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Saturday, February 24, 2007
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She talks and walks Spanish
Staff Writer There's more behind the woman than what people see in Jan Kurtz of rural Fort Ripley.
Kurtz, a Spanish instructor at Central Lakes College in Brainerd, is more than a woman who teaches students how to speak Spanish. She's more than someone who helps coordinate "Cultural Thursdays" in the Resource Center for Cultures and Languages of the Americas at the college and "La Mesa," a weekly gathering where people speak Spanish at Northwest Pizza Boardwalk Bread 'n Bagel in Brainerd.
Kurtz, 54, is someone who'd like to see a change in the world. She'd like to see people be more open-minded about individuals of another culture and not be so quick to judge. She'd like to see more people learn a second or third language because it's essential to everyone's life in one way or another.
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Jan Kurtz, Central Lakes College Spanish instructor, handed out paper plates to her students during one of her Spanish classes. Brainerd Dispatch/Steve Kohls
» Purchase reprints of this photo.
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Kurtz has been a cheerleader for the Spanish culture in the Brainerd lakes area for 25 years. The Spanish culture unexpectedly entered her life in ninth grade at Eau Claire, Wis., Memorial High School, where Kurtz took her first Spanish class.
"They (school officials) told us that you needed two years of a foreign language if you planned to go to college and I did," said Kurtz. "I took the class right away because I wanted to get it over with. I'm German, but ninth-graders were only able to take Spanish.
"I had a wild Spanish teacher and we had to call him 'El Jefe Supremo.' I soon became hooked and took Spanish for three years."
When Kurtz was 15 she went to Mexico and stayed with a Mexican family. It was this trip where Kurtz learned so much about the Spanish culture and it became her passion. After high school, Kurtz attended Hamline University and majored in Spanish. She did her junior semester abroad in Seville, Spain.
Before Kurtz got the chance to land her first teaching job, tragedy hit that changed her life. At age 25, Kurtz became a widow with a 1-year-old son to raise when her first husband, Jim Doth, was killed in a motorcycle accident.
With help from her college Spanish professor, Kurtz got a teaching job in Forest Lake. Kurtz said trying to teach Spanish when you're depressed was tough.
If you go
Jan Kurtz helped found the following events:
Cultural Thursdays: The next one will be this Thursday in the Chalberg Theatre at CLC. Larry Aitken, Cass Lake, a history instructor at Itasca Community College and a Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe member, will discuss the photographs in a rare collection made in the 1930s and 1940s by Monroe P. Killy.
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"Teaching a foreign language takes a lot of energy," said Kurtz. "You need to be enthusiastic so the students are excited to come to class and learn."
Kurtz later taught in White Bear Lake and met her second husband, Robert Morgan. Kurtz moved to Brainerd to join Morgan and took a job with the Brainerd School District in 1982 as a Spanish teacher. She later earned her master's degree and began at CLC in the 1995-96 academic year.
Kurtz wanted to teach Spanish to students of all ages and she wanted to teach the Many Faces of Mexico, a course that explores cultural, historical and social realities that form contemporary Mexico.
Kurtz said the class is based on small group discussions and the students are expected to research a variety of life skills and bilingual material from the past to the present in Mexico.
Besides teaching, Kurtz helped secure exchange students for the Brainerd High School and now she works with exchange teachers at the college.
Kurtz said that if she can make a positive impact on someone's life with the Spanish language it would be her greatest accomplishment.
"My goal is to be able to leave the profession when Spanish is an accepted second language," said Kurtz.
Her trips and missions are surrounded by Spanish-speaking countries and many of the people she's met have been associated with the language. Kurtz has traveled extensively and one of her favorite trips was when about 15 community members traveled to Spain in 2001. Kurtz said she wanted to share her favorite traditions with others and they all had a good time.
Through her time in Brainerd, Kurtz said she has met many great people, like Dr. Jerry Poland of the Crosby Eye Care Center. Poland said he met Kurtz seven years ago when he enrolled in a Spanish conversation class.
"I was really impressed with her," said Poland. "There are teachers who talk the talk, but she also walks the walk. She's so animated and entertaining in the class. She cares for the students and connects with them and everyone else who's involved in community affairs.
"She's a great asset to the community and a great role model for students."
Poland and Kurtz started the Poland-Kurtz Latin Studies Scholarship to help CLC students further their education. The annual Festival Latino event is its main fundraiser.
Kurtz said she doesn't plan to retire anytime soon.
"Spanish gave me a new persona," said Kurtz. "I'll continue to be a cheerleader of the Spanish language."
JENNIFER STOCKINGER can be reached at jennifer.stockinger@brainerddispatch.com or 855-5851.
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