Seven days sailing the Atlantic while taking ballroom dance classes, watching movies and discovering space in the planetarium is how LSE English teacher Greg Spangler spent a portion of his summer.

Spangler spent 19 days in total on this dream getaway for his 30th birthday this past summer. He toured the United Kingdom and Scotland. Additionally, he saw many museums and sights that every tourist dreams of. His favorite aspect of this trip was crossing the Atlantic Ocean on a cruise ship, which was the first time he had ever been on a ship of that size for that long.

For seven days, he sailed with his mother by his side across the Atlantic while entertaining himself with several ballroom dance classes, movies and lectures. 

“I felt there was almost too much to do,” Spangler said.

While he isn’t spending his time traveling abroad and learning new things, his favorite activity is teaching high school. “I just love being with teenagers. I love introducing them to the content that I get to teach,” Spangler said. 

Spangler has been inspiring students for the past five years at LSE. He teaches English 10D, AP Art History and Photojournalism. He also sponsors the Sexuality and Gender Acceptance club (SAGA). His favorite class is AP Art History, which has been offered for the last three years at Southeast. 

Spangler’s love for art history was inspired by his captivation of beauty. He enjoys “the beauty of individuals, the beauty of the world and [beauty] in all of its forms.” 

Throughout Spangler’s educational career, he has had several major influencers in his life. “Being a great student, I was blessed with really fantastic teachers,” Spangler said. 

In high school he was influenced by his science, english and art teachers. 

Spangler gained his empathy from his grandmother who taught him “what it meant to be kind to people”.

Having these positive experiences with his teachers as well as his grandmother gave him the idea to start teaching. 

Being a teacher has taught him several lessons. Spangler has honed in on his ability to “read a room and read the cacophony of the human experience”. Any student that has had Spangler as their teacher knows that his empathy is what makes him stand out. The skills that he has learned so far are skills that he will use for the rest of his life.

Teaching is at the center of Spangler’s life. In the future, he would like to be able to get his doctoral degree in art history. In order to do so, Spangler must pass the Modern Language exam in two different languages. 

“I’ve always thought that the best way to live a language is to be forced to,” Spangler said. 

In order to do so, he would like to teach abroad and be fully immersed in the language and culture of another country. After doing that, he would like to come back, take the exam and become a college professor or continue teaching high school. 

“My heart and my goal will always be with art history,” Spangler said.