Educators Club Brings Future Teachers Together to "Taco 'Bout Education"

Emilie Jenson, Public Information Office
10/27/2023

One of Iowa Central’s newest clubs is a quickly growing group of future teachers, and according to members, that growth can be attributed to something that may have started out as a joke.

The Future Educators Club, founded during the 2022-2023 academic year, meets monthly to discuss various topics related to teaching and preparing for the next steps beyond Iowa Central.

“It started in class, some of us said ‘we should go out for tacos together’,” said Sophomore Early Childhood Major Elinor Jensen. “It was kind of a joke at first that we should get together and have tacos, but then turned into an idea.”

Future Educators Club Adviser Jeff Halter, Early Childhood Education coordinator at Iowa Central, took a weekend to think on that taco suggestion and came up with “Let’s Taco ‘Bout Education,” and ran with the idea.

“The Friday class definitely started something,” said Halter.

Within a few weeks, the Future Educators Club met for their September meeting, and not only talked about education and the year ahead, but they also ate tacos.

In October, the club invited Kyle Haiman, an academic adviser from the University of Northern Iowa School of Education to speak to the group about what programs UNI has to offer, transfer programs, campus life, tuition costs, scholarships and grants, advanced degrees, field experiences and student teaching, as well as answer any questions the students had.

In November, the Future Educators are planning a campus visit to Buena Vista University where they’ll learn about what BVU has to offer education majors, and again enjoy some tacos, this time at La Juanita’s, a popular authentic Mexican restaurant in downtown Storm Lake.

Other future activities for the group include visits to the Education Departments at UNI and Wartburg College in Waverly.

The Future Educators Club has grown from a handful of members last year to around 45 members this year.

“All of our members are education majors,” said Halter. “It’s bringing people together who are in education, but also provides fun, positive learning experiences and opportunities to learn about where they can go when they are finished at Iowa Central.”