Pratt Third-Graders Say Si To Spanish Lessons

It was 26 degrees outside, and the ice and snow near Pratt Elementary made walking treacherous.

But that didn’t deter Kathryn Westermann from walking through the icy mess in black cotton sandals and a light summer dress.

Once a week, no matter what the weather, Westermann dresses as if she lives south of the border. The mother of three said her cotton skirts and dresses get a little chilly during the winter, but the warm-weather wardrobe accomplishes its goal.

“It keeps the kids’ interest,” she said, referring to the third-graders who eagerly await her weekly Spanish lessons. Westermann, a volunteer at Pratt, teaches Spanish to two classes of third-graders.

In order to make the language, customs and dress come alive for the children, Westermann never leaves the house on Tuesdays without donning a colorful Spanish-style vestida (dress), espradrilles (sandals) or sombrero to wear to class.

In addition to the brightly embroidered cotton dress she wore to class that cold day, Westermann also wore butterfly-shaped earrings, and a bright red bow that kept her blonde hair tucked behind her ears.

When she stands in front of the Pratt third-graders, all eyes are fixed upon her. And their hands shoot up, the moment she asks a question.

“What’s the word for snow?” she asked. “Nieve,” most of the children answered.

A few children sang out, “Snow, snow,” and then giggled at their mistake.

“I don’t want to hear English,” she said, covering her ears and shaking her head in mock despair.

Westermann’s foreign-language skills lay relatively dormant - in this country, at least - until her daughter’s third-grade teacher, Kathy Curtis, discovered that Westermann had studied Italian, French and Spanish in college and was fluent in all three languages.

Westermann, who still visits friends in Mexico and Argentina, uses music and storytelling to keep squirming third-graders excited about speaking, singing and reading Spanish.

Curtis has fond memories of learning some Spanish at an early age.

“I went to school at Bonners Ferry, and in third grade our piano teacher taught us some Spanish,” Curtis said.

The experience stuck with Curtis, enough so that she took two years of high school Spanish.

So when Curtis uncovered Westermann’s talents, she asked her if she would be interested in teaching her own class of third-graders.

“Third grade is a wonderful age to pick up things like this. It sparks that little seed of interest,” Curtis said.

Westermann’s ecstatic response surprised Curtis.

“It wasn’t just something she was interested in; it was something she had dreamed of doing,” Curtis said.

“She has invested a lot of her own money, time and resources in the kids,” Curtis said.

Many of the books and materials Westermann brings to class are paid for out of her own pocket, Curtis said. When Westermann began volunteering, Curtis was so enthralled with her presentation, which included the colorful costumes, that she asked Westermann to promise to continue to “dress the part.”

In the past eight months Westermann has assembled a brightly colored wardrobe, unsuitable for Spokane’s winter months but suitable for third-graders who have grown accustomed to it.

“I go to the thrift store and someone picks up a skirt and says, ‘Now that’s really loud,”’ Westermann said. “I say, ‘You think so?’ And I buy it.”

Children who want to continue learning Spanish after third grade may do so through Pratt’s after-school language program.

And while the third-graders have acquired a “pretty good Spanish vocabulary,” Curtis said, they’ve also learned a little bit about life in other countries.

“When I visited Tijuana this December, I met a 15-year-old girl who had never, ever been to school,” Westermann told Curtis’ class.

“How sad she doesn’t get to go to school. You’re very lucky to be able to go to school.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Photo