Futures 2010

(brought to you by the 4-and 5-year-old’s at Bolton Hill Nursery School)

Each year we do a futures unit near the end of their last year of preschool. This year we thought and compared three different futures:

1. What do you wish the future would really be like?  (Utopian futures)

2. What do you not want the future to be like (or what you are afraid or scared might happen in the future)? (Critical futures)

3. What do you think is the real future of our planet and our Earth? (Global futures)

Before we discussed these three versions of the future, we discussed what the future may be, or what they thought the definition was of “the future.” We then simply outlined how diverse and divergent the possibilities are in reality based on their different ideas. Other then that brief introduction, we let them do most of the talking and thinking about how a future may be viewed, based on their inner beliefs and ideas.

Each drawing was done over 3 days and is composed of the three future visions in the following order, 1. Utopian 2. Critical 3. Global.

1. “In the future I wish that the real stars from outerspace would become necklaces. Then people could live in outerspace.”

2. “In the future I do not want to see aliens chasing me into the Sun.”

3. “In the future of our planet, aliens will come to Earth to die. The stars will come closer and surround our Earth.”

(Alexandra, age 5)

1. “In the future I wish octopuses were gas stations. The tentecles would be filled with gas. Then eight cars could come at one time.”

2. “I do not want to see dragons on Earth in the future.”

3. “In the future of our planet there will still be water and grass and people.”

(Nicholas, age 5)

1.  “In the future I wish cats wouldn’t scratch. They would just put their paws out nicely. I also wish in the future you didn’t have to ask owners to pet their dogs.”

2. “In the future I do not want there to be bad guys on Earth.”

3. “In the future of our Planet I think there will be people and more people who will keep growing and growing. When the Sun gobbles up the Earth, the people will die, but they will go to a familiar place.”

(Abigail, age 5)

1. “In the future I wish there were rainbow kitties that could fly. I think this would be a good future because rainbows are pretty and kitties are cute.”

2. “I do not want to see a shark in my house that messes up my hair in the future.”

3. “In the future of the planet there will be dolphins who turn into Pegasus.”

(Isabelle, age 5)

1. “I wish in the future that all necklaces were magic. Then everyone could wish things and they would come true.”

2. “In the future I do not want to see everyone dead. Then there would be no one to play with and no one alive.”

3. “In the future the Earth will change as the people grow. We’re supposed to love our Earth and the feelings of people help it. People like to grow and change.”

(Sylvie, age 5)

1. “In the future I wish there would be an alien carrying a million bags over his shoulder.”

2. “In the future I do not want to see a beast who is frozen but is still alive. This would happen because of all the ice.”

3. “In the future of our planet there will be so much water that they will all sink.”

(Denmark, age 4)

1. “In the future I wish everyone would love each other. I want everyone to care for each other.”

2. “In the future I do not want people to fight a  civil war.”

3. “In the future the planet will evaporate, but the people will be okay.”

(Leo, age 5)

1. “In the future I wish that kitty-cats could fly and princesses would take care of them.”

2. “In the future I do not want to be in the middle of the war with aliens.  But the aliens won in the future and I’m the only one who survives.”

3. “In the future the Earth will have a rainbow around it. The rainbow protects it so all the bad guys ships don’t get to the Earth and destroy it.”

(Riva, age 5)

1. “In the future I wish everyone would live all together (in the same house), then everyone would know each other.”

2. “I do not want to see The Witch in the future.”

3. “In the future our Earth will be like it is now. But there is one Earth and one around it.”

(Clara, age 5)

1. “In the future I wish people would sleep in boxes. There will be no beds in outerspace.”

2. “In the future I do not want to see monsters or bad guys. Then my family would be safe.”

3. “In the future of the planet everyone will have flowers and light and be nice.  The planet will be happy.”

(Lia, age 5)

1. (Critical and Utopian switched, this one is the Critical vision) “In the future I do not want to see a tiger right outside my door.”

2. “I wish in the future people could wear two dresses at the same time. I also wish people could have 30 heads but wear only one at a time.”

3. “In the future a comet will come by our planet, but it won’t hit it. Instead it will go into the Sun.”

(Alex, age 5)

1. “In the future I wish everyone would have a rainbow here. People need rainbow families.”

2. “In the future I do not want to see a rainbow chasing my family.”

3. “In the future of our planet the bad ones were killing the good ones.”

(Adrienne, age 5)

1. “In the future I wish people would ride dragons.”

2. “In the future I do not want to see people hating each other. Hate makes people sad.”

3. “In the future other planets will protect ours from the people who don’t like our Earth.”

(Lilah, age 5)

—

How to learn more:

This project can easily be extended to others. If you are curious about what other children have to say about their futures, all you have to do is ask them and listen to what they tell you.  Children are full of knowledge and are eager to share. If you have no children around, ask yourself. These children come up with their basic idea in a few minutes, raw from their own place and have no fear in visioning. We all ought to be so bold.

If you would like to learn more about present day forecasting you can view a new project by futurists which, coincidentally, includes many similar visions and fears as these children: http://futurestates.tv/ . There you can also add your own predictions of the future and be part of a similar dialogue.

Additionally, there are a number of books available that discuss forecasting and futuring more at length, which I’ve discussed in the previous article 10 Early Childhood and Futures Related Books. Not mentioned in that list is a great introductory book, Futuring: The Exploration of the Future by Edward Cornish and put out by the World Future Society.

Long Live Alternative Futures!

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