Sandy’s Terrific Tuesday Trio

“Tuesday’s child is full of grace” … as the poem goes. And this is so true for what these students give to me. They show me the grace that volunteerism can bring to one’s life. My years with GiGi’s Playhouse Rochester have brought me laughter, joy and love.

My career began (many years ago) teaching a class of six students with special needs. My career grew and I found myself learning how to teach individuals with Down syndrome. It was most certainly a challenge and a gift for me as an educator. Those six students stayed with me for four years, which is not always a common occurrence today. After their first four years with me as their teacher, I moved to the intermediate level, and they followed. I taught the same six students for seven years. We created a family together! I continue to see one of those students and she is sixty-two years old. Now I am “Sandy” to her and not “Mrs. Sloan”.

GiGi’s has given me those same special feelings on Tuesday mornings when Jimmy, Kareen, and Troy spend time learning. After all these years, I am still able to learn from them, every day! It is a gift to be able to help these three students show the world what they can do. They teach me every week that judging someone based on a diagnosis causes you to miss out on the amazing opportunity to see uniqueness.

-Sandy