Reimagining Possible Worlds for Young Children

Abstract

The television is on. Music can be heard and children are captured playing on the playground. The camera pans and the feet of a child are visible, shackled at the ankles. The camera moves to bring the child into full view. The young girl is dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit with shackles on her wrists as well as the previous noted ankle restraints. This child moves, struggling against her chains, across the playground, trying to hopscotch, attempting to climb the playground structure, sitting alone at the bottom of the slide. The camera moves into the classroom and the child is seated at a desk trying to raise her hand, reach for snack, and read a book. Again, the shackles on her wrist thwart her. The voiceover shares, “The state of Hawai’i spends nearly $50,000 a year on each prison inmate and almost nothing on our preschoolers. Don’t imprison our children’s future. Ask your legislator to fund preschool for all 4-year-olds. You can change their future at BeMyVoiceHawaii.org.”