Q + A: Electronics and Auto Mechanics teacher Larry Mendonca
Larry Mendonca helps student with a computer assignment in Electronics.
May 12, 2014
Larry Mendonca teaches Electronics and Auto Mechanics. He enjoys listening to big band music and playing in his classic rock band. His band makes appearances at social events.
How long have you’ve been teaching? “I have been teaching for 38 years. I started at Delano High School in Delano. I worked there for four years, and I was what you call a ‘garbage teacher’.”
What is a “garbage teacher”? “It is a teacher that is left with the classes no one else can fill. I taught electronics, wood shop, metal shop, general science, and basic math.”
What classes have you taught? “I have taught Exploratory Industrial Technology, Radio and TV Repair, Wood Shop 1, Auto Mechanics 1, Network Fundamentals, Support Room, Beginning Guitar, Cyber High, and Electronics.”
When do you plan to retire? “I am retiring at the end of this year.”
What are your plans for retirement? “I plan to travel; my first trip is to Azores which is the islands off the coast of Portugal that my parents came from.”
How was it growing up? “My parents were immigrants, so when I started kindergarten I could not speak English, but I quickly learned.”
What do you enjoy to do with your free time? “I enjoy listening and playing music. I have been in at least one band since 1964. I mostly play guitar or saxophone.”
What is your favorite memory at Tracy High? “It is kind of blurred. Picking classes for high school used to be done the day before school started; it was called Mill-in Day. The students were given these cards and then they went to the teacher they wanted to have and gave them the card. At the end of the day the teacher would take in their stack of cards and have them scanned, that is how classes were picked.”
What is the craziest thing you have seen here? “One time in Support Room a student set his desk on fire. I smelled lighter fluid, so I let it burn out, I had the student clean the desk, then I sent him to the office.”
How would you describe each year of high school? “Freshman are immature. Sophomores are much wiser than freshman. Juniors are really laid back, and seniors are panicking at the last part of the year.”
What was your worst experience with construction? “When the Heinz factory closed all the rats came here. You would see them running across the campus to the basements of the old buildings.”
What advice would you give to a new teacher? “Hang in there, it gets better.”
