After taking a twelve-year teaching hiatus, Ms. Beanie Spangler is excited to finally return to the classroom setting. Spangler joined the WHS science department in the spring of last year as a long term substitute, and has taken on a part time role teaching Honors Biology during purple block this year.

Spangler, who has eight years of teaching experience,  stopped in 2003 to raise her family and now returns to the job she loves.

When she’s in the classroom, Spangler enjoys getting to know her students. “Each student brings unique perspectives and strengths,” said Spangler. “ I enjoy finding out those perspectives and harnessing the strengths of each student while developing other skills they may not know they had.”

Spangler also hopes that her students leave the classroom with more than just a concept of biology. “I hope to develop a growth mindset in each of my students where they are encouraged to explore what interests them, learn critical and analytical thinking skills, hone their logic and are not afraid to take appropriate risks,” said Spangler. “At the same time, I hope they learn to appreciate biology and all its practical applications,” she added.

Although Spangler loves teaching, it is not the career she initially desired. “Originally, I thought I’d like to become a doctor but I had trouble imagining myself giving a family bad news regarding their health,” said Spangler. “I can also be sarcastic and that is not the best attribute in a doctor.”

Before finding a career in teaching, Spangler was actively involved in swimming. She held a variety of positions such as pool manager, swim coach, lifeguard and swim instructor.

Aside from swimming, Spangler enjoys spending her time skiing, scrapbooking, and reading. She is an avid member in a book club. “I love most John Irving titles,” said Spangler. “However, for science, Mary Roach has a great take on peculiar scientific topics.”

Although Spangler has not seen a classroom for years, she was anything but idle during her break. The co-president of the Hunnewell PTO (‘13-’14), a Board Member for the Wellesley Education Foundation since 2011, the secretary of the Hunnewell PTO (‘11-’13), a Girl Scout leader since 2014, and a Board Member for the Wellesley Free Library Foundation since 2015, Spangler made sure she was still involved in her community and is still a part of most of these organizations.

In the long run, Spangler hopes to not only help all of her students succeed in the classroom, but in life as well.

“I encourage each student find their own path to success – whatever that might be for that particular student.  There are many ways to be happy and productive in this world and I hope to provide a good science framework for wherever life may take my student.”

(Celia Golod ’17, Features Editor and Mahika Kudlugi ’18, Staff Writer)

Author

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *