with a student.  He looked at me, smiled, “Damn it, Dietz, you sonuvabitch!  What are you doing here?”  He turned to the other student, “We’re done, get out.”  We talked for about an hour–I have no idea if he had other students looking to talk with him.  He took me out for pizza…the entire time referring to me as ‘you sonuvabitch’ (in a completely affectionate way).  So when I saw Dave later that evening, I mentioned all this.

Dave had an amusing story in that regard.  Remember–no one takes multiple Kottman classes…people who LIKE being pushed were as rare in 1989 as in 2019.  It turned out that on the first day, Kottman did what Kottman does…he came in at the last second, handed out syllabi, and then took attendance.  He didn’t mention Dave or Chris though.  After he went down the roll, he asked “Did I miss anybody?”

Dave and Chris both raised their hands–if they weren’t on the roster, this was an era where it was a pain to get changes done without a lot of time and paperwork.  Kottman looked at the two, “You saps, I know you.”

From that day on, those two were referred to that way (you saps), just as I was ‘sonuvabitch’.

People always thought of Kottman as uncaring or oblivious.  Far from it (my note about him memorizing portions of the FRUS series.  He had an eye for students with potential, who gave a damn.  I think this showed it…that he knew the faces and names of students even after a year’s passage.  I wish more teachers were like him.