Kye and the Cephalopod©
Kye and the Cephalopod©
Abstract:
Children hold a direct connection to a very special divine source: IMAGINATION. A child’s imagination can birth some of the most extraordinary unfathomable concepts or they can fester some of the deepest and darkest fears. Utilizing imaginative approaches to learning can assist children to becoming anything and achieving anything they want in life.
As a 10-year resident of Savannah, GA, I found that many people, especially Children of Color (COC) have a huge barrier when It comes to participating in activities along the seashores. Often COC will blurt out all the various reasons why it is a danger to go near beaches, with the biggest compliant being that “something” may grab/bite them, which in so many words, the FEAR of the UNKNOWN. There are various opinions as to why some COC have such an aversion to the sea; from movies like Jaws to negative support from families past down generations stemming from slavery.
Even with awesome orators of the low country, such as Patt Gunn (Underground Tours of Savannah, LLC), Amir Jamal Toure (Day Clean Soul Tours of Savannah, LLC) and Vaughnette Goode-Walker (Footprints of Savannah Walking Tour, LLC) that tell of enriched histories of Geechee Gullah culture and the impacts they have on coastal islands, there remains countless COC that have yet to venture toward our local shoreline. The art of storytelling through storybook media can illuminate the minds of COC that may hold fears of the unknown about the sea and transmute them into greater participation which could lead to possible workforce initiatives and the development of innovative/transformative ideas fostering ingenuity to thoughts, theories, or technological advances, within marine sciences.
This story tells of a boy who loves the seashores but has a scary fear of what lies beneath. By overcoming his fear, he gains confidence entering the sea. This book provides an early introduction to one of the most villainized sea creatures and how facing one’s fear “in thought” can positively produce exposure in ones “reality.”
As a 10-year resident of Savannah, GA, I found that many people, especially Children of Color (COC) have a huge barrier when It comes to participating in activities along the seashores. Often COC will blurt out all the various reasons why it is a danger to go near beaches, with the biggest compliant being that “something” may grab/bite them, which in so many words, the FEAR of the UNKNOWN. There are various opinions as to why some COC have such an aversion to the sea; from movies like Jaws to negative support from families past down generations stemming from slavery.
Even with awesome orators of the low country, such as Patt Gunn (Underground Tours of Savannah, LLC), Amir Jamal Toure (Day Clean Soul Tours of Savannah, LLC) and Vaughnette Goode-Walker (Footprints of Savannah Walking Tour, LLC) that tell of enriched histories of Geechee Gullah culture and the impacts they have on coastal islands, there remains countless COC that have yet to venture toward our local shoreline. The art of storytelling through storybook media can illuminate the minds of COC that may hold fears of the unknown about the sea and transmute them into greater participation which could lead to possible workforce initiatives and the development of innovative/transformative ideas fostering ingenuity to thoughts, theories, or technological advances, within marine sciences.
This story tells of a boy who loves the seashores but has a scary fear of what lies beneath. By overcoming his fear, he gains confidence entering the sea. This book provides an early introduction to one of the most villainized sea creatures and how facing one’s fear “in thought” can positively produce exposure in ones “reality.”