Florida Future Educators of America, better know as Educats, is a volunteering club for kids who want to make a difference.  They have recently completed a book drive benefiting the Ronald McDonald House and other local charities.  It was an enormous success with them collecting over 500 books to donate. Educats also alternates volunteering at the Ronald McDonald House where they bake treats for the families with helping tutor children at Chiles Elementary School.

Along with volunteering outside of Buchholz, Educats conducts teacher appreciation week in May and writes features on new teachers in Cat Tracks. 

 

What is FEA?

MISSION

  • Provide middle and high school students with opportunities to explore teaching as a career option.

  • Help students gain a realistic understanding of the nature of education and the role of the teacher.

  • Coordinate information about teaching as a profession, employment opportunities, financial assistance options, and educational issues such as professional mobility, diversity, job security, and other matters.

RATIONALE

 

The good health of our nation's schools depends on bringing into classrooms as new teachers the brightest and best among today's students.  Teaching needs to be viewed as a promising career option.  Particularly needed in the future will be teachers from diverse backgrounds to match and be sensitive to the increasing diversity in our classrooms.

 

HISTORY

 

During the first half of this century, the National Education Association initiated a Future Teachers of America program, of which local chapters still exist in a number of states.  Other similar efforts were made by various state departments notably, by Jan Towslee who, as president of the Association of Teacher Educators, made the development of Future Educators of America a priority.

 

Phi Delta Kappa has decided to act as a catalyst to develop a national FEA network that, it is hoped, will draw together the individual initiatives into a cohesive nationwide program of support for the development of new teachers.

 

 

What Local FEA Chapters Do

 

For students... FEA helps to explore teaching as a career option, provides a realistic understanding of teaching, and encourages students from diverse backgrounds to think seriously about the teaching profession.

For teachers... FEA offers a chance to shape our nation's future by shaping the future of the education profession and gives teachers opportunities to examine, clarify, and explain their role in students' lives.

For schools... FEA is a service opportunity that elevates the role of teachers and offers new avenues of communication about education and its place in the community.

For communities... FEA provides a chance for communities to "grow their own" future teachers and raises the status of the education profession in the eyes of their citizens.

For colleges... FEA expands the pool of applicants to teachers education programs and provides early identification of potentially excellent future teachers.

For the education profession... FEA extends the vision of the profession by enlarging the talent pool; creates a positive image of teaching for students, parents, and other citizens; and encourages the influx of new ideas and diverse points of view.