Manuel Costa teaches special education at Tracy High. He enjoys working in his garden and takes care of his farm when he’s not teaching. He loves his job and feels great satisfaction when his students begin to improve and understand the lessons.

Where did you go to school? “I graduated from Tracy High in 1969, then I went to Delta for two years, went to California State University, Hayward for my bachelor’s degree then California State Stanislaus for my masters degree.”

Did you always want to teach Special Education? “I had a Masters to teach physical education, but there were no jobs available. When I looked for jobs in special education, I got hired right away.”

How do you approach teaching Special Education? “Each day is a new day, you have to be very patient and handle things varying on the situation.”

What do you get out of this experience? “I get the satisfaction of watching the kids grow and develop. It is very rewarding to watch them improve throughout the year.”

What do you do on your free time? “I enjoy to garden, carpentry, and construct or build homes; I also like to take care of my farm.”

Is it different to teach at your high school? “Yes, it was weird seeing teachers that were mine when I was in high school.”

Have you had any experience prior to this? “I started teaching right out of school. I began to teach at the prison but it was hard to make the transition from that to special education.”