Union College held a reception for Karl Heinz Schroeder recognizing the time he has spent here as a professor of History. He is retiring at the end of this school year. I had the priveledge of being able to take most of the classes that Schroeder taught during my time as a student at Union. I'm not going to say that I am his least favorite student of all time. But I wasn't close to his favorite by any stretch of the imagination.
Schroeder is probably one of the most intimidating people that I have ever met. He has a way of looking at you that makes you feel like you don't know what the flip you're talking about. I got that look many times in class and most of the time he was right. Most students at Union know him by his freshmen history class "West and the World". I did not get to know him very well during that class. It was my second semester in college and I had no idea that history would be my major. I got to know him a lot better when I took all of the upper division history classes that I took. Those class sizes are smaller and he has a better view of you since you are in a smaller classroom. I could not run from him and I definately could not hide. I remember a particular day when I had skipped class that I was walking into the cafeteria when I saw him. I looked around to see if there was anywhere I could hide. I was in a wide open lobby so that wasn't going to happen. I thought maybe if I don't create eye contact he won't remember that I wasn't in Renaissance and Reformation this morning. That didn't work. "Richard we missed you in class this morning". "I know, i'm sorry". "Don't be sorry you are the one who is flushing your parent's money down the toilet". I wish I could say that was the only time that we had this kind of conversation. You think it's scary riding the elevator of the Dick building with just you and Schroeder. Try and do it after you missed a Medival Civilization lecture.
I never really got a handle on how not to bug him. It seemed like every single class period I did something. I tried raising my hand and getting involved in the discussion. I tried not making a single noise during the entirety of the class period. I tried sitting up close, sitting in the back. God in heaven did not create me and him in the same way and it was painfully obvious for four years.
Even through all of this I still enjoyed going to his classes. I respected his knowledge for his subject. I appreciated the way he prepared for each class. I enjoyed when he got off subject and yelled at us about his political views. I think what impressed me the most is his love of learning. I was always interested in what books he was reading. One time when he wasn't in his office I stepped in just to see all of the books that he had. He has forgotten more about history then I'll ever know. Schroeder invited a group of us from our Senior History Seminar class to his house once for his famous potato salad and discussion about our 20 page history papers that we were writing for him that semester. When I was in there I just wanted to look at everything. I wanted to see what "Smart People" have in their houses. He gave us a small tour and when he showed us his library I felt like I was in Henry Higgin's office. He had a stack of books 12 deep sitting next to his favorite chair. Since graduating from college I have read many more books then when I was there. I think he is directly responsible for that. I want to love learning as much as he does.
The thing that I will always remember about him has nothing to do with history. It has nothing to do with his love of learning. It has nothing to do with his scholarship. Schroeder is a compassionate person under his gruff german demeanor. The first thing he said when he was making his remarks to the people that came to his reception was that he could not have have done any of it without his wife. He thanked her for forgiving him when he wasn't treating her well. The story I remember the most is during my sophomore year I was going through a really tough time. I would go to class and I would try to act like there wasn't anything bothering me. I don't think that I was a very good actor. As I was leaving class one day Schroeder stopped me and told me to wait after class. After everyone was gone he asked me what was going on. I could not believe that he cared. I explained to him my situation. He stood there and listened to me with sincere thoughtfullness. When I was finished he looked at me and told me that I was going to be ok. It was the first time we had ever talked about anything that did not relate to history. I could tell that he knew exactly what my situation was. I walked away from the classroom feeling like even though he might not have liked me very much that he sincerely cared about me. I won't ever forget that.
3 comments:
Good write-up, Rich. I only took one class from Schroeder (Arts and Ideas), but it turned out to be a top 5 class for me during my time at Union, because of his knowledge for the class. Those are some tough shoes Union is going to have to fill when he leaves.
Trey
I wonder what was in the famous flask/bottle of his. some say hot water, some say carrot juice, others vodka. hmmm
Nice blog Rich. And you are right when it comes to his compassion. There are so many things that he has done to help people out. He was the key ingredient in getting my brother through college and his trials of life. Oh, and I think he does have a flikr account if you want to check his pictures out.
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