Manatee of the Month?

I’m wondering what is going on in a particular elementary school in my area.  I know there are all kinds of challenges in the public education system, one of which that is constantly being addressed is class size.  But my concern is more along the lines of how big the individuals are in the class and just how much our school system is catering to special groups, or in this case herds.

While out running errands, I saw the following printed on a bumper sticker on two different vehicles:

MY CHILD WAS SELECTED MANATEE OF THE MONTH AT TRIANGLE ELEMENTARY

Manatee on its way to school or looking for the herd
(photo credit: Wikipedia)

This concerns me on a couple of different levels.  For one, manatees don’t travel in schools; they travel in herds.  Herd of manatees?  Yes.

Another concern would be why would a school choose as its mascot a slow-moving marine animal that pretty much just goes through life resting and eating and only makes its presence known when the weather is cold?  Unless, of course, it really is a school full of actual manatees, in which case I understand why I saw both of these bumper stickers on the back of pick-up trucks.  Car pooling takes on a whole new meaning.

I would suggest that the school choose another endangered Florida animal – maybe the Florida Panther.  That’s something I’d want my kids to aspire to.