Substitute teacher Mr. Ganas may seem like your average teacher at the glance of an eye, but taking a good look can show you he’s more than that. Mr. Ganas has been a Cougar since 1997 – he worked as a guidance counselor until 2008 when he transferred to Palo Verde, so he really feels at home subbing here. Mr. Ganas would describe the energy he receives from students at Sahuaro as “positive, pleasant, yet in control.” Before working at Sahuaro, Mr. Ganas was a junior high teacher for 5 years in Illinois and he also taught social studies and was a counselor at Santa Rita. In addition, he was also a JTED counselor at Palo Verde.

When going more in depth into a conversation with Mr. Ganas, we began to talk about what it’s like being a substitute. I asked Mr. Ganas, “If there are any, what are some stress factors that play into being a substitute teacher?” He responded, “I wouldn’t really say there are any. A big priority I have and tend to stay on top of is following the teacher’s plans and keeping kids on task.”

Outside of being a substitute teacher, Mr. Ganas has  a very intriguing part of his life that not many people know about. In his free time, Mr. Ganas enjoys reenacting historical events and acts out plays from old times, for example the 1880’s Calvary. In addition, he is also in the Sahuaro High faculty rock band (yes!  The faculty has a band!). The strong-bonded band has been playing together for years. Mr Ganas, along with Mr. Wells on the guitar and Mr. Christian on the base guitar describe their music as more of a multi-genre band that plays 60’s, 70’s, 80’s, 90’s, and more. They  practice often and on weekends in the band room. They also used to perform at the talent shows Sahuaro would put on. Mr. Ganas has been playing the guitar for about 61 years now and is still continuing to rock out in his spare time. His “claim-to-fame” is that from 1969-1971 he would fill in for one of the band member of the classic rock band, Styx.  He used to go to school with a couple of the guys, but says he “only filled in at times ’cause I was in my own band at the time.” Not surprisingly, Mr. Ganas rocks inside the classroom and out.