For Immediate Release: October 4, 2005

Second graders in a New York classroom in Forest Hills are busy building skills in reading, writing, math – and character. Their teacher, Michele Manos, believes that including manatees and other animals in the curriculum can instill and foster a sense of compassion and empathy in her young students. “Animals can teach children about parenting skills and social responsibility,” said Manos. “I realize my approach has been successful because former students continue to visit me to thank me for helping them learn about caring for animals as a first step toward learning to care for others, and how this has further enriched their relationships with humans.”

Manos, who has taught second grade at the Kew-Forest School for forty years, weaves messages about respect toward animals into everything she teaches. She works on various projects with her students to help an animal shelter on Long Island and the endangered manatees in Florida. Manos first heard about Save the Manatee Club in 1993, when she spotted manatees in the bayou near her Florida home in Tarpon Springs. As she started researching manatees and learned of their plight from the Club, she decided to incorporate their conservation efforts into her curriculum. Since then, each of her classes has “adopted” two different manatees each year from Save the Manatee Club’s “Adopt-A-Manatee” program.

“When I realized how interested and excited my students were about the manatees, I used their enthusiasm as a springboard for them to create their own original manatee poems,” she explained.

Manos binds the book of poems, which also features a manatee drawing with each student’s poem, and distributes the book at the school’s annual “Special Visitor’s Day” at the end of each school year. A copy is also sent to Save the Manatee Club, which displays the book at various manatee festivals and events. “The poems are so endearing and thoughtful,” said Janice Nearing, Save the Manatee Club Director of Public Relations. “Many festival-goers stop to look through this special book and often comment on the poems, or chuckle at some of the cute manatee drawings. I like to tell people that these are the future Robert Frosts and Picassos from Ms. Manos’ class in New York.”

Manos follows the Club’s conservation activities closely. “They’re intervention on behalf of the manatees has been tireless, and their perseverance and devotion is remarkable in the face of many obstacles,” she said. “We can help by educating our youth as to the benefits of saving these gentle giants, by providing financial help and by encouraging our politicians to pass legislation that will assist the Club in its efforts to save our manatees. In the end, the survival of the manatees is truly a fight for our human survival. It is my hope that this cause will be embraced in other classrooms across the nation.”

Manatee class adoptions from Save the Manatee Club are $20.00. Each adoption includes a certificate, a photo and life history of a real manatee, an information-packed membership handbook, and a subscription to the Club’s newsletter, “The Manatee Zone.”

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