By Dahlia Taylor
The Jag
Geoffrey Gran is a retiring woodshop teacher from South. This is his 23rd year teaching but his 19th year at South. The other 4 years he taught at Fort Osage High School.
Before he taught, he was a manufacturer engineer. He didn’t want to always be a woodshop teacher, though.
“I originally did not come to this job to do woodshop I came to teach drafting and computer design, so this just happened part of the gig,” he said.
When asked what’s his favorite part of teaching this what is he had to say.
“Probably the students and great staff, great school district and great admin so it’s a very good place to work and it’s enjoyable,” he said.
Gran doesn’t have a favorite memory from South.
“Probably this interview but seriously I’ve really got so many it’s hard to pick just one, you get new experiences every single day here so each year you come away with tons of them, so I don’t really have a favorite,” he said.
When asked if he’s picked up on anything during his time teaching.
“Nothing specific but there’s but little things you pick up on, little nuggets through the years and things that kids do that are remarkable,” he said.
The reason Gran is retiring is because he’s able and he wants to do other things some of those things are.
“Doing some traveling and scuba diving enjoying some free time for a while,” he said. Gran has been to over 50 countries.
“There are hundred or so places I’ve wanted to visit since I was a kid,” he said.
Places like Spain, Italy. Gran would also like to revisit Japan and spend more time In Indonesia. Gran is planning to go to South America.
“I am planning to go to the South Pacific to do more travelling and scuba diving if time and money permit. As well, a few trips to South America would be a nice change,” he said.
He also really enjoyed Central America and Turkey
“Coincidentally, it was the first country I visited after travelling for 15 months where nobody spoke English in the places we visited.” he said
But one thing he also really enjoys is scuba diving. Gran’s favorite place he’s dove is the Red Sea.
“The water was unbelievably clear. You can see endlessly at depth,” he said.
Gran has been diving for 30 years with lapses in between
