Local High Schools Celebrate Drive Your Tractor To School Day
Annual FFA Tradition Continues At Local High Schools
I was one of two girls in the agriculture class at my high school, and the one thing we looked forward to each year? Drive your tractor to school day. That's right, it's a real thing in Indiana! In your smaller, rural areas, tractors filled the parking lot on this day.
In my senior year, we had 25 tractors participate, a far cry from the three that showed up in my freshman year. Granted, it's been over 20 years since I was in high school, but the tradition was always open to anyone with a tractor who wanted to ride it to school.
What is FFA and Why Do They Allow Kids to Drive Tractors to School?
In today's world, this day is commonly practiced in conjunction with National Future Farmers of America Week. FFA is an agricultural club that teaches youth, in a hands-on manner, everything they need to know about living in the country. Not only does "drive your tractor to school day" encourage more students to learn about agriculture and the heritage of agriculture, but it also keeps kids interested in this important field of study. Most importantly, this allows for preparation and safety matters to be addressed well in advance of the event.
For instance, Boonville High School made social media posts to make sure the community was aware that an influx of tractors would be out and about, and to watch out for the kiddos driving them (see below). Multiple high schools in Kentucky participate, which is an excellent representation of the Commonwealth.
See Some Tractors in Action
Check out the video below from Graves County High School in Mayfield, Kentucky. Local high schools have participated in this day for as far back as I can remember. I'm not sure if my alma mater even offers agriculture classes anymore, but Castle High School used to have a decent participation rate. Gibson Southern always has an excellent turnout, as they should, being that they're located in the middle of a corn field.
Drive Your Tractor or Anything You Want to School
Gallery Credit: Credit - Polly McAdams