My next ted talk was by Jim Toomey, called Learning From Sherman the Shark. It is mainly based around a cartoon of a shark's adventures, but each strip has an important message.
To start off his talk, Jim talks about school and how the ocean is depicted. He says on maps it is just pictured as blue space, and that teachers say it is a dangerous place. Oddly enough, I think that is how it is taught to most kids around the world. Most kids don't realize the importance of the oceans, but at a young age, Jim saw it.
Jim said he was flying over the ocean in an airplane as a child, and saw the ocean for what it really is. He saw the natural beauty, and the animals that occupy the vastness of it. He said in one day he saw the ocean in a whole new light, and he believed that if he could change the way he thought about the ocean, then he could change other people's views on it too. Personally, I've always loved the ocean, from the time I was 5 and still today. I've always known the beauty of the ocean because i was exposed to it at such a young age, but some kids don't get that opportunity.
Jim went on to create a cartoon strip featuring "Sherman the Shark". His goal with this cartoon was to show the beauty of the ocean while also spreading important messages, like not littering, or using biodegradable substances instead of plastic. His cartoons are usually short and sweet, even when he is trying to send a big message.
He said he started doing cartoons because they let his imagination run wild, and I can relate to this, because who wants to read a boring paper on oceans? No one. Jim says that when he was younger and started to make up creatures, there was always something wilder that was discovered, and that was what intrigued him.
He finishes his talk by saying that with just one experience, his whole life was changed, and I believe that if you just look deeper into things, you'll have this experience too.
To start off his talk, Jim talks about school and how the ocean is depicted. He says on maps it is just pictured as blue space, and that teachers say it is a dangerous place. Oddly enough, I think that is how it is taught to most kids around the world. Most kids don't realize the importance of the oceans, but at a young age, Jim saw it.
Jim said he was flying over the ocean in an airplane as a child, and saw the ocean for what it really is. He saw the natural beauty, and the animals that occupy the vastness of it. He said in one day he saw the ocean in a whole new light, and he believed that if he could change the way he thought about the ocean, then he could change other people's views on it too. Personally, I've always loved the ocean, from the time I was 5 and still today. I've always known the beauty of the ocean because i was exposed to it at such a young age, but some kids don't get that opportunity.
Jim went on to create a cartoon strip featuring "Sherman the Shark". His goal with this cartoon was to show the beauty of the ocean while also spreading important messages, like not littering, or using biodegradable substances instead of plastic. His cartoons are usually short and sweet, even when he is trying to send a big message.
He said he started doing cartoons because they let his imagination run wild, and I can relate to this, because who wants to read a boring paper on oceans? No one. Jim says that when he was younger and started to make up creatures, there was always something wilder that was discovered, and that was what intrigued him.
He finishes his talk by saying that with just one experience, his whole life was changed, and I believe that if you just look deeper into things, you'll have this experience too.