District News

Harper’s Unsung Heroes

September 2024

Written by Gale Fischer

Contentment

“Contentment is the foundation of true happiness. It is accepting and embracing the present moment as it is”—-Jeremiah Say

As humans, we experience an array of emotions over a lifetime and in shorter segments. Excitement, sadness, grief, and relief are a few examples. There are highs and lows on this emotion spectrum. One emotion that lies in the middle is contentment. Contentment provides comfort and predictability, two traits that support mental, physical, and emotional health. There are many things that can contribute to one being content. Positive childhood experiences, peaceful family dynamics, rewarding social experiences, and working in a career that dishes out a daily dose of satisfaction are a few examples of what can boost one’s contentment. This month’s Harper Unsung Hero, Sharon Waltman, seems in a place in her life in which contentment has become a common theme. Her experiences as a child and an adult have contributed to this with her time in the classroom as a teacher providing support as well. 

Sharon was born and raised in the Cereal City. She reflects on the comfort and stability that she was blessed with as a child. “I was born in Marshall in 1966 and grew up on a farm in East Leroy. My twin brother Steven and I are the babies of the family with one older brother, Kevin, and an older sister Karen.” Sharon’s father,  Bob worked at Kellogg's and after her children were through middle school, Maxine got a job as the librarian at Sonoma Elementary. Maxine had always been an avid reader with a love for books and working in the library was a job she took a deep satisfaction in. Although Bob and Maxine worked outside the home, they still carved out time to farm.

Sharon describes life as a farm girl. “We had dairy cows, meat cows, and horses. We had a four-acre garden each summer. My siblings and I were in had a large of planting, taking care of the weeding, and harvesting. Daily chores were a part of my life. I appreciate my parents instilling in me that hard work pays off. I had a very nurturing childhood.” Living on a farm was the backbone of Sharon’s youth and helped to fuel another passion for her. She describes the highlight of her summers as a child. “I enjoyed participating in 4H growing up. Every summer I  showed cows and horses at the Calhoun County Fair. I also created a ton of projects for the fair. My mom was also my 4H leader. Going to the fair was a big part of my childhood. I loved being able to see friends from Harper Creek and other schools in the area. We would camp at the fairgrounds all week. Fair week was the pivotal part of each summer for me.” 

Sharon enjoyed being around friends at the county fair and the social experiences that it brought. It also provided opportunities for her to hone some critical skills to prepare her for life to come. She talks about one of these skills that is still a big part of her life. “My mom loved working in the kitchen, so I did many cooking projects for the fair. I still enjoy cooking but have had to scale back with only two of us left in the house. Many of my recipes are stuck in my head and I don’t need to use a recipe book. I wanted my boys to learn how to cook and taught them this before they moved out of the house. My lasagna is probably my favorite dish to make.” 

The Calhoun County Fair may have been what shaped her life most growing up but school was something that she enjoyed equally. Sharon reflects on her school-age years. “I loved school and was very social.  Some of my teachers might say that I talked too much. Darlene Hunt, a former teacher had a huge influence on me. She always instilled a passion in me for learning new things. Darlene was a student teacher in my classroom in first grade. When I was a student teacher, I was in Darlene’s kindergarten room. I also spent a lot of time in the library with my mom outside of school hours.”  Other activities that Sharon participated in during her childhood and as a high school student included Girl Scouts, softball, volleyball, cheerleading, and track.

Sharon had been influenced by two very dynamic educators; Darlene Hunt and Brenda Eason. Her mom was a librarian at Sonoma Elementary School where she spent her Kindergarten through sixth grade years. Sharon’s grandmother, Katholine Mowry had also been a teacher for Harper Creek. It seemed that Sharon was destined to become an elementary school teacher but this destiny would take some time to unfold.  She describes the next stage of her life as a young adult. “After graduating from Harper Creek High School in 1984 I started at Kellogg Community College. I knew that I wanted to work with kids but wasn’t sure in what capacity. As a kid, I had always been uncertain of what I wanted to do when I grew up. There were times when I thought that I might want to be a meteorologist and later a hairdresser. I attended KCC for two years and earned my associate's degree in human services and also received my childcare certificate.”

After finishing at KCC, Sharon found herself at a fork in the road. She discusses what she did next. “After finishing at KCC I thought that I might want to be a teacher, so I enrolled at Western Michigan to work on a degree to teach elementary education. I graduated from Western Michigan in 1989.” While attending Western Michigan Sharon was introduced to Scott Waltman through a mutual friend in 1986. The two of them hit it off and began dating. Three years later they were married. 

The job market for teachers looked much different in the late 1980s and early 1990s than it does today. Finding and securing a teaching position was a very competitive process. Sharon reflects on her struggle to land a teaching job. “I couldn’t find a teaching job right away. I substitute taught for two school years but still was unable to secure a full-time job. I decided to look elsewhere for a job. I was hired as  the director of the Child Development Center in Marshall.” While working at the Child Development Center Sharon became pregnant. She and Scott were blessed with their first child, Alec in 1994. Sharon received free child care through the Child Development Center and was able to take Alec to work with her. 

Sharon enjoyed working as a daycare director but still aspired to become a teacher. She kept her resume current at some of the local school districts. She reflects on finally getting a chance to prove herself as a teacher. “I received a call from Carol Hughes at Harper Creek in 1995 about a Kindergarten job. After an interview, the job was offered to me and I started teaching at Wattles that fall as a half-day kindergarten teacher. The other half day I worked as Title 1 Parent Services Coordinator for all three elementary schools.” Sharon’s job duties as Title 1 Parent Services Coordinator included programming for families and offering workshops for parents centering on parenting and how to help with the education process. 

Sharon worked the split position for a year before beginning her tenure at Beadle Lake Elementary. She talks about making an internal switch in the district. “After a year at Wattles Park, a first-grade position came open at Beadle Lake so I moved into that position in 1996. I worked as a first-grade teacher for a few years and then for a few years looped back between first and second grade.” Looping between two grade levels was a concept that Sharon had wanted to try. She felt the consistency of teaching the same group of students would be beneficial for her as a teacher as well as her students, providing consistency and strengthening community and relationships within her classroom. In the midst of these transitions between two grade levels, Sharon and Scott would be blessed with a second child with the birth of Adam in 1998.

Sharon had made many changes in the first few years of her career, teaching Kindergarten, first grade, and second grade in addition to working directly with parents. The diversity she experienced as a teacher helped to build her skill set. She thrived and learned from teaching students in varying developmental levels and learning the curriculum at multiple grade levels. More change would come. Sharon discusses ongoing transitions in her teaching career. “After looping between first and second grade for a few cycles I moved into just second grade for a few years. Later I would move to fourth grade. I also did a third- to fourth-grade split. I was also a Title 1 teacher and instructional coach for eight years. Eventually, I moved back to fourth grade and have been there for six years.”

Some teachers develop a comfort level in teaching the same subject or grade level for multiple school years. There are those who remain in the same position for their entire career. Change can be difficult at times. Sharon has thrived on the movement through different grade levels as a teacher. It is something that she has embraced. She reflects on how it has made her a better teacher. “I have always felt that I have learned from the students. They have taught me how to be a better teacher. I have also learned from my own children how to be a better teacher. Raising kids can help you to be better  teacher.” Making an impact on the lives of others is a goal of those who teach. This is part of Sharon’s ongoing blueprint as a teacher. “I don’t necessarily need to be everyone’s favorite teacher. I just want the kids to look back and know that I wanted them to feel cared for and that I wanted to prepare them for the future. I want them to know that I am going to hold them accountable but also have their back. In the later part of my career, I have tried to emphasize to my students that they can’t always control how they feel but they can control how they react to these feelings.” Sharon extended her impact on students at Harper Creek in another way as well, coaching the varsity cheerleading team in 1991.

Teaching is one of the most flexible careers for raising children. Sharon has enjoyed this perk. She talks about life as parents for her and Scott. “Alec tried sports in elementary school but we learned quickly that this was not his joy. He loved to draw and create. He joined the art club in high school. School was hard for him. He was ADHD and dyslexic. He went to KCC for two years and got associates in computer-aided design (CAD). He worked as a CAD technician for Denso.  Like many siblings, the interests of Alec and Adam varied. “Adam was a swimmer in high school through his senior year, competing at the state level. He wrestled his senior year. He enlisted in the Marine Corps and was a Marine for four years and then went to MSU for a year to study engineering. He decided MSU wasn’t for him so he transferred to Michigan Tech and is now in the Forestry program. He will be graduating in December.” 

Sharon has had a positive impact on the Harper Creek Community, just as her teachers had on her as a student here back in the 1970s and 1980s. She has also been the recipient of the grace of the Harper Creek community in her years as a teacher here. She reflects on the blessings provided by her work support system. “I have always felt that my co-workers have been very supportive and a huge comfort to me. This became very apparent to me after Alec passed away (October 2022). I feel that the relationships that have been created as a teacher at Harper Creek will continue even when I am done teaching. The people that I work with really have become my family. My former students are also like family to me.  I will continue to maintain and foster those relationships as well.”

This will be Sharon’s last year of teaching with plans to retire at the end of the current school year. Scott will be retiring as well and they plan on doing some traveling. They want to enjoy seeing new places together. Although she is looking forward to this new chapter in her story, she will still carry with her the memories of being a classroom teacher. Her life has been fulfilling with comfort and contentment present throughout the journey. Enjoying a career making a difference and doing something she loved has played a part in this comfort and contentment.