Colonel John Kallam served for 20 years in the US
Army from late 1930s to late 1950s. Having done BA in criminology, he
had an illustrious profile as an investigator during the Nuremberg
trials of Nazi war criminals, organizing civilian police forces in
Germany in the post-war era for several years and writing a number of
books on criminal justice. After retiring from military service, he
joined as a lecturer in the Fresno State College of California that
later came to be known as the California State University, Fresno. He
naturally taught criminology and his experience made him an able teacher
and earned him respect that he deserved. Yet, after ten years of
service, the president of the college asked him to update his
qualifications with a postgraduate degree, as a bachelor's degree was
not enough anymore to teach in a prestigious college with changing
times.
He even rubbed off that it was only due to his 20 years of experience
and distinguished record that he was allowed a concession to continue
only with a 'master's' degree rather than the doctorate degree, which
was necessary for other faculty members. John Kallam was not too pleased
of course. Yet, he got enrolled in a summer program at an out of state
college that required three months of intensive seminars and then nine
months of home study to earn him the degree of MA. Yet the biggest irony
happened on the very first day of his class as a student in this summer
program. When the instructor was taking roll, the instructor paused at
his name and asked him that was he related somehow to John Kallam, the
author of the textbook they were about to use. Just imagine his surprise
on receiving the dry response that John Kallam, the author of the
textbook he was about to use, was sitting in his class, to be taught
from the very same book to earn a 'degree' deemed necessary to prove his
qualifications!
