T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Miller Middle School teacher Christine Gilbertson helps seventh-grader Luis Monge with the Lexia program which is used to aide areas like reading comprehension.

Meet Christine Gilbertson, seventh-grade language arts teacher at Miller Middle School in the Marshalltown School District.

Gilbertson, 40, graduated from Marshalltown High School in 1997. She obtained her bachelor of arts degree in English education from the University of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls.

Gilbertson is in her sixth year of teaching at Miller. She worked part-time for a while until her youngest child started grade school.

Gilbertson’s family include her husband, Bob, who is a technology media specialist at Miller; son, Charlie who is in seventh grade; son Kyan, grade six; and daughter Faye who is in the fourth grade.

Q: Why did you decide to become a teacher:

A: I see teaching as a way to live my faith every day. My own memories of middle school are pretty rough, so I try to encourage and support students as much as I can physically, emotionally, academically.

Q: What is it like being a teacher at Miller Middle School?

A: In middle school, a teacher has to literally be ready for anything. Flexibility, empathy and a positive attitude are the most important things to walk in the doors with every morning.

Q: What are the best aspects of your job?

A: I love that ‘aha’ moment when a student finally figures out something he or she has been struggling with, whether it’s academic or personal.

Q: What are the biggest challenges you face?

A: Time! With 129 students currently on my roster, it is a struggle to plan engaging lessons, check student assignments and give quality feedback. That doesn’t include the meetings and other expected duties.

Q: What do you want the people of Marshalltown to know about your job, the school, the district, etc.?

A: Middle schoolers have such a bad reputation for being loud and obnoxious, but really they are just trying to figure out what their place is in the world. They are still children and many of them have life experiences far beyond adults due to their circumstances. Be kind, not judgmental — you never know how a simple response may impact a student.

Q: What do you like to do in your spare time:

A: Spare time? That’s funny! I’m currently working on my master’s of education through Grand View University and we are still working on house repairs resulting from the tornado. Otherwise I like to do a little bit of everything — bake, garden, read, eat good food, go to rock concerts with my husband and watch my kids do things they love.