ELK GROVE HIGH SCHOOL FFA

                On September 25, 3^rd-grade students from all over the Elk Grove Unified School District came to the Elk Grove High School Ag Barns.  The reason?  A day of fun, learning, activities, all wrapped up into a day called 3^rd-Grade Field Day.

                So what is 3^rd-grade field day, exactly?  It’s a day where both 3^rd graders and agricultural students from Elk Grove High had the chance to miss school, obviously.  But the deeper and more meaningful part of the day involved teaching young minds and future agriculturalists about the many aspects of the farming world that they might join someday.  It was a chance for students to ask questions, learn important and interesting facts, play with the animals, and most of all, expand their knowledge of the agricultural world.

                Agricultural students of Elk Grove High were split into two groups of presenters and group leaders, with the presenters leading discussions and creating fun booths for the 3^rd graders to visit and the group leaders guiding the teachers, students, and staff who were at the school to do some learning.  3^rd graders only had one simple task: have fun.  The learning came automatically, with facts around every corner and information from every booth.

                3^rd-grade field day is always successful, with all participants feeling like they’ve either learned about their future, or taught to what will be the future.  Everyone has fun, from teaching the chicken dance, to watching group leaders juggle fruits, and all sorts of activities between.  When asked if they had fun, almost every 3^rd graders replied with a smile and a “Yes!”  The best part is, one day, these same elementary school students will take on the role of agricultural enthusiasts and will teach the 3^rd graders of their time the very same facts and principles.

                But this is far into the future, isn’t it?  And how can anyone know that these presentations and fun dances will really inspire these 3^rd graders to one day join the agricultural community?  The answer is simple: once upon a time, the presenters at Elk Grove High were 3^rd graders too, being taught at the very same agricultural barns, with the very same intentions.  Obviously, they’ve come a long, long way from being 3^rd graders, and yet they’re here, doing the exact thing that might have once inspired them to join the agricultural program offered at Elk Grove High.

                So what is so special about 3^rd-grade field day?  Is it the learning about anything agricultural?  Is it the enthusiastic smiles from both presenters and eager students, willing to learn?  Is it just the excitement of getting out of class for one day?  It’s all of this, and the fact that one day, these same bright faces will one day take over as gifted leaders in the agricultural world, and that high school students have a chance to teach the future.  It’s the hope that these young minds will make the world a better place for the population of tomorrow.  It’s the surprise that even with the world advancing faster and faster into the technological age, there is still a want to learn about the part of the community where the tech is optional, and where it really is okay to drive a tractor to work or have a dairy cow as a pet.  There is still a want, and an eagerness, to learn about agriculture.