Teacher Features

Showcasing Events of the Union College Education Program

For the fourth year, Union College education students with their sponsors Dr. Joe Allison and Mrs. Kathy Bollinger spent their midterm break at the La Vida Navajo Mission School located near Farmington, New Mexico. The Educational Diversity and Human Relations class made the two day trip to the mission school as part of their course requirements. Students spend four days teaching, eating and playing with the K-8 grade students who attend the mission school and doing projects that the mission staff never seems to have time to get to. Students are divided into two teams with one team working with the mission school teachers and their Navajo students and the other team assisting the administration, maintenance, and kitchen staff with projects on the mission’s grounds. The following day the teams switch places. Students had an additional experience over previous years due to parent-teacher conferences being held at the mission school. The second team of students worked with K-8 grade Native American students at the Lake Valley Indian School which is operated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs and located only five miles from La Vida.

The bus ride – a huge thanks to Jerome Lang – and the hours spent together really helped the class to bond. Many students expressed the fact that they left for the trip not knowing their classmates very well and returned bonded like a family. Also, for several students it confirmed that they had chosen the right profession. The students learned a lot about the Native American culture and challenges, the sacrifice and work of the mission staff and about themselves. One student exclaimed the sentiment of many of their classmates when they shared that they would do it again “in a heart beat.”